Wild Yough River 5Oth Anniversary Celebration
On July 25th at the Friendsville Town Park, Garrett County will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the designation of the Youghiogheny River as Maryland’s ONLY wild and scenic river. The “Wild Yough” is unique in the state’s 9-river Scenic and Wild Rivers system as it is the only river with the wild designation: a “free-flowing river whose shoreline and related land are undeveloped, inaccessible except by trail, or predominantly primitive in a natural state for at least 4 miles of the river length.” More than a definition in statute, today the Wild Yough is an oasis of green forest buffering one of the most iconic whitewater runs in the country. Twenty-one miles in all with two world-class whitewater sections, the Top Yough at Swallow Falls and the Upper Yough from Sang Run to Friendsville. Timbering, mining, hydroelectric projects, and development threatened the river’s beauty and free-flowing wildness early in the century, but with the wild designation and a hard-fought partnership between landowners, local and state government, it has evolved into a special place for outdoor recreation, nature study, and wildlife. Join the community in commemorating this wild river with music, food, beer, and tribute to the river from 5-10 pm […]
