"Recent rain has the Guadalupe and Comal rivers ready for Texas tubing season"

"So much for this weekend marking the official opening of tubing season in Texas. While you are reading this, people are relaxing in tubes on the Gudalupe River, according to Paul Rich, owner of the Mountain Breeze campground on River Road in New Braunfels. Rich said the four inches of rain they got over the weekend did prevent them from putting out tubers on Sunday due to dangerous water flow levels, but the level has dropped to safe numbers and tubers are back out on the water..."

"Plan to tap Lake Conroe for drinking water stirs conflict"

"Lake Conroe: these waters have become a source of conflict. With memories of a disappearing lake still fresh, residents are rallying against a plan to wean rapidly growing Montgomery County off groundwater by tapping the reservoir for drinking water, calling on officials to "Save the Lake."
It was not too long ago that a punishing drought had lowered the lake by as many as 9 feet below normal..."

"Coolers Full Of Toad Eggs"

"The Houston toad, once native to this sprawling and humid metropolis, has not been found in the city for decades. Only three hundred are estimated to be left alive in the wild — mostly in the piney woods in and around Bastrop State Park. That leaves more Houston toads living at the Houston Zoo than in the wild. You can see two Houston toads in the regular zoo exhibit, but the rest — about 450 — live behind closed doors. If the Houston toad has a future, it begins here, in this biological ark..."

"Houston-Harris County Partnership Targets Illegal Dumping "

"The city has long fought illegal dumping in Houston. In its newest action on the issue, the City Council approved an agreement with Harris County to install at least 25 cameras in districts with the highest number of reported incidents. The cameras are one tool to address the issue. As part of the agreement with the county, the city will pay $250,000 for the equipment, but Harris County Constable for Precinct 1 Alan Rosen’s office will review the footage..."

"Wild as a River"

"Bob Burleson urged protection for the Rio Grande and worked tirelessly for its designation as a Wild and Scenic River, both in Washington and on the river itself. A Texas Observer article tells of Burleson and others taking a New York Times journalist down the river to gain support. The columnist subsequently wrote that it mattered not what Congress did: The river and the people were already wild enough.  Burleson went on to become executive director of the American Whitewater Affiliation, the national association of whitewater river runners..."

"Pollution could delay Olympic rowing regattas"

"The head of rowing's governing body says races at next year's Olympics could be delayed because of severe water pollution at the venue. In an interview with The Associated Press, World Rowing Federation executive director Matt Smith said events may be suspended for a day or two if pollution spikes. But he says athletes are "not a high risk" with no plans to abandon the small lake in central Rio, site of a massive fish die-off last month... Guanabara Bay, the venue for sailing, has been described as an "open sewer..."

"Vandals deface Ozark National Scenic Riverways cliff"

"The National Park Service is looking for the vandals who defaced a cliff in the Ozarks National Scenic Riverways along the Jacks Fork River near Eminence. The graffiti is near the top of a 45- to 50-foot cliff known as Chalk Bluff and was discovered over the weekend. It’s clearly visible from the Jacks Fork during a time of year when weekend visitors can exceed 1,000 for canoe trips along the river..."

"Couple’s Kayak Trip on Hudson Included Mistakes, Experts Say"

"On an unseasonably warm Sunday afternoon in mid-April, Angelika Graswald and her fiancé, Vincent Viafore, departed in their kayaks from the western shore of the Hudson River... The police say that as they paddled back to shore, Ms. Graswald intentionally caused Mr. Viafore’s death and they have charged her with second-degree murder... At a bail hearing last week, a prosecutor said that Ms. Graswald had tampered with Mr. Viafore’s kayak and had told the police that 'it felt good knowing he was going to die.'"

"Police arrest 3 after break-in at trooper’s home"

"Three people are facing charges in connection with a break-in at a Maine State Police trooper’s home garage last week in West Gardiner and stealing ammunition, police patches and a kayak, in an attempt to get money for drugs.  State police were led to the burglars after one of the stolen items, a kayak, showed up for sale online..."

"Canoeist drowns trying to save cat"

"Police say a man drowned in a northern Illinois lake while trying to save a cat. Lake County officials say the death happened Sunday night on Loon Lake in Antioch. The man was in a canoe with another man, a woman and the cat. Officials say the cat jumped into the water and the man went after the animal..."

"'Kayaktivists' take on Arctic oil drilling"

"Royal Dutch Shell wants to park two massive Arctic oil drilling rigs in Seattle's waterfront, but the petroleum giant will have to get around protesters in kayaks and a mayor determined to take on climate change. The fast-approaching battle with so-called kayaktivists is unfolding in a city well-known for embracing environmental causes..."

"Artist Peter Doig’s painting sets new record at auction"

"An eerie 1991 painting of a moonlit white canoe with a figure slumped in its hull fetched almost $26-million (U.S.), a new world record for the artist, Peter Doig.  Canoes have been a significant and highly regarded part of Doig’s iconography.  "Swamped" was inspired in part by a scene from the 1980 horror film, Friday the 13th..."