Salmon River rafting holiday in Idaho, USA

Environment

We are a locally owned and operated outfitting company based in Idaho with a strong dedication to responsible and sustainable travel. We work diligently protect the areas where we operate. With well-trained and professional guides coupled with carefully-crafted itineraries, our goal is to connect people in a meaningful and personally relevant way to the places we share with them. We hope to inspire our guests to become actively involved in the preservation and conservation of the areas they visit.

One of our core values is respecting the Earth and we practice this throughout our operation. At our office we work to minimize our footprint through wise energy use and practicing the four R’s - recycling, reducing, re-purposing and reusing. We source as many products as we can locally and buy our coffee from “Seeds for Change” and use the “Save Our Salmon” blend, thus providing coffee that is Fair Trade and Shade Grown while supporting a worthy cause.

Another example of our commitment to the environment is that we minimize motorized travel on our adventures, preferring to see a small geographic area well rather than traveling a large area. We are sensitive to wildlife, but also we help people understand what they are seeing by illuminating the life history of the plants and animals we observe. We practice “Leave No Trace” techniques on our Snake River trips, and all trips, and have been for over 30 years. We are a permitted outfitter from the U.S. Forest Service and licensed by the State of Idaho, ensuring we meet the highest standards.

Responsible travel requires innovation and dedication, and we work closely with organizations working to help keep our wild places secure and wild. We provide donations and volunteer time to several conservation groups including Idaho Rivers United and American Rivers. As well, through our “River pass through” program, we provide an easy way for our guests to also contribute to these organizations.

Community

We base our Middle Fork of the Salmon River operation in the town of Salmon, Idaho where we positively impact a high number of local businesses from whom we purchase supplies and services. Throughout our operations, we use locally-owned and operated hotels and restaurants, and hire other local services and avoid using large chain operations.

We support the communities in the areas we operate by giving back in a number of ways. Each year we donate over $15,000 in goods and services to various charities in the areas where we operate. In addition since 2008 we have been running an annual “Raft for the Cure” that generates between $3000 and $5,000 for our local chapter of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. We also operate an annual "Raft to Remember" which is a benefit trip for the Alzheimer's Association that raises over $1000 each year for our local chapter.

Our entire office staff is local and we are a significant employer in our local community. We also hire a number of seasonal support people in the various small towns where we operate during our rafting season.

Local Guides: The majority of our river guides are from the West, or Northwest, and many hold college degrees in related fields such as geology, biology and recreation management. Over 75 percent of our USA-based guides are “Certified Interpretive Guides” through the National Association of Interpretation, having received training on sharing natural and cultural history in a meaningful and relevant way. As a company, we provide numerous opportunities for continued guide education, including guest educators on trips and special guide clinics.