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Congresswoman McCollum Welcomes Minnesota’s Wilderness Inquiry Canoemobile Program to Washington, DC

October 22, 2015

Yesterday, Congresswoman Betty McCollum joined leaders from federal agencies and the business community to celebrate the 6th anniversary of the “Canoemobile” program run by Minnesota non-profit Wilderness Inquiry. The Canoemobile program travels across the country with several large, custom-made canoes and hosts programming to expose inner-city youth to outdoor recreation and conservation. Yesterday’s event featured the unveiling of a new Wilderness Inquiry canoe named after former Minnesota Congressman Bruce Vento in honor of his commitment to environmental protection and outdoor recreation.

“This event was a wonderful celebration of the success that can be found when public, private and non-profit partners work together to promote conservation and environmental stewardship,” said Congresswoman Betty McCollum. “I am so proud of Wilderness Inquiry and it was a pleasure to see them bring our Minnesota values of conservation and love of the great outdoors to children in Washington, DC. My friend and predecessor, the late Congressman Bruce Vento, would have loved seeing all of those leaders come together on a beautiful fall day to share the outdoors with 200 local children. Bruce dedicated his life and his public service to protecting our natural resources and environment, and seeing him honored here today was a fitting tribute.”

The Canoemobile program is made possible thanks to cooperation between partners with a stake in conservation from across the public and private sectors. The event was hosted at the Thompson Boathouse along Washington, DC’s Georgetown waterfront, a National Park Serve facility. Volunteers from both the National Park Service and RBC Wealth Management US staffed the event and helped get over 200 young children from the Washington, DC area out onto the Potomac River in canoes. RBC Wealth Management US CEO John Taft was in attendance to celebrate his company’s partnership with the Canoemobile program as a part of their commitment to promoting clean water. Dan Ashe, the Director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, was also in attendance.

In addition to celebrating the 6th anniversary of the Canoemobile program, the event featured the dedication of a new Canoe in Wilderness Inquiry’s fleet. The new canoe will be named after the late Bruce Vento, the former representative of Minnesota’s Fourth District in U.S. Congress. Representative Vento’s wife Sue was in attendance at the event, and spoke about her husband’s love of the outdoors, his commitment to conservation and the passion he had for sharing those interests with children.

Photos from the event can be viewed here.

Congresswoman McCollum is the ranking Democratic member on the Interior Appropriations Subcommittee and the Democratic co-chair of the Native American Caucus.

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