Front Page News

Congratulations to Dan Kelly for winning the August pair of Smith Optics Sunglasses.  With generous support from Smith Optics and Small World Adventures, American Whitewater is hosting a fundraising and membership drive ending on October 1, 2008.

This year marks the 25^th anniversary of Gauley Fest. Started in 1983 to celebrate the derailment of a hydro-electric project that would have disrupted whitewater flows on the Gauley River, Gauley Fest has grown to become the largest river festival in the world, posting attendance numbers of over 5,000 people.

This year’s festival will feature live entertainment, a whitewater marketplace, lots of on river activities, and a silent auction where you can pick up some awesome outdoor gear. The Gauley River Festival is a critical fundraiser for American Whitewater and is our largest fundraising event. Come out and enjoy the fun!

Come out and support the American River Festival this weekend September 5th -7th.  Help raise awareness and for American Whitewater and other great local causes.  This event is guaranteed to be fun for the whole family.  Support for American Whitewater generated at this event will go to the Larry Berg California River Stewardship Fund.

American Whitewater would like to recognize Anne Connolly as our Volunteer of the Month. Anne was the mastermind behind the first annual Boater Chick Festival held on the Nantahala River at the Nantahala Outdoor Center in Wesser, NC May 17 - 18, 2008.

A report released yesterday by American Whitewater finds that the flows mandated for the Saranac River's High Falls Gorge will likely fail to restore basic ecological functions to the river.  The report critiques the mandated flows using an analytical tool developed by the Nature Conservancy that compares human caused changes in certain aspects of flows that are ecologically important.

As part of the Yuba/Bear relicensing, Fordyce Creek and Canyon Creek will be flowing at the end of August and in September.  Come out and enjoy the flows and help us gather information on these runs.

The Tonto and Coconino National Forests announced earlier this month that due to continuing demolition efforts on the Childs-Irving Hydroelectric facilities, a temporary closure of Fossil Springs and Fossil Creek on the Tonto and Coconino national forests is in effect from Monday, Aug. 18, 2008 through Saturday, Feb. 28, 2009 (unless teminated sooner.)

US Forest Service funding for many programs vital to Americans’ enjoyment of our National Forests is about to disappear as the agency re-allocates funding for those programs to its fire fighting budget. The Chief of the US Forest Service announced Friday that the agency has depleted its $1.18 billion fire suppression budget for fiscal year 2008, and has initiated a recall of $400 MM from agency programs throughout the nation.

Whitewater paddlers in Bruceton Mills, West Virginia have often used the parking lot behind the Little Sandy Church of the Nazarine to access Little Sandy Creek. This past summer Pastor Chad Harvey told me that parents in his congregation had asked for a fence to keep their youngsters from falling into the river. The church board approved construction, but because they wanted to continue the church's tradition of hospitality towards paddlers they also planned to build a gate. This will allow easy access to the river. American Whitewater wishes to thank Pastor Harvey and his congregation for their continued hospitality.

Friends of the Cheat, with the help of whitewater paddlers throughout the region, constructed a new parking area along the Big Sandy Creek in Rockville, West Virginia. This will provide secure public access to this popular whitewater run. The location is on river left, just upstream of the Rockville Bridge. There's space for over 30 cars here, and we hope that this will relieve congestion on busy spring weekends. The road from the bridge to the lot was also widened and greatly improved. Future plans include trails to several different spots along the shore.

Ladies of the Lower G returns to Gauley Fest!

Spend a day paddling with Anna Levesque on the Lower Gauley and raise money for AW! What's not to love?

If you haven't heard of the Ladies of the Lower G event it's an annual event that Anna Levesque of Girls at Play and North American River Runners

(NARR) put on around Gauely Fest. All the ladies who sign up spend the day boating down the Lower Gauley with Anna and others for the low, low price of just $40. This even includes "shuttles, a hot lunch catered by NARR, and after-paddling drinks..."

Volunteers are needed to Clean Up the Clackamas River at the 5th Annual "Down the River Clean Up" Sunday, September 7th 9:30 a.m at Barton Park.

This year’s Feather River Festival will occur at the September Feather Release.  Come on out and enjoy the festivities.

We are happy to announce that Friends of the Cheat won second place in the Redwood Creek Wine Greater Outdoors Project, winning $10,000.  The money will be used to secure land along the Big Sandy and place it in conservation easement.  The land will protect public access to the river as well as the river itself. We would like to thank the many paddlers that voted online in support of the project, Friends of the Cheat for writing a great proposal and taking the initiative on this great project, and of course Redwood Creek Wines for making public enjoyment and protection of awesome places a funding priority.

An alternative to Wild and Scenic River Management is currently being developed for the Upper Colorado River, that would allow water providers in Colorado to "capture" more water from the iconic western river, threatening fish and wildlife habitat, and the world class whitewater in Gore Canyon and Glenwood Canyon. American Whitewater is working to ensure that environmental and recreational flow needs are protected under the new management alternative.

Shuttle service is now available for the Big Bend run on the North Fork Feather River.  Lake Oroville is at its lowest level in years which is uncovering this run that is normally inundated by the Reservoir.  AW is looking for your feedback on this new shuttle service.

The health of the Tuolumne River is at risk from a San Francisco proposal to take significantly more water from the River. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is proposing to divert up to 25 million more gallons of water per day from the Tuolumne, enough to fill 1,000 swimming pools, every day.

Like many paddlers, American Whitewater yesterday submitted comments on the Forest Service's environmental assessment (EA) of recreation on the Chattooga River.  We would like to thank all the paddlers that filed comments in support of responsible management on the Chattooga.  As a community we have daylighted a national treasure being mismanaged by a small group of people for a small group of people.  AW remains committed to bringing responsible river management to the Chattooga on behalf of all backcountry recreationists.  

The United States Forest Service (USFS) has recently issued a draft rule for Colorado’s National Forests that weakens and removes existing protections for backcountry roadless areas. Starting Monday, August 18th in Pueblo, the USFS is hosting a series of Open Houses to discuss the proposed Rule and to hear your comments. American Whitewater has been working with our colleagues in the Outdoor Alliance to analyze the rule and we believe that the draft rule inadequately protects those remote areas with rugged terrain that provide the highest quality opportunities for human-powered recreation.

Take a drive out to the Lock 32 Whitewater Park in Pittsford, NY this weekend for two days of clinics and competition.

The schedule of events at Lockapalooza will feature boatercross, rodeo, whitewater clinics, plus a plastic slalom race. Not to mention plenty of opportunities for spectators to enjoy the show too.

Most importantly, there will be American Whitewater signup forms for you to fill out to join your favorite whitewater-enthusiast-supporting non-profit.

Enjoy some food off the grill or try out the tamer side of kayaking in flatwater kayak demos from Eastern Mountain Sports. Plus, when dark descends they'll be getting out the kayaking videos for some fun viewing.

Check out the website for all the latest information and enjoy the show!

Ever since first raising the issue of boating on the Upper Chattooga with the Forest Service in 1995 AW has repeatedly sought to establish a reasoned dialogue with the other stakeholder groups and reach a mutually acceptable agreement regarding boating on the upper Chattooga River.

This spring the Gauley River National Recreation Area acquired the Masons Branch and Woods Ferry access locations. Over the past few months American Whitewater has been working with the Gauley River National Recreation Area to insure that private boaters have continuing access at these critical take-out/put-in locations. Today the park issued an open letter to boaters outlining their plans to manage these access points.

Earlier this year in January, American Whitewater teamed up with Lunch Video Magazine and Teva to challenge AW's members to create a video that highlights their favorite American Whitewater project. Participants then took their final video and uploaded it to YouTube and sent a link to it to AW.

After the final submission deadline in June, AW's own staff voted on their favorite video and choose a submission by Eric Martin for his video on the Feather River.

American Whitewater is pleased to announce the winners of the 6th Annual Flowing Rivers Campaign with Clif Bar!

Congratulations to the AW Affiliate Clubs the Atlanta Whitewater Club and the Fairbanks Paddlers.

Back in March American Whitewater challenged all its Affiliate Clubs to submit proposals for two $1,250 grants for projects "that promote river stewardship, conservation, access and/or safety education on our nation’s rivers." Of the many responses we received, those of the Atlanta Whitewater Club and the Fairbanks Paddlers stood out.

On August 23, 2008 AW will be running Ohiopyle Falls during this one day event and festival.

Congratulations to Ryan Kerrigan for winning the July pair of Smith Optics Sunglasses.  With generous support from Smith Optics and Small World Adventures, American Whitewater is hosting a fundraising and membership drive ending on October 1, 2008.

As paddlers and stewards of America's whitewater resources we have much to be thankful for in 2007. Your support of American Whitewater enabled us to gain ground on significant issues facing our rivers both at a regional and national level.

Our regional river stewardship program, an integrated approach to the American Whitewater mission of conservation, access and safety, is performing at a very high level. Our stewardship team is racking up on-the-ground achievements while building internal capacity to more fully involve the paddling community. This Annual Report highlights the methods and achievements of our stewardship efforts.

Congratulations Steve Page! American Whitewater would like to recognize Steve as our August Volunteer of the Month. Steve is doing a summer internship at AW and has been involved with many different aspects of the organization.  He has worked with the Stewardship team, festival coordinators, and basically everyone that sustains AW as the premiere whitewater advocacy organization.

Colorado- While the US Army Corps of Engineers is drafting the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the enlargement of Gross Reservoir in Boulder County, Colorado, Denver Water is taking comments on their proposed changes to the reservoir's FERC license, including tree removal, relocating recreation facilities, and hydropower generation.

Comments on the FERC License amendment associated with Gross Reservoir Enlargement Project are due September 29th, 2008.

Potomac Fest 2008

This July was once again the host to the popular Potomac River Festival just outside of our nation’s capitol in Washington, DC. Less than 14 miles from the White House, this section of the Potomac saw three days of competition including freestyle, surfing, downriver racing of the Class V+ falls, and a community paddle with awards for best costume and oldest boat.

Deerfield Fest 2008

Combined mountain biking and downriver race? Raft Guide Olympics for pride and prizes? (raft photo on full page article) Vendors, food, drinks, live music, three days of river releases and whitewater enthusiasts all in one place? It can only mean one thing: Deerfield Fest.

The US Army Corps of Engineers has announced a 45-day extension of the comment period to the pending Section 404 Permit application and Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP). The new expiration date for the comment period is September 13, 2008. 

The July/August issue of the AW journal is now online for AW members to enjoy.  This issue includes AW’s 2007 Annual Report.  The July/August issue of whitewater's longest running publication is also full of great updates on AW's river stewardship work – the Wild Sky Wilderness Act and Canyon Creek (WA), Susquehanna River Settlement Reached (PA), Mongaup River (NY), Bear River and Lolo Creek (ID), Tuckasegee River (NC), Colorado report, McCloud River and Yuba/Bear (CA), as well as, Andria Davis’ article on Yoga for Paddlers, and Matt Young’s article on High Intensity Training for Paddlers.

Removal of the Dillsboro Dam is one step closer. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued more approvals connected with Duke’s plans to remove the Dam on the Tuckaseegee River in western North Carolina.

Congratulations to Jeffrey Hatcher for winning the June pair of Smith Optics Sunglasses.  With generous support from Smith Optics and Small World Adventures, American Whitewater is hosting a fundraising and membership drive ending on October 1, 2008.

American Whitewater would like to recognize Sue and Dave Wester as our Volunteers of the Month. For many years Sue and Dave have been steadfast volunteers at both Sky Fest and Wenatchee Fest. 

While many volunteers have made these successful events, Sue and Dave have played key roles on organizing the behind the scenes details for each of these events. They have organized the raffles and auctions that have been the primary fundraisers at these events raising over $60k for AW's stewardship efforts in the PNW. In fact these efforts have been instrumental in building AW's regional program.

A big thank you to both Sue (who turns away from the camera) and Dave! As Volunteers of the Month, they will each receive an Outer Core shirt from Kokatat.

American Whitewater is studying instream flows that sustain the recreational opportunities of the Upper Colorado River. The survey of flow prefrences for commercial rafting opperations on the Upper Colorado River is intended to compliment the 2007 survey of private boater flow preferences for the Colorado River, reaching from Kremmling to Glenwood Springs. Please share the news of this survey with commercial rafters.

Today the United States Forest Service released their new proposal for management of the upper Chattooga River, and an environmental assessment of their alternatives.  There will be a 30 day public comment period.  The USFS proposes to essentially maintain their ban on boating while allowing other uses unlimited access - again without any basis whatsoever. 

In efforts to further the access of great whitewater in Garrett County, the Adventure Sports Center International (ASCI) (with the help of many local organizations and businesses), is excited to help facilitate the 2008 Savage River Releases. The Savage River Release scheduled for Sunday, July 6 is ON Time: 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Volume: 1000 CFS. Read on, then come out and enjoy this very beautiful, very continuous class III+ Creek!

Friends of the Cheat wants to purchase an outstanding piece of riverfront along West Virginia’s Big Sandy, one of the state's most oustanding whitewater rivers. The Redwood Creek Wines “Greater Outdoors Project” is offering a $50,000 competitive grant. Friends of Cheat applied and finished in the top 5 out of 100. We need your help! On June 15th a description of the project and a photo will be posted on RedwoodCreek.com. You can vote every day through July 31st. Bookmark the site and go there daily when you check weather and river levels. Vote early and often for the Big Sandy Project. The direct link for voting is: http://www.redwoodcreek.com/greatoutdoors/voting.asp

The District Engineer from the US Army Corps of Engineers has scheduled an additional THIRD public hearing to be held in conjunction with the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Northern Integrated Supply Project.The public hearing will be held MONDAY, JUNE 16th in Fort Collins, Colorado at 425 West Prospect Road. The open house will start at 4:00 pm, hearing to begin at 6:00 pm.

American Whitewater recently received a grant which provides an opportunity to explore the reintroduction of rivercane to the Cheoah River.  This grant was provided by Revitalization of Traditional Cherokee Artisan Resources which is a Cherokee Preservation Foundation program ultimately funded by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian.  Rivercane is on the decline in the southeast due to development and agriculture.

The paddling season is cranking up across the country, and AW would like to remind paddlers to respectfully share the road, the river, and public access areas.  We have received several reports of overly enthusiastic driving threatening river access.  Take it easy out there, and check out AW's recommendations for how to stay in the good graces of the folks living near the rivers we paddle.  

Congratulations to Susan and Robert Glanville for winning the May pair of Smith Optics Sunglasses.  With generous support from Smith Optics and Small World Adventures, American Whitewater is hosting a fundraising and membership drive ending on October 1, 2008.

American Whitewater would like to recognize Michael Crane and the consulting firm Crane Associates of Burlington, Vermont as our June Volunteer of the Month presented by Kokatat.

The National Park Service is purchasing property from two West Virginia landowners to improve public access to the Gauley River.  The sites, located at Woods Ferry and Mason Branch, are established put-in and take-out sites for boaters, kayakers, canoeists and rafters along the river between the public put-in at the Summersville Dam and the take-out at Swiss, almost 26 miles downstream.

The Bear River will see flows this weekend as part of the relicensing flow studies for the Yuba/ Bear River Project.  Come out and boat the release, fill out an online survey and let us know what you think of the run.

Releases have lowered to approximately 800 cfs as of Tuesday and will continue between 800 to 1000 cfs through next weekend.  Next forecast data expected shortly after May 1, 2008 and may reflect recent high winds and lack of new precipitation leading to lower releases.  Flows may rise in May, but keep reviewing updates.  The most current flows are available at Department of Water Resources site, Dolores gage below McPhee. http://www.dwr.state.co.us.  For proposed spills in May and June 

American Whitewater has reached an aggreement with Sportsman's Paradise, granting paddlers access to Wildcat Canyon. Historically, the act of floating through club property to access Wildcat Canyon has resulted in harassment by landowners, physical assault on paddlers and criminal prosecution. The new agreement secures permission for paddlers to enter and cross club property via vehicle, in order to access public lands to the north of Sportsman's Paradise property. The agreement will undergo a trial run this season, with the goal of formalizing the arrangement for 2009; ensuring many years of fantastic paddling through Wildcat Canyon.

American Whitewater would like to recognize Randy Thompson from Down River Equipment, as our Volunteer of the Month.  Working with Mark Cohen of Keen Foortwear, and Jon Kahn of Confluence Kayaks, these guys put in countless hours planning and coordinating the South Platte River Clean-up in Denver, Colorado. This years event was attended by over 180 volunteers who helped remove 4000 pounds of debris and trash from the urban river corridor.

Colorado - The Dolores Water Conservancy District has announced it's release schedule from McPhee Reservoir, promising flows at or above 3000 cfs in May. Release estimates are approximate and updates will be made available based on emerging weather conditions, in-flow rates and reservoir levels.

Recently the Administration has initiated a national rulemaking that will decide the fate of 9.3 million acres of backcountry areas in Idaho's national forests—representing the core of the last intact forest ecosystem in the lower 48 states and some of our nation's most spectacular backcountry paddling destinations. Watch the video and learn what you can do today to help protect these areas.

Ron Stewart paddled his last river on March 22nd at his home on the campus of Baylor School in Chattanooga, TN. Along the way he inspired generations and played an instrumental role in securing releases on the Tallulah River.

Using data from the USFS we have published a Google Earth layer of eligible Wild and Scenic Rivers. We encourage paddlers to use this map, which can be displayed with our whitewater database in Google Earth, to learn more about their local run and agency management priorities.