Don Kinser, Volunteer of the Month

A couple years before Risa was hired as American Whitewater's Executive Director, she called from the Tallulah. "Jason, I've got what you need! There's an open boater here who just ran the river and is volunteering with the permits. I think he's Milt Aitken's. He said he's got a house near the Chattooga and wants to help us re-open Double-Zero on the Chattooga!"

I have to admit I immediately pictured one of the guys from Milt's video "Tales of the Paddlesnake" . No offense to Milt, I really enjoy his videos, but I wasn't sure I was ready to trust opening the headwaters of the Chattooga to an open boater featured in a video about boaters who like swimming Class V whitewater. So I called Milt to get the skinny on Don. Milt's response was unusually brief, "He's your man. Good boater." I called Don.

As they say, the rest was history, and that call was one of the best decisions I've made at American Whitewater. Don has been working behind the scenes, attending meetings, talking to anyone who will listen, and working the phones with the Forest Service since he first volunteered for us on the Chattooga. He's been there at every turn for the past few years and has been opening doors for us that were simply not accessible from my office near Washington, DC.

I recently interviewed Don about being a volunteer for American Whitewater. Here's what he had to say:

JASON: Let's start with the obvious, why do you support AW?

DON: Because I am a whitewater boater and I care.

I care about the health of the rivers and streams I boat. I care about my ability to enjoy access to these rivers and streams. I also understand how the system works and that it takes a lot of hard work and money to influence public policy.

AW is the only organization I know that focuses on both access and conservation of American's whitewater resources. You are the only national voice for my interests as a whitewater boater. One great example is AW's success using the FERC hydro power relicensing process. Every time I get the chance to run Tallulah Gorge I appreciate AW's efforts.

DON: My volunteerism started during the early releases on Tallulah Gorge. They needed volunteers to help with all different type of chores and if you helped you got to boat the gorge. That was a great way to get on the gorge when you did not have a permit and I got to meet tons of new people. This is also where I got to know Risa. We talked about the need to have someone local helping out on some important issues that were brewing on the Chattooga.

The Chattooga is where I learned to canoe and I felt a deep love for the river and surrounding watershed. I own a home in the watershed and have enjoyed introducing my three young children to the wonders of river. At Risa's urging, I agreed to become AW's regional coordinator and spear head AW's efforts on the Chattooga river.

DON: As I mentioned earlier, my energy is focused on the Chattooga watershed. There are a number of key issues at play now here on the Chattooga such as changes to the management of boating use on the river, boater access to the headwaters, the health of the Stekoa creek watershed and horse trail crossings of the river. There are many other issues as well. The best place to learn all about these issues is AW's website.

25 years ago a Forest Supervisor decided to close the headwaters of the Chattooga river to boaters. Several years ago a good friend of mine, Milt Aitken became intrigued with the upper reaches of the river and began to explore them. He got the idea that we could reopen the upper reaches of the Chattooga to boaters and he helped get this issue on AW's radar screen. About the same time the USFS was in the midst of revising the Forest Plan. This revision process provides an opportunity to reopen the headwaters issue and influence other important issues regarding boating use of the river.

I am AW's primary liaison with the local USFS managers and I monitor all the proposed actions that the USFS is considering in the watershed. I also help communicate with AW's members and mobilize them to comment on forest service policy. In some ways one of my key roles is to serve as the "squeaky wheel" and keep the Chattooga issues on your mind.

DON: Getting to know AW's staff, and especially you, has been a treat. AW has some very committed and knowledgeable people on staff fighting for the whitewater paddler's interest and I have learned a lot from them. Another very rewarding part of my efforts has been my exploration of the upper reaches of the Chattooga. Although I have boated the parts of the river below the highway 28 bridge hundreds of times, I had never ventured above highway 28 to experience the wildness and beauty of the headwaters.

Just last weekend, my 8 year old son Max and I backpacked into Section 1 of the river for an overnight camping trip to explore and fish the river. We have now done this several times. Each time I venture up to the headwaters I come away even more excited about the possibility of legally boating these reaches of the river. There is some fantastic whitewater up there.

Another rewarding thing is knowing that I am making a difference. It is clear to me that without AW's attention to the Chattooga that the headwaters would remain closed permanently and other changes in river management proposed by the forest service would adversely impact boating recreation on the Chattooga.

Although the Amendment 14 fight is not over I am convinced that the proposals in Amendment 14 would have sailed through without our efforts. This would not have been a good thing for the river. Many AW members responded to our calls for action and wrote letters and called the forest service.

DON: There have been several frustrations. First and foremost is the glacially slow pace of the process. The USFS are masters at avoiding change. I am an entrepreneur and like things to move fast. It is easy to get impatient with the whole process.

Another frustration has been learning how many boaters out there are not AW members. Even good friends of mine who espouse support for AW and enjoy the fruits of AW's efforts such as Tallulah Gorge can't or won't cough up the $35 a year to help AW fight the good fight. I was really surprised and disappointed by this.

DON: My energy and attention is focused entirely on the Chattooga watershed and I think that is an extremely important issue here in the Southeast. There are other pressing challenges though including increased development in the upper watersheds of the region, access and water quality are at stake on many streams. The Cartecay is one example.

Also the work on the Cheoah dam relicensing and other FERC project in the region are very important challenges for AW. Personally, I would like to see AW explore what might be done to provide scheduled flows in the Pigeon dries. This is a whitewater gem that passed under AW's radar a few years ago. Last winter the powerhouse was under repair and boaters in large number got to experience this great piece of whitewater. It sure would be great to have some scheduled flows on the dries during the summer months.

DON: My home river is the Chattooga but I also boat throughout the Southeast and West Virginia. Some of my favorites include the Russell Fork, Little River Canyon, North Chickamauga Creek, the Big Sandy, the Blackwater, the upper Yough, etc.

One of my favorite things is exploring a new river or creek and spending time on the river with friends. Now that my children are old enough to get on the river with me I am enjoying teaching them the wonders of rivers.

But the best thing about boating for me is the energy of moving water and the focus that difficult whitewater requires. My boat is the only place where I can completely escape all extraneous thoughts of my business and the other tribulations of life. When you are in difficult whitewater you are living completely in the moment and nothing else matters. It is a great feeling.