TUPPER LAKE - The Raquette River is the Rodney Dangerfield of New York rivers - it doesn't get any respect.

That's what Jim Murphy likes to say. As economic developer for the village of Potsdam, Murphy is involved in the Raquette River Blueway Corridor Committee.

The committee is trying to develop an appreciation for and clean up the river, so next week it will initiate Raquette River Awareness Week, which will consist of a series of events over the span of the river.

The 174-mile river is the second longest in New York and winds north from its origin in Blue Mountain Lake through Raquette Lake, Long Lake, Tupper Lake and Piercefield, all the way to Akwasasne, where it drains into the St. Lawrence River.

The Raquette River Blueway Corridor Committee is working with local groups to organize the coordinated series of events which run from Aug. 1 to 9 and range from cleanups to history presentations, with plenty of paddling mixed in.

In Tupper Lake, licensed guide Mike Prescott will lead two cleanups/paddles: On Thursday, Aug. 6, paddlers will clean from Axton Landing to the Crusher, the boat launch on state routes 3 and 30, and on Friday, Aug. 7 from the Crusher to Setting Pole Dam. People should contact Prescott in advance if they are interested in helping out.

After paddling the length of the Raquette in 2006, Prescott created a PowerPoint presentation on the history of the river that he will present Aug. 6 at the Goff-Nelson Memorial Library. There will also be presentations dealing with invasive species and Adirondack ecology at The Wild Center on Wednesday and Thursday.

Prescott, whom Murphy called the "Pied Piper of the Raquette River," said the river has something for everyone, including canoers, kayakers, fishermen, hikers and birdwatchers.

He agrees with Murphy that the river is underappreciated. He notes that many of the lakes along the river would not exist, or at least be as big, without the river. He said he got in trouble recently with someone from the Long Lake Association because he told them that Long Lake is just a wide part of the Raquette River.

Highlighting the importance of the river to its communities, the committee is trying to develop a marketing campaign that would brand the river and the municipalities along it as a single entity - like the Thousand Islands or the Finger Lakes.

"The idea here is not only to enhance locally ... but to connect it all and extend it down the river so we can market it in the future like the major tourist destination that it should be," Murphy said.

The committee's work was initiated several years ago by Jon Kopp, then-president of the Tupper Lake Chamber of Commerce, and the town of Colton, Murphy said. Under the direction of current director Marti Mozdzier, the chamber remains an integral part of the effort.

Murphy said the effort to draw more attention to the river is something that both environmentalists and business people can support. Environmentalists can support it because the river is being cleaned and because paddling is an environmentally friendly means of transport and recreation, while businesses have an interest in building up a new base for tourism in the region.

Murphy said he hopes the Raquette River Awareness Week will turn into an annual event.

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For more information, call Mike Prescott at 494-9633, Jim Murphy at 315-265-1670 or Louise Bixby at 315-262-2130.

For detailed event information, go to www.racquetteriver.org.

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Contact Jessica Collier at (518) 891-2600 ext. 25 or jcollier@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.