This article originally ran in the Ruston Daily Leader on February 15, 2011, and you may also view this article at the Fount's web site.

John Ruskey, a river guide and canoe builder, will speak about identifying criteria for canoeing and kayaking trails on Wednesday, Feb. 23 from 2 to 4 p.m. at the LSU AgCenter’s Scott Research and Extension Center in Winnsboro.

The LSU AgCenter has received a $115,000 grant from the Walton Family Foundation to facilitate efforts to make the northeast Louisiana Mississippi River parishes a premiere nature tourism destination based on un-exploited natural resources and has formed an ecotourism advisory group in northeast Louisiana.

Ruskey of Clarksdale, Miss., designs and builds canoes with a particular finesse in giant voyager style canoes and hand-hewn dugouts. In 1998 he started Quapaw Canoe Company to open access to the splendors of the Mississippi River. Quapaw provides guided expeditions by kayak, canoe and stand-up paddle boards on the Lower Mississippi River and some of its tributaries, including the Big Sunflower, Yazoo, Coldwater, Tallahatchie, Yalobusha and the lower reaches of the White and Arkansas rivers and the Atchafalaya River.

Ruskey will discuss the potential for paddling businesses in Louisiana, how he formed his company, his business plan and lessons learned, said Dora Ann Hatch, LSU AgCenter agritourism coordinator.

He has worked with the National Audubon Society, American Land Conservancy, Lower Mississippi Riverkeeper, Missouri River Relief Organization, Big Muddy Adventures, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, U.S. Coast Guard, Wolf River Conservancy, Below the Surface, Surf-Rider Foundation, Walton Family Foundation, Teach for America, KIPP Charter Schools and National Geographic.

He was the first curator of the Delta Blues Museum and is co-founder and director of the Delta Blues Education Fund.

Ruskey has floated and written about many of the major rivers of North America, including the Mississippi, Colorado, Rio Grande, Arkansas, Platte, Columbia, Missouri and most recently the Atchafalaya.

In the fall of 2002 he paddled 2,500 miles over two months the length of the Big Muddy from Three Forks, Mont., to St. Louis, Mo., in a custom-built dugout canoe.

He uploaded journals, photographs and sketches to 50 sponsoring schools on www.ruskeyandclark.com, with chat sessions and school visits.

He was selected as the dugout canoe builder for the Lewis and Clark Bicentennial.

In 2009 he built a 16-by-30-foot oar-powered raft and guided a group of 10 Germans on an 1,100-mile journey from St. Louis to New Orleans for Monsta Films of East Berlin Film Produktion’s “Mister & Missus Sippi” – a three-part documentary series on the Mississippi River that premiered on March 12, 2010.

Last year he paddled the length of America’s sixth biggest river, the Atchafalaya, in partnership with Reader’s Digest Magazine, the National Audubon Society and the Atchafalaya River Basinkeeper.

In the early 1980s Ruskey said he was inspired by Huck Finn to build a 12-by-24-foot raft and made a five-month raft trip down the Mississippi River. “This jump-started my lifelong love of the Mississippi River and the wild rural heart of America,” Ruskey said.

This seminar is free and is open to the public, contact Dora Ann Hatch at (318) 927-9654 Ext. 229 or e-mail her or visit www.lsuagcenter.com/lincoln for more details.

Mary Ann Van Osdell is assistant communications specialist for the LSU AgCenter. She writes news releases about AgCenter activities in the 22 parishes of North Louisiana, including Lincoln. She has a B.A. in Journalism from LSU in Baton Rouge. Please contact her for more information.