History

 In 1996 I started working for Wild River Adventures guiding raft trips on the North and Middle Forks of the Flathead Rivers.  These rivers form the west and southwest boundaries of Glacier National Park.  They are magnificent free flowing rivers that are protected by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1964.  

In 2003 while eating lunch I read an article in the newspaper about a noxious weed pulling event in Colorado.  It immediately brought to mind the Spotted Knapweed at our most popular river access, Moccasin Creek that had taken over the area and was about as tall as I was. I thought of all the invasive plants taking over huge areas along our beautiful river corridor.  Being young I decided right then that I could easily fix this weed problem!  I went around to the three other commercial raft companies, asked them to pitch in $100 each for burgers and beers, and told them all we would gather to pull weeds and have a party afterwards.  

Problem solved and we all lived happily ever after!  I wish that were the case.  Instead I quickly learned that this was going to be a never ending battle.  From the very beginning Dawn LaFleur, the weed expert from Glacier Park, has provided immeasurable support for this event.  She let me know from the start that we would not be able to just go in eradicate the weeds and be done.  She encouraged me to focus on educating our river users and working on specific areas year after year where we could make a noticeable impact.  At Moccasin Creek, for example, where the Knapweed, Ox-eyed Daisies and Toadflax once ruled we now have a thriving native plant population.

Although I ended my career as a whitewater boatman in 2008 with my first child capturing my main focus, I have continued to grow and coordinate this important event.  By 2017 I had expanded the event to cover almost 40 river miles on the Middle Fork from Essex to Blankenship Bridge.  There are five separate launches that each have at least a couple boats full of volunteers and a weed expert.  We always still gather  at the end of the day at  Wild River for a fun party with barbeque and prizes for all participants.

I'm very grateful to our amazing river community for all the years of encouragement and support in this effort to give back to this special river which gives so much to us each time we are in it's presence.

Thank you,

Brenda Guzman