Rivers Without Borders

When I was eleven, we moved from a large home into a considerable smaller house, so I had to share a room with two sisters. Space was limited but we managed to create imaginary boundaries, marking our territory. Most of the time we didn't care if anyone trespassed into our space unless we were mad at each other or just needed solitude.

After the birth of our fourth child, the kids had to share rooms. When our daughters were 5-7, I remember walking into their room and getting scolded because I broke the toilet paper they put up to divide the room, marking their territory. The toilet paper did not function well as a boundary. It tore easily, and the Tennessee humidity made it wet and messy. Through the years they experimented with a variety of barriers but eventually found it worked best to leave it unmarked while understanding and respect for each other's need for personal space.

In California, everyone has a fence around their property, so when I moved to Alabama it was weird to see so many homes withourt any fences. How did people know where their property lines ended? Now, after living in the country for twenty years, fences seem a waste of time, resources and money (unless there are farm animals.) There are no fences to mark our property lines, but everytime a landowner breaks up his land and sells it off, the people move in and inevitably put up a fence. What is this human need to mark our territory?

This need probably does not stem from the civilized man but more from our prehistoric instincts. My experience tells me it is basic to most life forms. Once on a trail run, I noticed something strange in the grass and stopped to take a look. Big mistake! I took one step too many into a skunk's territory. It wasn't marked before, but it didn't take him long to start marking. The uplifted tail was a signal it was time for some speed work.

Last week, a ranger at a State Park commented on the dangers of entering a wild animal's territory. After instructing us on how to survive those types of dangerous situations, he described stinging insects that take offense if you impose on their territory. I thought about the wasps building nests around our house. Do they know they are building in the territory of a consciencious objector and will respect me for it? HMM, remembering the day Tree was literally attacted by a wasp, had an allegic reation and was taken to the hospital via an ambulance, I'd say not. Well, one sting in twenty years isn't bad odds especially since they eat mosquitos.

So the big question is-
Is it possible for us to overcome this innate need to have boundaries? Setting boundaries on our rivers is destroying them. One state dumps into a river as it leaves its borders and the next state dams the river to kill the life of the river in the next state. As seen in the Rio Grande and the Colorado, by the time everyone is done abusing it, either nothing gets to the ocean or what does is horrendously polluted. There are so many people on this planet and our resources are frighteningly limited. The most precious resources are on the verge of being destroyed if we do not overcome the need to place boundaries, mark our territory and selfishly control.
So I suggest Rivers Without Borders. Imagine, rivers that are free to be rivers, wild and full of life. Sounds great, but it is not my idea. It is the goal of most environmentally conscious people along the Drava/Mura/Danube Rivers. It is their goal to have the Transboundary Biosphere Reserve, a biosphere preserved by all the countries that border the proposed reserve. How exciting is that? The statement the bordering countries make supporting and preserving the reserve is profound. As I continue to preach, we all make a difference either positive or negative. Apathy is not noncommital; it is negative. I train and prepare in belief that the Drava swim with make a positive statement about our desperate need to preserve one of the last stretches of a natural river and the surrounding biosphere. It does not have to be restored - yet. If we can promote Rivers without borders, it may never have to be.