Project 3,100 won an Emmy in the Northwest Regional Emmy Awards for long form content on a series featuring Idaho rivers and the guides and outfitters that take people down them.
The 3,100 was named for the number of miles of whitewater in the Gem State and visit Idaho put together a five-piece series on the Salmon River, the Snake River through Hells Canyon, the Bruneau River, the Lochsa, and the Payette River system.
WATCH| Check out the video to see some epic shots of Idaho rivers
"It’s really incredible to have that opportunity to build a project that is an Emmy award-winning project," said Andre Womack of Visit Idaho. "It really just showcases how incredible our whitewater rivers are in Idaho and how well of a story we were able to craft around that narrative."
We just got another example of how special rivers in Idaho are as the best kayakers came from all over the world to compete in the North Fork Championship. Sage Donnelly won the crown as the queen of the North Fork and she was profiled in the piece on the Payette River as an elite kayaker who runs the North Fork and guides with Cascade Raft and Kayak.
"The guides are such an important part of all of the trips," said Kenneth Long with Cascade Raft and Kayak. "They are so passionate, so excited and so fired up to get on the river every day and to see that from your couch is really amazing."
Each episode has received more than one million views, as the series has more than 450,000 minutes watched. Long tells us the series has helped business on the Payette River.
"It’s blown away all expectations of just how popular and how engaged people are with that process," said Long. "People are absolutely seeing the series and saying, 'Wow, I could do this.'"
Womack had a blast being part of the project and he told the 3,100 series should have taken three years to complete instead of seven months. It's an amazing accomplishment considering the logistics, permits, shuttles and everything needed to get the footage and tell the stories of all these different rivers.
"A lot of these rivers are wild and scenic, they are protected," said Womaack. "It is very difficult to get permits to raft them, to film on them and luckily everyone we spoke to through that process believed in our mission of sharing the stories and the impact these rivers have on our community."
Fisher Creative, a production company based out of Victor, Idaho, filmed the series for Visit Idaho. If you are interested in checking it out you can do so on YouTube.
