Brown talks environmental distress along Colorado River

As Bryan Brown kayaked down the Colorado River, a family of American otters ran the rapids with him.

Unfortunately, because of the current strain on the environment, Brown said many people might not have the same opportunity in the future.

“They’re precious little animals,” Brown said.

After conducting a record-breaking 100-day trip down the Colorado River, IU graduate Brown spoke at the Indiana Memorial Union about his trip and all of the environmental distress he noted along the way.

Along with American otters, Brown saw other endangered animals, such as clapper rails.

“There are maybe 400 left of these in the U.S.,” Brown said.  

Brown said the environment is suffering greatly because of urbanization and environmental ignorance.

He noted that Lakes Mead and Powell are losing water and are in danger of suffering permanent damage.

“I saw exactly zero turtles,” Brown said, explaining that the animals are unable to live in environments that have been severely polluted.

The pollution in some areas was so severe that Brown suffered injuries. The skin on his feet was burned off five times by a combination of pesticides, fertilizers and mining runoffs.

“It’s a serious problem,” Brown said. “My feet were so bad ... they were sticking to my boat. I had to peel them off.”

Brown, a leave-no-trace traveler who makes sure not to leave any impact on the environments he travels through, said there is a nuclear waste dump near Moab, Utah, separated from the water by dirt.

Brown suggested ways to combat these issues on an individual level.

“We have to start now,” Brown said. ”We can make minor, minor changes that can save animals.”

Aware of people’s general negative response to the concept of global warming, Brown said people could be approached by talking about urbanization’s role in influencing the environment.

Making buffers to protect wildlife and holding oneself personally responsible for taking care of the environment are just two small steps that people can take to help save wildlife, he said.

Dustin Smucker, leisure programs coordinator of IU Outdoor Adventures, said he feels there is something healing about the outdoors.

Both men shared sentiments that people need to get outside and appreciate nature, and they weren’t the only two.

Native Hoosier Lonnie Bedwell completed a kayaking trip across the Grand Canyon despite his blindness.

He was assisted by guides from Team River Runners, an organization that helps disabled veterans to heal through paddle activities like kayaking.

“We see the purpose to do it,” Bedwell said. “Putting it in words is hard because it is above words.”

Though Bedwell cannot see where he is going and appreciate the visual beauty of nature in the way that Brown does, the descriptions of his trips from people around him coupled with what he felt and heard along the way help him paint a picture in his head.

“It was what the river did to me itself,” Bedwell said.

Brown encouraged the audience to try and find ways to experience nature like he does, but on their own level.

“It’s a privilege,” he said.