As far as flows from the Flannagan Dam during the 80s I remember Dale's comment about that from our film "Autumn Run" when he said;

"So the dam master asked me how much water did I want? And I replied, 'How much have you got?' ".

barryg

Hi guys,

I've been busy all day so I'm responding late. First I want to reinforce what others have said about your efforts and dedication to this cause. You deserve massive kudos.

Historically, this is what I know. In 1987 and 1988 USA Raft was exploring the possibility of commercial trips on the fork, running experimental raft trips with guides only. Other rafting companies were also checking it out but no one was running regular trips there. The levels were high and the river was crowded. As I remember (and I may be wrong) we got either one or two release weekends in 1988, possibly because of the massive drought of that year. I thought that we only had one, possibly two releases the year before, but it could be that I am only thinking about the weekends that didn't overlap Gauley.

USA Raft started running commercial trips in 1989. Other rafting companies began running around that time too, including Cherokee Adventures, Wahoo's, and a couple others. Rafting blossomed briefly there in the next few years.

A hundred rafts? Never on the busiest single weekend. Not even close. I can see how you might get that impression though, since a lot of the rafts were not the small rafts that you typically saw on the Upper Yough, but mid-sized 14 foot rafts with four customers and a guide. Also, they didn't just cruise down the river, they hung out all over it drawing the trip out as long as possible to try to justify the cost of the trip. A relatively small number of rafts in that situation really made their presence felt.

The Russell Fork Gorge was never a very commercially lucrative river. A very short season, two day weekends (instead of four like the Gauley), the need to heavily screen customers, and a limited customer appeal (short run with no big raft-engulfing waves like on the Gauley, a technical rafting run requiring finesse to accomplish and a refined rafting palate to appreciate) all combined to severely limit the profitability of the river. Even when charging $200 a person, the cost of moving all the trappings of a rafting company to the Breaks, setting up for a weekend and breaking down ate it right up. The biggest trip USA raft ever had was 12 customers and they pulled out by 1994.

I do remember the water getting cut back to 800, but I'm not sure exactly when that happened. 1990, 91, or 92? I do know that Chad Campbell died in Maze in 1993.

Most commercial rafting interests have backed out of the RF gorge and I don't think they're likely to come back. The liability is too great for the meager profits. An industrious company could make it running guide-escorted trips and rentals on the upper and lower, but the Gorge is generally more trouble than it's worth from a commercial standpoint. Don't underestimate the Upper and Lower though. The location isn't as good as the Nantahala, but with the right marketing and regular releases you could make a killing there. (Rentals and guide-escorted trips mean very high guide to guest ratios, so much bigger profits).

Hanley

Really big thanks to you guys! I think the key will be keep the communication channels open as much as possible. I'm not surprised they want to study this more ... it's there way. What seems simple to us, is amazingly complex to a beauracrat! As soon as we can agree on a course of action, then AW should get very deeply involved and initiate a letter writing campaign as was done for the Chattooga headwaters so these guys know there's a lot of us, and we're not going away. Of course pestering our senators / reps will go along with that movement. As many have said, a lot of boaters in our region don't realize that there's a lot more to the RF than the Gorge ... the upper and lower ... not even considering the proposed whitewater park ... will certainly be of interest to a much larger group then just the gorge runners.

1350? I'm really glad that's not the current Fall release level ... if it were, I'd probably be dead!
Wes