volunteerlinks

Gauley Fest is American Whitewater’s biggest fundraising event and the largest boater festival in the world. This year’s event was another great success raising a significant amount of money for AW’s river stewardship work.

American Whitewater is proud to announce the two Affiliate Club recipients of the 2010 Clif Bar Flowing Rivers Campaign: The Greater Baltimore Canoe Club and the University of Idaho Recreational Student Organization! Each club will receive a $1,250 grant to go towards their respective projects.

Each year, American Whitewater and its staff of just 8 puts on the world's biggest whitewater festival, and AW's biggest fundraiser, the American Whitewater Gauley Fest! However, we couldn't do it without out the help of over 250(!) volunteers each year. Please take a few seconds and sign up to volunteer via our simple, online form. Thanks!

Over the past few months Gresham Municipal Utilities has been gearing up to relicense their hydroelectric projects on the Red River. As paddlers know operation of the Weed Dam impacts flows on the Red River.  American Whitewater can provide technical assistance on the project but we are seeking a local volunteer or group of volunteers willing to invest some time in this process over the next few years.

• Thursday, Friday, and Saturday: $25
• Friday and Saturday: $20
• Saturday only: $15

• Friday 8 pm: No more vehicle access to the inner festival area
• Saturday 2 pm: No more vehicle access to the inner festival area

American Whitewater would like to recognize Risa Shimoda as our August Volunteer of the Month. Risa is, amongst many other things, the chief coordinator behind Potomac Fest in VA/MD. Potomac Fest is the third largest whitewater event that AW attends (behind our own Deerfield Fest and Gauley Fest) which raised nearly $10,000 for AW in 2009. Risa has also recently been inducted into the Whitewater Hall of Fame for her long history of river advocacy work throughout the US. Please join us in saying thanks to Risa!

If you live in the Northeast, chances are you've been to Deerfield Fest lots of times without even realizing how much work goes into putting it on. Every year we're short on volunteers, we need your help to put on this critical AW fundraiser! If you are interested in volunteering for the Deerfield River Fest, head on over to the Deerfield Fest Volunteer Page for full details and sign up.

You have until July 23rd, 2010 to submit your photos for the American Whitewater 2011 Calendar!

If your photo is chosen, you'll get a free copy of the calendar. Plus, you'll know you helped support AW's river stewardship projects as we sell these calendars as a fundraiser. Finally, we'll also consider your photos for the 2010 Photo and Story contest in the AW Journal. Thanks!

Recently, American Whitewater teamed up with the good folks at Riverlink, the Nantahala Outdoor Center and a bunch of super volunteers to do a cleanup on the French Broad River in North Carolina. Heavy winter flows had unfortunately pushed a large amount of trash into the river. By the end of the day, the cleanup crew had picked up over 30 bags of trash, 15 tires and even two large sections of plastic drainage tubing.

American Whitewater is pleased to announce our May 2010 Volunteers of the Month: Chris Donochod, Justyn Thompson, Mark Mickey, Matt Kern, and Sid Border. These five folks are the chief organizers behind French Broad River Fest in North Carolina each year. This event has been going on for over a decade and has grown from 300 people to 2,500. Each incarnation of FBRF since the first has had a focus on on the local French Broad river and also on river stewardship. The event also donates a large portion of its proceeds to American Whitewater, donating $5,000 in 2009 alone.

American Whitewater would like to recognize Brian Jacobson as our April Volunteer of the Month. Brian has been an integral part of the AW volunteer team working towards resolving the mismanagement of the Upper Chattooga River in the Southeast. His on-the-ground knowledge has proven invaluable as we analyze access proposals from the USFS. Brian is a pleasure to work with, and we are happy to recognize him as our April Volunteer of the Month.

On Monday, March 29, 2010, American Whitewater joined a diverse group of stakeholders in signing and submitting two inter-related settlement agreements that call for the continued operation of Boundary Dam on the Pend Oreille River, enhanced operation of Sullivan Dam on the natural Sullivan Lake, and the removal of Mill Pond Dam on Sullivan Creek.  The agreements are the culmination of over three years of consistent efforts to resolve issues related to the surrender of the Sullivan Project, located in northeastern Washington. 

Each year, past American Whitewater Volunteer of the Month Bob Focht rounds up volunteers to assist at the whitewater releases on the Tallulah River (GA). This year, he needs your help. Please considering signing up to help out!

Here's a quick update from the Jackson Hole Kayak Club, one of the winners of the 2009 Clif Bar Flowing Rivers Campaign. With the help of additional funds from Clif Bar and American Whitewater, they were able to finish their installation of a set of stairs to access a section of the Snake River (WY) near the Kings Wave Rapid. 

American Whitewater would like to recognize Theresa Simsiman as our February Volunteer of the Month! In recognition of her efforts Theresa will be receiving an OuterCore Long-Sleeve Shirt from Kokatat!

It was with great pride and enthusiasm that American Whitewater announced Bill Cross as our 2009 River Steward of the Year. The reward for his tireless work was much more than just good river karma however, it was a brand new kayak of his choice donated by Jackson Kayaks! Bill sent this thank you note over to the folks at Jackson Kayaks and we wanted to share it here with everyone. Thanks for all your hard work Bill!

American Whitewater would like to recognize Michelle "Mac" Miller as our October Volunteer of the Month. Mac was an outstanding volunteer at this year's Gauley Fest volunteering a ton of time to help us put on the event. She was tireless in her efforts and always met every challenge with a friendly smile and remarkable determination. Thanks Mac!

American Whitewater is pleased to announce Bill Cross as our 2009 River Steward of the Year. American Whitewater annually awards this honor to a single volunteer who has shown exceptional dedication to our river stewardship mission, and who has recently reached a major milestone in their efforts. In addition to our appreciation the AW River Steward of the Year Award comes with a Jackson kayak.

Another year, another awesome American Whitewater Gauley Fest presented by Subaru! Gauley Fest is of major importance to AW as it's our biggest fundraising event. All the funds raised at this national level event go back to funding AW's River Stewardship work all over the United States. A huge thanks goes out to all our volunteers that helped out, people who attended and vendors that setup!

American Whitewater would like to recognize Bob Taylor as our September volunteer of the month. Bob has been a major volunteer dedicating hundreds of hours over the years to Deerfield Fest benefiting AW. He's worked tirelessly with all aspects of the festival from electrical, field setup, booth work and cleanup. Moreover, Bob is well known in the local paddling community as an excellent boater who's always willing to help teach beginning boaters the ropes. On top of all that, Bob's just a really cool guy. Thanks Bob!

Everyone loves to attend the world's biggest paddling festival: the American Whitewater Gauley Fest presented by Subaru. However, what most people don't realize is that outside AW's 8 full-time employees, it's a completely volunteer run event! AW sure could use your help. Please sign up for 2 hours (or more) and become a part of the Gauley Fest Volunteer Team!

The Tallulah releases will be held this fall on the following dates:  November 7-8, 14-15, 21-22.  Approximately thirty volunteers are needed each weekend.

The Wenatchee River Festival will take place once again on the second weekend in June with the main festivities on Saturday June 13. The festival will be at Riverside Park in Cashmere.

We are excited to announce the 3rd annual South Platte River Cleanup on Sunday, April 26th in celebration of Earth Day in Denver, Colorado. This is an all volunteer event to pick up trash along the South Platte River and Bike Paths.

Last year, we saw over 200 rafters, kayakers, cyclists and pedestrians that successfully removed over 2 TONS of garbage from the river and bike path. This year we anticipate an even larger turnout. We have even more sponsors and prizes. This is a great way to give back to your community and take care of the river and bike path that wind through Denver.

Last week at the Gauley River Festival, American Whitewater announced that Charlie Vincent was named the 2008 River Steward of the Year.  American Whitewater annually awards this honor to a single volunteer who has shown exceptional dedication to our river stewardship mission, and who has recently reached a major milestone in their efforts.  Charlie's decade of volunteer work on Idaho's Bear River successfully restored water to the river's Black Canyon this year. 

An alternative to Wild and Scenic River Management is currently being developed for the Upper Colorado River, that would provide water for growing populations in Colorado, while permanently protecting the iconic river's threatened fish and wildlife habitat, riparian systems, and the world class whitewater from Gore Canyon to Glenwood Canyon. American Whitewater is working to ensure that environmental and recreational flow needs are protected under the new management alternative.

Colorado- The communities of Gunnison and Crested Butte in the upper Gunnison River basin, will showcase hundreds of miles of scenic waterways and rugged recreation during the Gunnison River Festival and River Awareness Week. The schedule of events promises to deliver plenty of river fun and learning from August 14th-18th, 2008.

Lewis County PUD will be opening the gate to the Cispus River take-out on selected dates this spring and paddlers are encouraged to come take advantage of the opportunity to gain easy access to this run.