River Links

While the planned August Savage River (MD) release had to be canceled due to unusually low inflows, the September release will occur thanks to significant recent rainfall. The release will occur on Sunday, September 9th, from 9am to 3pm, and will be at a volume of 1000cfs.

A boating release is planned for Sunday, July 1st, on the iconic Savage River in western Maryland. Boatable flows on the Savage have long been eliminated by an upstream dam. Thanks to recent negotiations, the first boating releases in over a decade will begin this summer. Enjoy this rare opportunity to paddle one of Maryland's most prized whitewater rivers.

Strainers, filters, sweepers, log sieves, log jams, do you have a chill running down your spine yet? Logs are generally disliked by boaters; their importance to the ecosystem is completely misunderstood; they are removed whenever possible; and if one is ever implicated in the injury or death of a human it is ceremoniously destroyed. Here are some considerations to think about before removing a log for safety, or prior to placing one in the stream for fish habitat.

American Whitewater surveyed 131 paddlers and found that 97% would plan on visiting the Savage River if there were reliably scheduled releases. Though 83% of the paddlers had heard of the Savage, only 26% had visited the river. 69% reported that the greatest deterrent from visiting the river was the lack of reliably scheduled releases. Safety, whitewater difficulty, and travel distances were of minimal deterrence to the boaters.

The UPRC's attorneys responded to American Whitewater in May, 2001. Our response and rebuttal of claims is attached. In brief, the UPRC failed to explain why there were no recreational releases on the Savage in 2000.

American Whitewater sample letter seeking Governor Glendening's assistance obtaining whitewater releases on the Savage River.