Redband Raft Makes 2020 Debut for Spokane Riverkeeper

SPOKANE, Wash. - The Spokane Indians Baseball Team and the Redband Rally Campaign are pleased to announce the debut of the Spokane Riverkeeper Redband Raft. The Redband Raft recently made its maiden voyage starting at the new raft & paddle launch at Redband Park in downtown Spokane to Aubrey White takeout. Participating on the float was the Spokane Riverkeeper staff Jerry White Jr. and Jule Schultz, three board members and fellow river conservationists and volunteers.

"This is exactly what the Redband Campaign is all about," said Otto Klein, Senior VP for the Spokane Indians Baseball Team. "This campaign is designed to bring awareness to the native Redband trout in the Spokane River and rally the community to protect and keep the river clean. Nobody does that better than Jerry and his team. This investment will pay huge dividends for our community's primary watershed."

The new Redband Raft, which was purchased with funds from the Redband Rally Campaign, will be used for donor, partner, and supporter float tours of the river as well as river habitat research trips. In addition, the raft will be used as a second boat for river litter cleanup, and shuttling Spokane Riverkeeper staff, interns and volunteers to assist with homeless outreach efforts on the river. An existing Riverkeeper raft will be reassigned for river litter cleanup only.

"With the addition of the Redband Raft to our fleet, this really opens the door for more research and public outreach on the river" said Jerry White Jr., Spokane Riverkeeper. "With more and more people using the river than ever before, this allows us to keep up with the increased demand."

The Redband Rally Campaign, which began in July of 2017, has helped fund several local community projects including the revitalization of a youth baseball field at Redband Park, installation of a new raft & paddle launch, and Redband art sculpture. In addition, this year the campaign partnered with the Spokane River Forum to supply trash bags for the Get Up, Get Out River Cleanup project.

About Spokane Riverkeeper

Spokane Riverkeeper is a vigilant guardian and advocate for the Spokane River and its watershed. The Spokane Riverkeeper works to protect the river's ecological health, its aesthetic integrity and the public uses of the river for future generations of our community. They accomplish their mission through clean water defense, water quality and quantity monitoring, litter cleanups, homeless outreach, advocacy, education and more. The organization's various programs are funded through corporate and individual donations and grants as well as two annual fundraising events - Wild & Scenic Film Festival and Spoken River.

About the Redband Rally Campaign

During the 2017 season, the Spokane Indians Baseball team, together with the Spokane Tribe of Indians and City of Spokane introduced the Redband Rally Campaign in honor of Spokane's signature fish, the native Redband Trout. This campaign is designed to bring awareness to the Redband trout and the Spokane River and rally the community to protect and keep the river clean. The Redband Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss gairdnerii) is a beautiful, unique and important species of fish in the Spokane region, and was one of the first foods of the Spokane Tribe of Indians. The campaign is funded through corporate and individual donations and a portion of all Redband merchandise sales sold in the Spokane Indians Official Team Store. More information can be found HERE.

About the Spokane Indians

The Spokane Indians are the Short Season Class "A" affiliate of the Texas Rangers and play at Avista Stadium. The Spokane Indians Team Store is open for online orders and curbside pickup.