This was the chant of many people before the flood.
Alas, like all rivers they are untameable. Recently I read a book about the Erie Canal , "Wedding of the Waters", by Peter L. Bernstein. (BTW, a book worth reading). The Erie Canal designers looked a the rivers and said they could not be used for transportation as they are unreliable. The canal took advantage of the natural valleys and the water supply of the rivers. The rivers themselves were not used for boat traffic.
If the rivers are an asset, then why are they? They are pretty and we can take pictures of them. I would suppose their economic value is hard to calculate. Right now, they are costing a lot of money.
Recently, a group of kayakers have proposed a whitewater Kayaking Park. I heard from some sources, that the cost for building it would be over a million dollars. The group is asking for support ($$) from the City of Binghamton and possibly, Broome County.
At first hearing, I thought there is no chance for this to be built. After seeing the Museum in Tupper Lake, I am not so sure it could not happen. George Pataki could help the project as he has helped many Adirondack projects. Why not?
I see there are other whitewater Kayaking parks that could modeled. I like the looks of the one in Reno, Nevada and it even shows a small park in the pictures. This park was built with public STATE money. See the pictures and description http://www.cityofreno.com/res/com_service/parks/kayak.php
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