By Odin Rasco
As the sun beats down and the temperature rises, locals and tourists alike are eager for opportunities to cool off while enjoying the region’s scenic waterways through boats, kayaks or swimming in the sunlight. That’s where the Feather River Center nonprofit comes in. For the past seven years, it’s operated the Forebay Aquatic Center at the Thermalito Forebay North State Recreation Area on Lake Oroville.
The center is one of the largest facilities of its kind in northern California and the only one for close to hundred miles in any direction. It works to serve crowds every year with a wide range of services and aquatic activities, including equipment rentals, youth summer camps, school field trips and multiple classes and tours.
“We are a community-based nonprofit trying to spread environmental education and love of the water,” explained Brad Cooke, Executive Director of the Feather River Center.
Operation of the aquatic center has changed hands in the past, with Chico State Associated Students opting to axe the program after five years at the helm in 2011: That was due to budgetary concerns, according to a report from the Marin Independent Journal. Ultimately, a group of different organizations that include the Butte County Sailing Club and Table Mountain Rowing club decided to pool their efforts so they could spearhead operations.
“We had all these very long-term 20-plus years organizations that had used the center and had programs out there,” Cooke recalled. “So, we just put it all under one umbrella and said, we need to form a more powerful, single non-profit to benefit the public in our clubs and in our programs, and provide recreation for the north state.”
Feather River Center has worked since its inception to grow the list of services and activities available at the aquatic center, with a focus on providing educational opportunities for local schoolchildren. It has become a popular field trip destination for kids from Butte and five neighboring counties in recent years, with 4,800 students visiting last year on day field trips, and around 300 more participating in the week-long summer camps offered through the summer.
“Three hundred might not sound like a lot, but it’s just about as many as we could possibly squeeze in,” Cooke explained.
Many activities offered at the center are a hit for adults, too, with visitors often coming from as far away as Oregon or the Bay Area. The center offers river tours and late-night Full Moon Paddles, as well as boasting a dragon boat for team-building and special events. All of this has made the center idea for a growing sailing instruction program.
Considering the Cooke is the center’s sole full-time employee, supported by the efforts of around 24 other workers, locals tend to find the array of services provided impressive. To put those numbers in perspective, the Sacramento State Aquatic Center on Lake Natoma has a staff of 20 or more full-time and 100 part-time employees during its peak season.
One of the most popular activities offered by the Feather River Center involves salmon tours, which give participants the opportunity to paddle alongside the Chinook Salmon making their way up the Sacramento and Feather rivers as they go to spawn.
“People really get introduced to the salmon and they get to learn about them and their life cycle, and that’s like that’s such a cool thing that we have going on like right here in our local river,” said Rachel McMillan, who works at the aquatic center.
Though Cooke is proud of the work his team has accomplished so far, he admits the years it has been operating the aquatic center haven’t all been smooth sailing. Operations have been repeatedly interrupted by situations beyond their control, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the dam break in 2021 and multiple wildfires throughout the years. The aquatic center is used by firefighting agencies as a staging area for efforts against wildfires in northern California, meaning temporary closures are an all-too frequent reality.
“All those factors, as well as the economy, have really made it difficult in the last seven years,” Cooke acknowledged. “There were times when we had to scale things back and almost had to shut down. The seasonal and recreational components of how we operate makes for a very challenging business to run in a county that’s been hit super hard by disaster after disaster, really. One season, we were all ready and we hired everybody and next thing I know we’re closed for like three or four weekends because of fire camps.”
Though this Butte County nonprofit has faced its fair share of challenges, one guru in the world of California aquatic centers remains hopeful for Feather River forebay’s future: That’s Sacramento State Aquatic Center’s Director, Brian Dulgar, who’s worked in the field for decades. Dulgar’s expertise led to him serving as a consultant when Chico State first tried to get the Forebay Aquatic Center off the ground.
“I quite honestly think that location, that lake, it’s a jewel,” Dulgar observed. “I think it just hasn’t had a chance to grow yet. I think they’re just hit with bad timing, because I really think that’s a prime location and, with patience and some seed money, that you could build something identical to what we have here.”
As fears of a recession continue to mount and grant sources begin to dry up (Cooke and Dulgar have both noted a dip in federal funds this year), the Feather River Center continues to look for ways to raise funds to supplement help from the City of Oroville, the Audubon Society and individual donors. Cooke welcomes help from community members in any capacity, from spreading the word about the center or donating money to provide scholarships for students who may not be able to afford costs of the school field trip.
“We welcome anybody,” Cooke noted. “We welcome on-the-ground help. We welcome money help. We welcome donating equipment and buildings and whatever people want. One of the biggest things that someone or an organization can do is give youth scholarships for summer camp or field trips.”
The Forebay Aquatic Center is located at 930 Garden Drive at Hwy. 70 in Oroville, and is open for public rentals this summer Fridays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturdays and Sundays 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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