Advocating for Wild & Scenic Rivers: The Herm Hoops Epilogue

In celebration of this year’s Parks and Recreation Month, DAZ Stuttgart proudly presents the European premier of the documentary film The Salad Days: The Illustrious River Career of Herman Hoops (13 min) followed by an online discussion with Rig to Flip filmmaker and director Cody Perry, Wild & Scenic River Coordinator David Cernicek, and German WWF Policy Advisor for International Water Resources Theresa Schiller.

The documentary tells the story of Herm Hoops, a second-generation German-American, who dedicated his life to Desolation Canyon in the face of a life-threatening disease and a struggle against preserving one of the great treasures of the American West. Hoops enshrined himself in river legend as a tireless advocate and antagonist of the places he loved, returning to Desolation Canyon for the special beauty and wilderness qualities he found there. Decades of trips on the river were matched by decades of attending river management meetings, participating in the resource management process, writing letters, and raising hell on behalf of the canyons. At this event we will discuss how to ensure future generations and global citizens are afforded the splendor of these wild experiences, whilst being given the torch of responsibility to fight for these voiceless places.

Join us on a journey to stunning landscapes where we will discuss advocacy, resources, involvement, and policies affecting the fight for the protection of endangered natural resources. The speakers share their insights and experience on water advocacy, land conservation, and nature through the lens of healthy ecosystems that also nurture the mind, body, and soul. The dialogue will be moderated by Herm Hoops’ son, Hatteras, whose unique childhood experiences have motivated him to ensure his father’s passions of preservation and conservation are neither lost, nor forgotten.

With: Cody Perry, David Cernicek, Theresa Schiller
Moderated by: Hatteras Hoops

David Cernicek

David grew up on the rivers of the west and now lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming with his wife and daughter. He’s been rafting and kayaking rivers since 1982. While completing a master’s degree in natural resource management, David performed as a professional researcher investigating river user behavior. His specialties are river carrying capacity, crowding, and conflict issues. David has worked with the National Park Service’s River, Trails, and Conservation Assistance Program in Washington D.C. participating in national river conservation policy formulation in the Clinton White House. His river ranger experience spans rivers in California, New Mexico, North Carolina and Wyoming. His present work is as the Wild & Scenic Rivers Coordinator for 325 miles of thirteen streams within the Snake River Headwaters. David is on the Interagency Wild & Scenic Rivers Coordinating Council, a national collaborative that oversees national Wild & Scenic River management & education. David was awarded „River Manager of the Year“ for 2010 by River Management Society, and Gifford Pinchot Award, Interpreter & Conservation Educator of the Year, the Forest Service’s top national honor in 2008.

Cody M. Perry

Cody M. Perry is co-founder and filmmaker of Rig To Flip, a media company specializing in stories about the Colorado River Basin’s land, water and people. Cody has worked with non-profits, land and water agencies, outdoor brands, Tribes and western communities to create stories inspiring stewardship, awareness and engagement. Cody comes from a ranching family in southern Arizona and lives in Grand Junction, Colorado. He’s worked as an outdoor educator, a ski patroller, writer and community organizer. His passion is telling stories about the West.

Theresa Schiller

Theresa Schiller is a geographer and nature conservationist by conviction. With her passion for nature, she has worked for five years as coordinator of the Save the Blue Heart of Europe Campaign to preserve some of Europe’s last free-flowing rivers on the Balkan peninsula against devastating hydropower constructions. Today she is advocating for the protection of free-flowing rivers a global scale as Policy Advisor for International Water Resources at WWF Germany.
Theresa comes from Berlin, where she is again living today.

H. Hatteras A. Hoops

Hatteras was raised in the wilderness and rivers in the mountainous western and southwestern U.S. Hatteras lives and works in Stuttgart with his wife and two children, who serve as his motivation for his efforts towards the protection and preservation of our wildernesses. Hatteras has been rafting and kayaking rivers since he was six months old in Colorado, Montana, Wyoming, and extensively in Utah. Hatteras sees wild and scenic land as an American treasure, providing value to people from around the world. He has taken up the torch of increased policy and regulation prudence to continue the fight to protect wild and scenic lands as part of a larger global resource issue. Hatteras sees the solution as coming from the collective effort of the adventurist, recreational, resource conservation and climate communities.