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niversity President Bob Bruininks canoes on the St. Croix River after speaking at a ceremony commemorating the 40th anniversary of the national Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968.

The event was held at Wild River Outfitters in Grantsburg, Wis.

The law was passed in response to nationwide concern about dams being built and industrial pollution in rivers, according to chief of resource management for the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway, Kate Hanson said.

The law currently protects more than 11,000 miles of 165 rivers throughout the United States, with the intention of balancing development and environmental preservation.

“If you don’t take care of these rivers, somebody pays a price downstream,” Bruininks said.

Bruininks was accompanied by Provost Tom Sullivan, with whom he’s canoed for the past five summers, his wife Sue Hagstrum and Sullivan’s fiancée, Leslie Black.

Sullivan said the river is “a wonderful opportunity just to reflect and to think and let nature absorb all the beauty around into one self.”