Partners afloat.

Last spring marked the fourth consecutive year that Idaho outfitters and guides have found themselves in the same boat with public land managers-literally. Five days on a major whitewater river gave representatives of the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, state agencies, and Idaho Outfitters and Guides Association (IOGA) a chance to develop mutual trust, respect, and understanding and to replace at least partly-an atmosphere of hostility and discord.

Grant Simonds, executive director of IOGA, worked with outfitter Frog Stewart and Forest Service recreation specialist Deb Barrett to organize Partners Afloat. The first trip-down the Salmon River-resulted in the creation of a litter bag illustrated with light-on-the-land backcountry techniques. For visitors viewing the river from the road, the group produced an audiotape designed to interpret the section between North Fork and Corn Creek.

The second and third Partners Afloat trips, held while damage from a 1987 wildfire was very evident, generated discussions on the ecology and politics of fire management. The "regulated" gained a clearer understanding of fire's natural role in wilderness, and the "regulators" left with a greater appreciation of the outfitter's responsibility for the safety and comfort of clients during a wilderness fire.

Last year's trip was aimed at creating better understanding of the pros and cons of including the Lower Salmon River in the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. The result was a brochure answering common questions about wild and scenic rivers.

Some benefits are intangible. Partners Afloat trips allow thoughts, concerns, and issues to be shared in an environment that is as open as the wilderness through which the participants travel. A no-risk opportunity to discuss differences allows doors to open and lasting friendships to develop.

The success of Partners Afloat has spawned similar land-based trips, with rubber boats replaced by horses and mules. Naturally, these trips are called Partners Astride.