The Department of Conservation and Natural Resources and the PA Organization for Watersheds and Rivers are now accepting nominations for the 2014 River Of The Year. Nominations are due November 14.
The 2013 River of the Year was the Monongahela River in Pittsburgh.
“The River of the Year program and voting by the general public gives local nonprofit groups the opportunity to engage a broader audience in the appreciation of our rivers and streams,” said Paul King, president and CEO of the Pennsylvania Environmental Council, an affiliate of POWR.
“We look forward to once again highlighting the achievements of these local organizations who tirelessly work to protect and promote Pennsylvania rivers.”
After a waterway is chosen, local groups implement a year-round slate of activities and events to celebrate the river, including a paddling trip, or sojourn. The nominating organization of the winning river will receive a $10,000 leadership grant to help fund their River of the Year activities.
The River of the Year sojourn is just one of many paddling trips supported by DCNR and POWR each year.
An independent program, the Pennsylvania Sojourn Program, is a unique series of a dozen such trips on the state’s rivers. These water-based journeys for canoeists, kayakers and others raise awareness of the environmental, recreational, tourism and heritage values of rivers.
Applications for sojourn funding support will be accepted beginning in January.
To download a nomination form, visit the Nominate a 2014 River of the Year webpage.
For more information on other rivers programs, visit DCNR’s Rivers Conservation Program webpage.
