WASHINGTON, D.C. – Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett will join local and federal officials to formally open the Willamette River Water Trail and the Rich Guadagno Memorial Trail on National Trails Day, June 2, 2007.
The Willamette River Water Trail, which Deputy Secretary Scarlett and Governor Ted Kulongoski will dedicate at noon, comprises more than 200 miles of waterway along the Willamette River. The event celebrates completion of the final leg of a three-section water trail designed to reconnect residents and visitors to the Willamette River and showcase the recent restoration efforts and park projects along the river. The Willamette River Water Trail links to the Columbia Water Trails, part of a system of paddle trails stretching from the Canadian border to the coast of Oregon. This community-driven partnership project received help from the Willamette American Heritage River Initiative and the National Park Service’s Rivers and Trails Program.
The Rich Guadagno Memorial Trail, the 1000th National Recreation Trail designation, incorporates the Baskett Slough Loop Trail and Observation Platform in the Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge and will be formally dedicated at 4 p.m. The trail is being named after Rich Guadagno, the former manager of Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge and Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, who died while helping to bring down United Flight 93 on September 11, 2001.
| Who: | Deputy Secretary of the Interior Lynn Scarlett Local and federal officials |
| What: | The official dedication and ribbon cutting of the Willamette River Water Trail and designation of the new Rich Guadagno Memorial Trail as the 1,000th National Recreation Trail |
| When: | The Willamette River Water Trail The Rich Guadagno Memorial Trail |
| Where: | The Willamette River Water Trail The Rich Guadagno Memorial Trail |
| Media: | All credentialed media are invited to attend and photograph the event |