1980's --- Early explorers use Upper Green put-in. See this excellent 1990 period piece (AW Journal article) by Woody Callaway and Chris Koll.
1990's --- Use of the Ring's lot began when?
1994 --- The State of NC considers purchase of portion of Gamelands from Duke Power (AW Journal article).
1999 --- Attempt to shut down Gallimore Road (AW Journal article).
2000 --- Death of a kayaker at Chief prompts discussion about access via Pulliam Creek Trail (Hendersonville Times article).
2003 --- $20 Key and $5 Day Parking with honor system (here's how it was described).
2003 --- NC WRC temporarily blocks access to Pullimam Creek Trail "due to erosion" (Hendersonville Times article).
2003 --- Fundraising campaign by American Whitewater begins to purchase lot and build access trail.
2003 --- NC WRC denies AW a new access trail (Hendersonville Times: story #1, story #2), foiling land purchase and permanent access.
2004 --- $60 Key and $5 Day Parking with honor system
2005 --- $60 Key and $5 Day Parking with honor system
2006 --- $60 Key and $5 Day Parking with honor system
2006 --- Zimmer Orthopedics donates $10,000 to Green River Access in memory of Daniel DeLaVergne (AW Journal article).
2007 --- $60 Key only, honor system abandoned
2007 --- Discussions about paddler input to improve the releases from Tuxedo Hydro (see below, after Sutton's statement).
2008 --- $60 Key
2009 --- $60 Key, (see main page for details).

AW Statement in 2003 (by Sutton Bacon) after failing attempt to gain access from a nearby lot.

Current access to the middle portion of the Green River Gamelands, including access out of the Upper Green and entrance into the Green Narrows, sits entirely on private property rented by the boating community for parking use. The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission maintains only two parking spaces with ready access to the middle portion of the 10,000-acre Green River Gamelands, and those spaces are explicitly reserved for hunters and fishermen. Access to Green River Gorge at its middle is popular with whitewater recreationalists as a takeout for paddlers on the Upper Green and the put-in for paddlers of the Narrows. Although Narrows boaters can paddle through the Upper Green to proceed into the Narrows, Upper Green paddlers do not have another takeout option.

American Whitewater prefers public access solutions to private river access points. When land acquisition are possible to provide for public access, AW attempts to work with local, state, and federal officials to make free, open access a reality. Thus was the case on the Green in 2003. American Whitewater identified a parcel of unrestricted land sharing a long border with the Green River Gamelands and raised enough funds through generous donations from Green paddlers to purchase a 2-acre access point to be transferred to the State of North Carolina Parks and Recreation, North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission, or Henderson County to provide for management of the site. American Whitewater finalized negotiations with the landowner and AW's offer was accepted.

At the very beginning of the land acquisition, AW consulted with NC WRC to allow for rudimentary trail maintenance on an existing logging road and permission to construct a simple switchback in the trail (with the help from the professional trailbuilders from the Dupont State Forest Trailbuilding School) to connect the overgrown logging road running from the property with the existing access trail. Nearing the end of AW's fundraising phase, on April 30th, 2003 American Whitewater received notice from local North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission representatives prohibiting access to the Green River Gamelands from AW's proposed site. This occurred after what seemed to be a productive meeting with WRC on-site, during which, American Whitewater was optimistic that WRC would allow a small amount of structural maintenance on the existing logging road from the proposed site into the Gamelands.

AW appealed to the very highest levels on the State of North Carolina to no avail, including a generous offer to help reconstruct the naturally-eroding Pulliam Creek emergency access trail out of the heart of the Green River Narrows, but ultimately, WRC's decision did not change. That decision effectively eliminated the opportunity to provide permanent public access to the Green River and the Green River Gamelands from this site. American Whitewater remains deeply troubled by WRC's decision because it reinforces its policy of limiting recreational use of the public lands it manages. While the Green River Gamelands was purchased with taxpayer money through the Natural Heritage Trust Fund, it is managed with funding from hunters and fishermen. American Whitewater works closely and cooperatively with the Wildlife Resources Commission on many projects throughout the state, but we feel that its single-focus management of the public lands it oversees is a violation of the public trust and an inappropriate use of public resources and taxpayer funding.

AW volunteers and staff worked tirelessly and expended hundreds upon hundreds of hours toward providing permanent access to the Green River. Thanks to the overwhelming generosity of the paddling community, American Whitewater raised more than enough money to purchase the small parcel necessary for an access point. However, the late April decision by the WRC undercut our efforts to secure the site in perpetuity and develop a public access point to the Green River Gamelands for all users: hikers, fishermen, hunters, bird watchers, and boaters.

It was made clear to American Whitewater that the only "acceptable" users of the Green River Gamelands were the handful of hunters and fishermen that visit there annually, not the thousands of boaters that float on the Green's majestic waters. Their decision forced AW to abandon the land acquisition, and American Whitewater refunded the donations raised from its membership, applied them toward conservation and access areas in the South (and elsewhere as directed by the donor), or earmarked them to the current parking arrangement.

AW continues to thank those individuals who made financial gifts, or gifts of their time and expertise, to help preserve Green River access. Thank you for believing in us and we hope that you will continue to support AW as it works to protect and enhance responsible river access around the country.

On Friday June 29th at 9:00 p.m. there was a meeting at Green River Adventures in Saluda. The meeting was to discuss possible scheduled recreational flows on the Green, or to find ways to improve the existing situation, instead of the way it is now ("determined daily", lots of 60% flows running overnight, etc.). The meeting was called by Sara Bell of GRA and Woody Callaway of Liquid Logic, and all interested were invited to attend. You can read some background in this snippet from the Tryon Bulletin (6/19), and in this Boatertalk thread (6/20). The hope was (is) to find common ground with those in the fishing community, the local business community, and the private paddlers as an approach to Duke Power is undertaken that would benefit all groups.

A synopsis of the meeting written by Harrison Metzger can be found in this Boatertalk thread posted the next day (6/30), and extended commentary by other paddlers follows. In short, the group of 40+ present at the meeting had near unanimity in going forward with requesting no nighttime releases and less/no 60% releases. Additionally, the group had no interest at all in scheduled Thursday-Sunday releases with guaranteed water for those days. If there are no nighttime releases and also no or very limited 60% days, then the point may be moot as the Green will be running most days anyway in a normal year. Many private paddlers, particularly those living several hours away from the Green, would also like more consistent announcements the day before at the least and would be happy with some sense of a "schedule". Both the fishermen and women, and GRA, can live with what the paddlers at the meeting spoke for, and most people left the meeting feeling positive about being on the same team as the anglers.

I'm not calling it fine literature, but the discussion continued on Boatertalk --- and in the interests of being able to access the various points of view in the future, here's another thread (7/6), and another (7/9).

Beginning in late summer 2007, as a direct result of GRA contacts with Duke Energy, the Tuxedo Plant essentially stopped the round-the-clock 60% releases on weekends, and began a fairly consistent Fri-Mon. 7a.m.-11a.m. schedule. Come Novemeber, they changed back to mostly weekday morning releases to better match peak power demand.

Throughout the historic drought of 2007, the level of Lake Summit was maintained with Tuxedo running at 100% for 16-20 hours/week in the Summer, and closer to 25 hours/week through the Fall and early Winter. In a "normal" year, the boys at Tuxedo spin the turbines far more often.