Katelyn Scott was walking along the Centennial Trail in Spokane Valley on Saturday morning when she noticed something odd – a blue heron, with a fish in its mouth, was stalking a shallow, rocky pond for more fish.

But the buffet-style puddle the heron was fishing from is not a pond. It’s typically a vast, flowing river with a strong current that trout use to mask themselves from predators such as ospreys and herons.

Scott, the Water Protector for the Spokane Riverkeeper, said she floated down that same part of the river between Barker and Sullivan roads in a 10-foot raft back in June.

“There’s absolutely no way I could get my raft down that section right now,” Scott said. “I couldn’t even get a kayak or a paddle board, or a rubber duck in some sections.”

Because of a multitude of facto

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