Stewardship News

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.

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.

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.)

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.

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.

North Carolina's Division of Parks and Recreation is conducting a survey of paddlers to help them assess citizen's access needs and opinions on how river access initiatives should be funded and accomplished.  The survey only takes a few minutes and if you paddle in NC, we encourage you to participate.  Whitewater paddlers' participation in the study will help provide vital information about recreational needs on whitewater rivers.

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.

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.

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.

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.

West Rosebud Creek will get a bump in flows this weekend (August 2nd and 3rd) that will bring the Class III-IV+ (V) creek into its optimal paddling range.  These flows are designed to replace similar flows eliminated by the normal dam operations.  American Whitewater has been working with the Beartooth Paddlers, the power company, and agencies for the past several years to negotiate and test this program. 

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. 

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.

American Whitewater recently submitted testimony to the Water and Power Subcommittee, Committee on Natural Resources, U.S. House of Representatives for their Oversight Hearing on Hydropower.

On June 23rd, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the The Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act (H.R. 2452). We are now one step closer to getting the information we need when there’s a sewer spill that could affect public health, an issue of particular concern to whitewater paddlers who are in direct contact with the water every time we get on a river.

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. 

Earlier this month, the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) sent a letter asking the New York Department of Environmental Conservation to prohibit boating on the Mongaup River, except on scheduled boating release days. It is extremely unlikely that the DEC would take such an action, but AW and KCCNY will be responding just in case. 

The USFS has announced another 6-month delay in deciding on a new plan for managing recreation on the Wild and Scenic upper Chattooga River.  The announcement came in a certified letter to AW, in response to a letter AW sent the Chief of the USFS requesting an update and swift equitable resolution of this protracted issue.

Oregon's Department of State Land issued a final ruling and determined that the Rogue River from RM 68.5 to 157.5 (Grave Creek to Lost Creek Dam) is indeed navigable. The finding confirms that the state is the owner of the river bed, and the public has the right to use the river.

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.  

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.

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.

Today Congressmen Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) announced their plan for increasing Wild and Scenic Rivers in Oregon this year. Their vision includes adding 79.6 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers on the Mt. Hood National Forest and 142.9 miles of tributaries to the Lower Rogue Wild and Scenic 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.

Construction of Elk Creek Dam in the Rogue River basin was halted in 1988. Since that time the dam has remained as a barrier to fish and navigation. This week the Army Corps of Engineers awarded a contract to notch the dam this year.

American Whitewater is pleased to announce a fun new interactive website focused on the impacts dams have on rivers, as well as river restoration opportunities.  The new interactive website, www.dameffects.org, was launched today by the Hydropower Reform Coalition.  HRC steering committee members have spent several months developing the content of the website and we are thrilled with the outcome. Take a tour!

For the third year in a row two groups of West Virginia University students and staff from Greg Corio's Adventure West Virginia program joined forces with Friends of Cheat to maintain vital river access points. At the Friends of Cheat Access in Albright, the job was to harden a badly eroded launch site. At Jenkinsburg, the focus was on trash collection. Both efforts will improve these places for local and visiting whitewater paddlers

Paddlers have been negotiating a new release schedule on Maryland's Upper Youghiogheny River with Brookfield Power and other stakeholders for over one year.  The results have just been released in a new permit for the operation of the Deep Creek Dam.  This year, and for the foreseeable future, paddlers will be treated to upper Yough releases on every Saturday from mid-June through mid-September!

The report on paddling access to the Ausable River has finally been issued: late, incomplete, biased, and erroneous.  All of the data in the study support year round paddling access, and the data is generally accurate and defensible.  The dam owner, New York State Electric and Gas, has maintained its position however that no access should be allowed to the beautiful Class IV river.  It is now up to FERC, and AW and KCCNY will be filing comments this week  requesting year round access.