RiverVoices, A Community Contest to Share Stories of the Boise River, Its Life and Future
A river’s life symbolizes a cyclical journey of existence, defined by constant motion, resilience, and transformation. ~Dick Jordan
River Voices & The Ripple Effect
A film competition showcasing the Boise River, its tributaries, people, history, hydrology, treasures, and challenges. Starting in the Sawtooth Mtns, it flows 100 miles southwest through wilderness, public & private lands, lakes, riparian habitats, urban & rural neighborhoods and farmlands until it enters the Snake River.
Let’s share stories about how we get water to and from our homes, crops & businesses, how we work and play on, in and by it, and how youth are ‘making waves’ through research, restoration, outreach and advocacy, protecting these priceless waters to create a ripple effect that motivates others to broadcast their RiverVoices. LifeOutdoors and its partners are collecting stories with the best going into a short documentary to be entered in film festivals, so more can understand, appreciate and safeguard water.
Magnify RiverVoices & The Ripple Effect
Timeline March 8th- Launch Sept. 8th- entry deadline October 1st- winners notified, on the start of the Water Year
Categories
Elementary students, pre-school —> 6th grade,
(1) by themselves, or (2) with a classmate or adult
Middle, Junior, High School students, 7th-12th grades,
Adults, 18 and older
Partner groups
Rules
(1) Minute to Win It, video stories must be 60-90 seconds and submitted into specific Instagram & Gmail accounts, opening on March 4th, 2026 with a completed RiverVoices-2026 application. Make a storyboard and start filming now!
(2) Videos must focus, somehow, on the Boise River from its headwaters in the Sawtooths past Atlanta, ID, Idaho City, Featherville, Pine, and the towns and cities along the Lower Boise River from Lucky Peak dam to Martin’s Landing. There are countless stories you could tell about the river; its heroes, geology, cultural interactions (from Native Americans, trappers, miners, loggers, ranchers, farmers, and businesses), seasonal changes, fishing, water sports like surfing, hidden gems, wildlife, irrigation, snow2U, water quality, birding, Greenbelt walking or running, photography, SwainSwim, problems, river therapy, water renewal, biodiversity, artistic expressions, or be the voice of the river itself or any organism who can’t speak for themselves and needs you.
It’s your story so be creative but NO profanity or inappropriate images. Dream on and surprise us!
PRIZES WILL BE ANNOUNCED ON WORLD WATER DAY, MARCH 22, 2026
For more information contact Dick Jordan at conserveconnect@gmail.com
All pictures were taken by Dick Jordan
The Boise River watershed is the ancestral, cultural, and unceded territory of the Shoshone, Bannock, and the Northern Paiute people. Historically, these indigenous tribes used the Boise Valley as a winter encampment and gathering place for fishing, harvesting, and trade. While these tribes were forcibly removed to various reservations in the late 19th century, they maintain strong ancestral and legal connections to the watershed today. The Nimiipuu (Nez Perce) people primarily used homelands further north, but they regularly traveled to the Boise River valley for annual trading fairs.
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