The great whitewater rafting debates I’ve been involved with generally center on which guy is responsible for carrying the cooler down the bank and to the canoe. (Inevitably, it also involves a debate about who is then responsible for jumping into the river to save the cooler — and possibly the guy.) But Lawrence may be gearing up for a different type of whitewater rafting debate.

If you remember, city and county officials in December were briefed on an ambitious proposal to build a man-made whitewater rafting course in a portion of Clinton Lake State Park. Leaders of the North Carolina-based U.S. National Whitewater Center made the proposal for the approximately $70 million project, but it was unclear how the project would get paid for. The North Carolina group, which operates a similar facility in Charlotte, has been upfront that it would need significant taxpayer help to make the project work.

Since December, there hasn’t been much news about the idea. But that doesn’t mean that leaders have given up on it. Instead, the group is entering a new phase. Now that the idea is public, the development group is seeking to build support with the public because it acknowledges that the idea hasn’t exactly taken off with Lawrence residents.

Jeff Wise, CEO of the U.S. National Whitewater Center, is spending about one week a month in Lawrence talking to community members and getting a better lay of the land. I chatted with him last week. Wise told me he has been a long-time whitewater rafting enthusiast. He previously was an attorney, but decided to focus his efforts on the whitewater cause after he realized being a litigator wasn’t as much fun as it looked on TV. We chatted about several issues, but the issue of how the development fit in environmentally was a big one.

Wise knows that his group still has some work to do to convince area residents that the project won’t sully the largely natural areas of Clinton Lake State Park. As a reminder, the project envisions the man-made whitewater course, zip lines, outdoor amphitheater, restaurant, beer garden and a conference center.

Wise anticipates that type of development will require a footprint of 30 to 40 acres. If you read some of the literature produced by the group, it comes off sounding like the project is closer to 1,500 acres. That is basically the entire size of Clinton Lake State Park. But Wise assured me the group is not thinking about 1,500 acres of development.

“Thirty to 40 acres is the footprint for development,” Wise said. “We don’t believe the rest of it should be developed. We think it should be open for people to get out and play. We want trails on it, and that is it.”

Water issues also have been raised. Wise told me that none of the water from Clinton Lake will be used to feed the whitewater course. He said a mix of municipal or rural water district water and well water is envisioned to keep the course fed. He also said none of the water from the course will drain back into the lake either. The main water issues, he said, will be traditional stormwater management issues, such as ensuring that runoff from parking lots and such are captured by stormwater detention areas instead of flowing into the lake.

Wise said the best proof of that is the whitewater center in Charlotte. It has about 80 acres of development, i.e. buildings, parking lots and other such items. But surrounding that development is open land. Not only is it open now, but Wise said the whitewater center has put “several hundred acres” of the surrounding property into conservation easements that ensure it will not be developed.

The one thing that is allowed to be developed is trails. He said the number of trails has grown from 9 miles to 35 miles, and the plan is to get to 50 miles of trails on the property in the near future. The trails are free for the public to use, although people who want to park nearby have to pay the $5 parking fee or buy a $40 annual parking pass.

If the project is built and meets Wise’s projections, it would bring about 700,000 people a year to the state park area. That alone makes some environmentalists nervous. But not Wise.

“By bringing more people out to the property, we’re creating the odds that more people will fall in love with the property,” Wise said. “Long term, that will be a good thing for the property.”

He also clearly thinks the project will be a good thing for the community as a whole. I think state officials believe so too. It became clear to me while talking to Wise that state officials with the Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism approached Wise about doing this project, rather than the other way around. Both Wise, and I believe, state officials think the whitewater project could be part of larger strategy to begin changing the image of Kansas.

Outdoor living and recreation is becoming a more prominent way to attract population. Kansas doesn’t have mountains or an ocean, so it may need to get more creative in how it keeps up with that trend.

“I’m blown away by what Lawrence is already doing,” Wise said. “Lawrence is in a great position to achieve a larger status in Kansas and the U.S. as a compelling place to be.”

Is whitewater rafting the vehicle to get us there?

The answer may lie in the money part of this equation. Wise and I talked about that too. More on that in tomorrow’s Town Talk.