Snohomish PUD is relicensing the Jackson Hydroelctric Project on the Sultan River. American Whitewater has a direct interest in river and riparian conservation and resource protection, appropriate public access to the river that protects resource values, and instream flows for the benefit of fishery resources, river and riparian condition, and recreation.

Our formal involvement in the Jackson Project dates back to 1980 when members of the Washington Kayak Club, one of our original founding affiliate clubs, filed comments regarding the proposed construction of the Jackson Project. In requesting recreational flows, members of the club wrote: “The Sultan River’s picturesque canyon is one of the few remaining virgin navigable river valleys [in the region].”

Of the more than 100 projects where American Whitewater has been a stakeholder, the Sultan River offers one of the most significant opportunities to provide whitewater recreation: the river is less than 1 hour from downtown Seattle and easily accessible as a day trip to a population of approximately 3 million people, the river flows through a secluded wilderness canyon with no maintained roads or trails along the river providing a rare wilderness type experience at the interface of the Puget Sound Lowlands and Cascade Foothills, , the canyon is well-known as one of the most scenic in the region with waterfalls that cascade in hundreds of feet off the gorge walls producing dramatic displays, and the whitewater consists of class III and IV rapids for approximately 12 miles making it one of the longest runs of this class in the entire region. American Whitewater, including our individual members and affiliate clubs, have sought opportunities to enhance whitewater recreation at the Jackson Project from the time it was constructed representing more than 25 years of interest in this project.

You can track progress on the relicensing effort by visiting Snohomish PUD’s Jackson Project Relicensing web page.