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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

With rehabbed boat launch, group aims to reconnect people to Spokane River

Otto Klein, Sr. Vice President at Spokane Indians Baseball (in red) speaks at the dedication of the newly renovated take out on the Spokane River next to the Spokane Waste Water Treatment Plant. The Spokane River Forum, City of Spokane and Spokane Indians collaborated to renovate the previously rocky and rutted takeout popular with white- water rafters and kayakers. (Colin Mulvany / The Spokesman-Review)

Large potholes and a steep incline didn’t stopanglers from using a boat launch tucked behind the Waste Water Treatment Plant on the Spokane River for years.

“Like a lot of things that work, it got loved to death,” said Andy Dunau, executive director of the Spokane River Forum.

Now, though, it has been loved back to life, thanks to a renovation that features a paved ramp, a gravel drive and parking spots and that’s being paid for with funding from Redband Rally, a partnership between the City of Spokane, the Spokane Tribe of Indians and the Spokane Indians baseball team.

“We’re named in honor of the Spokane Tribe of Indians, and the river is important to the tribe,” said Otto Klein, senior vice president of the Spokane Indians.

Next summer, floaters will be able to put in near the Monroe Street Bridge and take out at the rehabbed launch or put in at the treatment plant launch and take out at Bowl and Pitcher, Dunau explained.

Redband Rally funds projects that protect and keep the river clean. The project even had a personal draw for Klein, who calls himself an angler.

“I said, ‘Hey, even I could do this,’ ” Klein said of rafting the river from the launch.

Sean Visintainer, owner of Spokane Valley’s Silver Bow Fly Shop, has been coming to this takeout for years, even when it was in rough shape.

“About 10 years ago we started using the Spokane River more,” Visintainer said. “I looked at it and said, ‘I think I can get my truck down there and up without getting towed out.’ ”

While the takeout was there, it was a bit dangerous and virtually impossible without four-wheel drive. Now, more people will be able to use it.

“This access is super important to the angling community,” Visintainer said.

Paul Delaney from the Northwest Whitewater Association has been rafting on the Spokane River for almost 40 years. He will hit that anniversary with the “Fool’s Float” this New Year’s Day.

“I’ve made hundreds and hundreds of trips down this river,” Delaney said. “We have the most unique urban river in the world.”

It feels like deep wilderness, all while only 10 minutes from a sizable city, Delaney said.

Jerry White Jr. is the head of Spokane Riverkeeper, an organization that works to keep the river clean and protected. They have cleaned 18,000 pounds of litter from the river, and the launch will be an asset for that work.

“The more folks you have from the community down using the river, the more you’re really going to have a relationship and connection to the river develop,” White said. “From there you get stewardship, and from there you really get folks owning their river in a way that’s going to look out for it long term. I think in Spokane today that’s what you’re saying, and I think these projects and this launch are a part of that.”