South Dakota Canoe Association News

by Dick Davidson

We have started planning for our Annual Program Conference. This 21st annual gathering will be held on the afternoon of Saturday, January 26, 2002 at the meeting rooms of The Outdoor Campus in Sioux Falls. The agenda of the day will include displays, cruise slides, clinics, videos, a class on the use of a GPS, wilderness slides, workshops, the annual SDCA meeting and more. On the day after Christmas, we mailed out a newsletter with conference details. This Newsletter also covers a February 3rd Annual Winter Sports Day in Newton Hills, a Presidents' Day extended weekend hiatus on the Buffalo National River in Arkansas, and early South Dakota cruising. To get a copy of this newsletter, send a note to:
SDCA
P.O. Box 90227
Sioux Falls, SD 57109

Cruising South Dakota in February? Yes! Western South Dakota can have some 70°F days while we in eastern South Dakota and Minnesota shiver, but can also have a late blizzard long after the blizzard season is over for us to the east. Highly scenic rivers like the White in the Bad Lands, and the Little Missouri in the far northwest of the state are upper stretches with short windows of opportunity just after snow melt or a torrential rain. It should be noted that rivers in the area that are not high upper stretches provide good paddling through May (the start of irrigation in a dry year) or much later (during a wet year).