http://www.americanwhitewater.org/wiki/ 2009-11-18T00:31:03-05:00 http://www.americanwhitewater.org/wiki/ http://www.americanwhitewater.org/wiki/lib/images/favicon.ico text/html 2006-01-20T16:51:40-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:access_partnerships?rev=1137793900&do=diff Helpful Tools: the National Park Service has developed a great collection of how-to river access publications that we highly recommend. You can browse through them by clicking here. One of their publications that is especially helpful is Logical Lasting Launches. text/html 2005-08-29T17:23:47-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:accidents?rev=1125350627&do=diff Experienced whitewater paddlers are prepared for trouble, and routinely deal with swims and other minor mishaps on river trips. Mostly it's pretty basic stuff, like helping a swimmer ashore or pulling a boat off a rock. Occasionally there's a long swim or entrapment that's pretty scary. Serious injuries or fatalities requiring outside help are rare, but when help is needed, we go to the phone and dial 911 just like everyone else. This taps into the emergency response system, and the call goes ou… text/html 2006-02-26T01:55:09-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:agencies?rev=1140936909&do=diff 3.1 National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) 3.2 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 3.3 Wilderness Act 3.4 Endangered Species Act 3.5 Water Quality Regulations 3.6 The Ecology and Conservation of Riparian Areas 3.7 Land Management Practices Impacting Rivers text/html 2005-10-06T17:01:47-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:agency_summary?rev=1128632507&do=diff It is the job of natural resource agencies to responsibly manage public resources, which include public lands, fish and wildlife, the air, rivers, and lakes. These resources belong to everyone – which is very different than belonging to no one. Because they belong to everyone they belong - in part - to you. Therefore, when an individual or corporation damages those natural resources they are damaging your property. This is precisely why natural resource agencies have conservation oriented mi… text/html 2005-08-09T20:34:59-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:balance_of_power?rev=1123634099&do=diff Balance of Power The Federal Power Act gives the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) the authority to “issue licenses…for the purpose of constructing, operating, and maintaining” hydroelectric projects. In the past, FERC's primary goal had been the promotion of hydropower dams as a means to harness a river's power generation potential, often in disregard of the proposed dam's environmental impacts. A 1986 amendment to the Federal Power Act, the Electric Consumers Protection Act (ECPA… text/html 2007-11-08T16:10:36-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:boater_registration?rev=1194556236&do=diff You can always tell a canoeist or kayaker from Ohio, that's because they have been required to register their craft, pay a fee, and place big numbers on the side of their boats ever since the Ohio legislature figured out a way to “cheat” on their federal taxes and get more money from the federal government. The Ohio legislature figured that if they required all canoes, kayaks, and rafts to be registered along with motorboats as recreational watercraft, then they would be eligible for more Wallop… text/html 2005-08-05T20:17:57-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:campaigns?rev=1123287477&do=diff A campaign can be thought of as an organized and focused effort to accomplish a specific goal using multiple strategies simultaneously. Typically campaigns utilize the press and other techniques for motivating a specific mass public action such as calls to political representatives. Campaigns generally require planning, lots of help, money and resources, partners, and careful orchestration. When done right, they can be very successful at swaying public opinion and motivating changes that any … text/html 2006-10-05T15:07:06-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:canada?rev=1160075226&do=diff Rivers don't stop at international borders and conservation efforts should not either. Though American Whitewater currently does not have the resources in place to fully implement our mission across international boundaries, we have often supported Canadian based river conservation efforts. We have begun this web page as a resource for paddlers on both sides of the border interested in protecting and restoring the incredible whitewater rivers of Canada. text/html 2005-08-05T19:44:33-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:collaboration?rev=1123285473&do=diff Collaboration leads to results and American Whitewater has a long history of collaboration and coalition building. We are proud to play a strong leadership role in two coalitions addressing hydropower reform, and a supporting role in several other coalitions. The benefits of collaboration and coalition building are vast but include workload sharing, institutional knowledge sharing, brainstorming creative solutions, combining advocacy power, professional relationship building, and reducing inte… text/html 2005-09-14T23:17:08-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:collaboration_coalitions_and_negotiations?rev=1126754228&do=diff 4.1 Working with State and Federal Agencies 4.2 Collaboration and Coalition Building 4.3 Interest Based Negotiations 4.4 Writing Effectively 4.5 Working with the Media 4.6 Campaign Organization text/html 2005-10-04T02:32:59-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:congress?rev=1128407579&do=diff American Whitewater will occasionally send our staff or volunteers down to the Hill to educate our Congressional Representatives on legislative actions affecting river access, conservation, or enjoyment. Here are the tools that we have developed for our volunteer's interactions with their Congressional representatives. The simplest rule in communicating with Congress is to keep things simple and concise. text/html 2008-10-19T16:35:21-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:dam_impacts?rev=1224448521&do=diff How Dams Impact Rivers Dams impact rivers in a variety of ways. One of the best ways to understand these impacts is to explore them in each section of a dammed river from upstream to downstream. These sections are: the Upstream River Reach, the Reservoir, the Bypass Reach (if there is one), and the Downstream River reach. Dams impact each of these areas differently and essentially chop up what was once continuous habitat into these three or four distinct pieces. For a visual overview of imp… text/html 2006-01-09T14:00:57-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:dam_removal?rev=1136833257&do=diff Dam Removal American Whitewater and the whitewater paddling community have a long history of supporting dam removals across the country. It is only natural that paddlers are active advocates for dam removal, since we are one of the groups most impacted by dams. Paddlers have played integral roles in the removal of dams using a variety of strategies. The following is a list of some of these dams and the tactics that were utilized. text/html 2005-08-09T13:11:26-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:esa?rev=1123607486&do=diff Originally adopted in 1973, the Endangered Species Act (ESA) was designed to protect species believed to be on the brink of extinction. When the law was enacted, 109 species were listed for protection. Today, more than 1250 plants and animals are on the ESA list. The ESA categorizes species as threatened, endangered or extinct. Species can be petitioned for listing. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), the federal agency mandated to oversee ESA species, makes a ruling on the petition… text/html 2008-08-16T01:29:48-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:examples_of_proposals_and_comments?rev=1218864588&do=diff Conservation and Access Proposals * Conservation and Access Proposal: Great Falls Catawba * Conservation and Access Proposal Presentation: Great Falls Catawba * Proposal in Response to Settlement: Saranac Motions to Intervene * Motion to Intervene: Oswegatchie * Motion to Intervene and Comments: Saranac * Late Motion to Intervene: WF Tuckasegee text/html 2005-10-19T14:00:15-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:ferc_access?rev=1129744815&do=diff Mandate to Protect and Enhance Recreation Values at Hydropower Projects Under the Federal Power Act FERC has a clear mandate to protect and enhance recreational resources at the hydropower projects it licenses. Significantly, the language clearly states that the public’s interest in recreation will be given “equal consideration” to power generation, and that licensed projects will include a comprehensive plan for the protection, mitigation, and enhancement of beneficial public uses including re… text/html 2005-08-29T14:18:37-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:ferc_comments?rev=1125339517&do=diff American Whitewater and our partners with the Hydropower Reform Coalition have participated in hundreds of relicense proceedings across the nation. This participation has provided tremendous experience and insights into FERC regulations and practice as well as the art of filing comments. American Whitewater maintains a library of comments written by staff and volunteers to serve as examples in other proceedings. text/html 2005-08-09T20:34:18-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:ferc_jurisdiction?rev=1123634058&do=diff FERC Jurisdiction A FERC license is required to construct, operate, and maintain a non-federal hydroelectric project that:  1) occupy federal public lands or federal reservations  2) are located on navigable streams  3) use surplus water or water power from a federal government dam  text/html 2005-08-09T20:33:15-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:ferc_overview?rev=1123633995&do=diff River Renewal: Restoring Rivers through the FERC Relicense Process Following text is adapted in part from the California Hydropower Reform Coalition and the Hydropower Reform Coalition Toolkits integrated with text from American Whitewater staff tailored to paddlers. text/html 2005-09-06T12:36:40-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:ferc_project_economics?rev=1126024600&do=diff Project Economics: Calculating the Cost of Instream Flows One of the many challenges in hydropower relicensing is determining the true dollar value of instream flows and recreation flow releases. While appearing to be little more than simple calculations, you will be challenged in this area for several reasons. Hydropower operations, like many other unique industrial operations, tend to be multi-generational careers. When you interact with system operators, you'll discover that their whole life… text/html 2006-02-26T12:36:22-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:foia?rev=1140975382&do=diff Overview The Freedom of Information Act [FOIA] establishes a presumption that records in the possession of agencies and departments of the executive branch of the U.S. Government are accessible to the people. This was not always the approach to Federal information disclosure policy. Before enactment of the FOIA in 1966, the burden was on the individual to establish a right to examine these government records. With the passage of the FOIA, the burden of proof shifted from the individual to the … text/html 2005-08-04T23:16:18-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:hydrology?rev=1123211778&do=diff Hydrology: Collecting and Analyzing the Data American Whitewater firmly believes flow (the timing, magnitude, frequency, duration and rate of change of a river) is the single most important factor for determining species distribution and ecological processes. Accordingly, American Whitewater carefully analyzes the hydrology of a river system including pre-project conditions (natural) verses post-project construction (regulated) conditions. This systematic analysis allows American Whitewater to… text/html 2005-08-04T19:30:07-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:introduction?rev=1123198207&do=diff American Whitewater was founded on a single premise: that paddlers have a responsibility to protect wild rivers and the wildness inherent in all rivers. American Whitewater strongly believes that paddlers and other river users can be effective river advocates if they have the right tools to do so. No other community of people knows our nations whitewater rivers so well, or so completely surveys these resources each year. With this knowledge, and through the experiences we share with rivers, come… text/html 2005-08-04T15:12:09-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:kevin_s_page?rev=1123182729&do=diff text/html 2005-10-04T01:54:51-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:land_acquisition?rev=1128405291&do=diff Watauga River(NC), Blackwater River(WV), Elkhorn River(KY), Big Sandy (WV), Black River(VT), Cartecay River (GA), Numbers of the Arkansas River (CO), North Fork Smith (CA), Hidalgo Falls (TX), Alberton Gorge(MT), Gore Canyon (CO), and Coosa River(AL) text/html 2005-08-29T14:41:46-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:land_management?rev=1125340906&do=diff Land Management Practices Impacting Rivers Road Building on Public Lands There are reportedly 500,000 miles of roads in the US Forest Service system alone that currently require billions of dollars of maintenance. Paddlers use these roads to access many rivers nationwide - yet many of these same rivers are negatively impacted by those roads and their associated uses. There are political forces pushing hard to build additional roads into roadless lands to allow logging and mining to occur, an… text/html 2005-10-04T01:40:52-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:landowner_tips?rev=1128404452&do=diff 8 Tips for Approaching Landowners No Trespassing? No Problem. 8 Tips for Approaching Landowners for Access By Jason Robertson Here are eight tips for approaching private landowners and getting permission to access creeks and streams via their private property. After your visit, consider thanking the owner with a postcard, phone call, or even with some of your stories. text/html 2005-09-14T13:53:38-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:lnt?rev=1126720418&do=diff Paddlers have relatively small impacts on the river environment when compared with other users. We generally take only pictures and rarely leave footprints except when we access a river, scout, or portage. Most paddlers are driven by an environmental ethic to minimize their impacts on the rivers that they cherish and enjoy. By following some very simple recommendations paddlers can virtually eliminate any direct impacts to the river environment that they might have. We ask that all paddlers … text/html 2005-08-04T12:47:42-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:mark_s_page?rev=1123174062&do=diff From Asheville- Take 40 West to 23/74 West like you are going to Western Carolina University. Get off at the exit for the University (exit 85). Follow that road into town (Sylva, NC) where you will come to a major intersection. Take a left on the four lane, and head to Western Carolina University. Stay on this road past the University, and it will then turn into a two lane road. Keep going on this road
until you see an Exxon Gas Station on your left. Right after this you will cross a fork of the… text/html 2005-08-05T20:33:15-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:media?rev=1123288395&do=diff Working with the press can be a very effective tool to accomplish specific river stewardship goals. This chapter is designed to assist anyone working on issues that, either intentionally or unintentionally, involve communicating with the public through the press. American Whitewater has regularly worked with magazines, newspapers, radio stations, films, and television stations to get our general message out as well as targeted messages on specific issues. These communications provide the gene… text/html 2005-08-09T20:37:39-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:micro_hydro?rev=1123634259&do=diff Micro Hydro The threat of big dam construction has largely drawn to a close in the continental U.S. There is an increasing threat of small hydropower dams on high gradient streams and creeks, which many boaters cherish for the challenge, aesthetics, water quality and sense of wildness. The International Small-Hydro Atlas has identified 539 undeveloped sites in Washington State and another 481 sites in British Columbia. There are currently around 400 applications for power generation on creek… text/html 2005-08-09T20:38:49-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:natural_hydrograph?rev=1123634329&do=diff The Natural Hydrograph Concept The science of river ecology has progressed dramatically in the last thirty-years starting with the 1972 publication of H. B. Hynes landmark book, “The Ecology of Running Waters.” Since release of Hynes book considerable research has occurred within individual river science disciplines as well as synthesizing this knowledge into ecological perspectives. In the 1990's numerous papers identified instream flow as the single most important factor driving fluvial di… text/html 2007-08-10T17:13:53-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:navigability?rev=1186780433&do=diff Those rivers must be regarded as public navigable rivers in law which are navigable in fact. And they are navigable in fact when they are used, or are susceptible of being used, in their ordinary condition, as highways for commerce, over which trade and travel are or may be conducted in the customary modes of trade and travel on water. text/html 2005-08-29T16:42:14-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:navigability_primer?rev=1125348134&do=diff By Jason Robertson Those rivers must be regarded as public navigable rivers in law which are navigable in fact. And they are navigable in fact when they are used, or are susceptible of being used, in their ordinary condition, as highways for commerce, over which trade and travel are or may be conducted in the customary modes of trade and travel on water. text/html 2005-08-05T19:38:44-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:negotiations?rev=1123285124&do=diff Interest based negotiations are a technique that can be incredibly valuable in resolving complex and contentious natural resource issue debates. In fact this technique can be used to resolve any type of dispute or impasse, and can also be used by an individual seeking to understand the motivations and goals of other individuals and organizations. text/html 2005-08-29T14:32:31-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:nepa?rev=1125340351&do=diff National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) The following text has been excerpted in part from the Dixie National Forest Guide to Public Involvement publicly accessible on the DNF website. NEPA is an acronym for the National Environmental Policy Act, 1969. All federal actions require NEPA procedural analysis with the exception of categorical exclusions. NEPA is purely procedural.  It does not require a specific outcome.  A NEPA analysis is a public disclosure process of the environmental conse… text/html 2005-10-04T01:46:49-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:no_parking?rev=1128404809&do=diff PARKING ON PRIVATE PROPERTY Originally published in the AW Journal 2001, “Don’t Park on My Property! What should you do when you hear these words?” By Jason Robertson, Access Director The Scenario You’ve been using the same roadside parking area and put-in for years. Today, as you’re driving up, you see a man putting notes on the cars parked on the side of the road. As you pull off the road and park, he approaches your car and starts yelling that you’re trespassing on his property. What do y… text/html 2005-08-30T19:04:25-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:obstructions?rev=1125443065&do=diff Question: Does barbed wire constitute a potential or a realized threat to boaters? Answer: A search of AW's accident database does not turn up anything relevant to the words, “barb”, “wire”, or “fence”. Thus, we currently consider barbed wire a potential threat, though we are aware of numerous anecdotal stories of near misses. text/html 2006-01-10T14:59:50-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:paddler_s_footprint?rev=1136923190&do=diff 5.1 Leave No Trace: The Paddlers’ Footprint 5.2 River Modification Regulations 5.3 Large Woody Debris Ecology and Ethics 5.4 Sharing the Rivers: Managing and Minimizing Recreational User Conflicts 5.5 The Economic Impacts of River Recreation text/html 2005-10-04T02:15:13-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:private_access?rev=1128406513&do=diff “Don’t Park on My Property!” By Jason Robertson The Scenario: You've been using the same roadside parking area and put-in for years. Today, as you're driving up, you see a man putting notes on the cars parked on the side of the road. As you pull off the road and park, he approaches your car and starts yelling that you're trespassing on his property. What do you do? text/html 2005-08-04T18:55:00-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:protecting_rivers_using_state_and_federal_regulations?rev=1123196100&do=diff 3.1 National Environmental Policy Act(NEPA) 3.2 Wild and Scenic Rivers Act 3.3 Wilderness Act 3.4 Endangered Species Act 3.5 Water Quality Regulations 3.6 The Ecology and Conservation of Riparian Areas 3.7 Land Management Practices Impacting Rivers text/html 2008-10-19T13:50:18-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:recreation_economics?rev=1224438618&do=diff The Economic Impacts of River Recreation Whitewater paddlers contribute a significant amount of money to local economies. Through spending money on gas, food, lodging and other items paddlers provide revenue to rural communities. This side effect of whitewater recreation is typically welcomed in these communities and comes at a very low cost, since the towns do not need to market rivers, and since a moderate level of paddling requires little to no investment in infrastructure or services. A… text/html 2008-12-16T17:02:32-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:regulated_rivers?rev=1229464952&do=diff American Whitewater has a long-standing program opposing new dam construction, working with dam owners to improve instream flows at existing dams, and advocating for dam removal dams where necessary. American Whitewater initiated this campaign back in 1957 with a letter filed in opposition to the construction of Glen Canyon Dam. Over the years we have established ourselves as the national leader representing whitewater recreation interests integrated with river conservation ethics. American W… text/html 2008-10-19T17:05:05-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:regulated_rivers_intro?rev=1224450305&do=diff American Whitewater has a long-standing program opposing new dam construction, working with dam owners to improve instream flows at existing dams, and advocating for dam removal dams where necessary. American Whitewater initiated this campaign back in 1957 with a letter filed in opposition to the construction of Glen Canyon Dam. Over the years we have established ourselves as the national leader representing whitewater recreation interests integrated with river conservation ethics. American W… text/html 2005-11-23T01:37:29-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:relicensing_overview?rev=1132727849&do=diff The Relicensing Process At least five years before a project license expires, a project owner files a notice with FERC stating the intent to seek a new license. The utility prepares a package of information on current project operations and future relicensing plans, which serves as a starting point for consultations and meetings with state and federal resource agencies, tribes, conservation groups and members of the public, to identify the actions needed to protect fish and wildlife and provid… text/html 2005-10-04T01:34:29-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:representing_whitewater?rev=1128404069&do=diff Representing Whitewater to the Public American Whitewater's Safety Program has two audiences: members of the whitewater community and the general public. The second group cannot be ignored. As a part of a larger society we must communicate effectively with the non-paddling majority. We are often called upon to defend the safety of river running when working against restrictive regulations or building support for our conservation and access goals. text/html 2009-08-17T11:59:39-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:riparian?rev=1250524779&do=diff The Ecology and Conservation of Riparian Areas In many ways, riparian buffers define our paddling experiences. Likewise, they define the river ecosystem and how rivers interact with the landscape. In many parts of the country the word “buffers” instantly strikes fear into those concerned with private property rights and any potential limitations on those rights. Riparian buffers may be political hot potatoes but there are some very good reasons why paddlers should support the protection and … text/html 2005-08-29T17:08:58-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:risk?rev=1125349738&do=diff “Risk is essential. There is no growth or inspiration in staying within what is safe and comfortable.” Alex Noble “…an emphasis on self-sufficiency, individualism and personal achievement - preferably under adverse circumstances - admiration of risk taking, admiration for skilled performance, especially in competitive situations, and high regard for freedom from both authority and tradition.” text/html 2005-10-04T01:16:59-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:risk_management?rev=1128403019&do=diff Risk Management in Six Steps By Will Leverette Published in American Whitewater January/February 2001 Editor's Note: Will Leverette is the Risk Management Department Director for the Worldwide Outfitter and Guide Association, International Special Event and Recreation Association, and Prime Insurance Syndicate. Will also does risk management consulting through his company, ARMOR, the Affiliation of Risk Managers for Outdoor Recreation. More importantly from our perspective, Will is the Whitew… text/html 2005-10-04T12:46:24-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:river_access_program?rev=1128444384&do=diff River Access Program AW's mission “to conserve and restore America’s whitewater resources and enhance opportunities to enjoy them safely” provides direction to our Access Program. Thus we strive to secure access that also ensures long term resource protection. We achieve this conservation objective through education, advising agencies, and sharing information such as that contained in this toolbox. The Access Program is responsible for locating and securing river access locations through land a… text/html 2005-08-09T15:42:05-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:river_modification?rev=1123616525&do=diff Rivers have been pushed around and modified by people in North America since at least the first European contact. Beaver were trapped by European trappers until almost completely gone, causing the unraveling of thousands of miles of stream and floodplain ecosystems. Logging operations built splash dams on headwater streams across the country that would pool water and logs and then send massive floods of water and wood down streams – scouring streambeds and banks – sometimes daily. Rapids were… text/html 2005-08-04T19:16:14-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:river_safety?rev=1123197374&do=diff 9.1 American Whitewater’s Safety Program: Education, Not Regulation 9.2 Risk, Safety, and Personal Responsibility 9.3 Representing Whitewater to the Public 9.4 Accidents, Emergency Workers, and Paddlers 9.5 Search and Rescue: A Privilege for the Saved or Burden for Society? text/html 2005-08-08T16:44:44-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:ryan_s_page?rev=1123533884&do=diff posted here. [ this is a pdf] sdf sadf asdfasdf sdf yyt kjh jh lj hkj yyt kjh People are great. This link refers to the people document. <http://diberri.dyndns.org/html2wiki.html> text/html 2005-08-29T17:41:00-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:safety_and_access?rev=1125351660&do=diff By Jason Robertson The instinct not to breath underwater is so strong that it overcomes the agony of running out of air. No matter how desperate the drowning person is, he doesn't inhale until he's on the verge of losing consciousness. At that point there's so much carbon dioxide in the blood, and so little oxygen, that chemical sensors in the brain trigger an involuntary breath whether he's underwater or not. That is called the “break point”; laboratory experiments have shown the break point t… text/html 2008-01-21T19:58:51-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:safety_overview?rev=1200963531&do=diff Introduction American Whitewater has been working to make whitewater river paddling safer for over fifty years. Because we believe that individual paddlers are personally responsible for their safety, our goal is to do this through education, not regulation. This starts with an effort to learn from the mistakes of others. When a fellow boater is badly hurt or killed, paddlers, just like climbers or pilots, need to know what happened. By collecting and publicizing the stories behind these accid… text/html 2005-08-29T17:36:00-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:search_and_rescue?rev=1125351360&do=diff Paying for Rescue (SAR) Costs Search and Rescue: A Privilege for the Saved or Burden for Society? By Jason Robertson Based in part on a letter from Lloyd Athearn, American Alpine Club to Mike Gauthier, Denali National Park 3.9.2001 A Successful Rescue at Initiation on the Gauley River text/html 2005-09-29T19:54:04-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:share_the_river?rev=1128038044&do=diff Sharing the Rivers: Managing and Minimizing Recreational User Conflicts Share The River Recommendations Interacting with Local Residents and Other River Access Users American Whitewater asks paddlers to use the following common sense guidelines when traveling to and using river access areas: text/html 2005-09-14T12:00:28-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:start?rev=1126713628&do=diff * Introduction * Regulated Rivers * Protecting Rivers Using Federal and State Regulations * Collaboration, Coalitions and Negotiations * Paddler’s Footprint * River Access Program * Boater Registration * River Safety ---- Contributors: text/html 2008-01-28T08:20:01-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:stream_cleanups?rev=1201526401&do=diff One of the best ways for paddlers to show our commitment to protecting the rivers we paddle is to organize and participate in stream cleanups. American Whitewater is proud to participate in the National River Cleanup Week(r) and we encourage our members and affiliate clubs to organize cleanups in association with this great program. text/html 2008-12-16T17:31:31-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:studies?rev=1229466691&do=diff Ramping * Bigfork Final Whitewater Boating Feasibility Study and Recommendation * Bear River 2008 Monitoring Report Stranding * Bigfork Final Whitewater Boating Feasibility Study and Recommendation * Bear River 2008 Monitoring Report Displacement/Drift Temperature * Bigfork Final Whitewater Boating Feasibility Study and Recommendation * Bear River 2008 Monitoring Report text/html 2005-08-04T19:06:22-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:the_paddlers_footprint?rev=1123196782&do=diff 5.1 Leave No Trace: The Paddlers’ Footprint 5.2 River Modification 5.3 Large Woody Debris Removal Ecology and Ethics 5.4 Sharing the Rivers: Managing and Minimizing Recreational User Conflicts 5.5 The Economic Impacts of River Recreation text/html 2006-01-23T03:03:07-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:violations?rev=1138003387&do=diff Paddlers are often the first to witness environmental violations that occur on our nation's waterways. The EPA has recently announced a new program for citizens to report violations and assist the EPA with its Compliance and Enforcement mission. Help EPA fight pollution by reporting environmental violations on EPA’s website at www.epa.gov/compliance/complaints text/html 2005-10-04T01:29:48-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:waiver?rev=1128403788&do=diff SAMPLE WHITEWATER WAIVER American Whitewater uses a similar waiver with participants during controlled flow studies. You may find this a useful starting point in crafting a waiver for your purposes. However, you should consult with your attorney to ensure that applicability in your jurisdiction. text/html 2005-08-29T14:35:50-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:water_quality?rev=1125340550&do=diff Water Quality Regulations Few people in modern America have as much direct contact with river water as paddlers do. River water enters our bodies every time we go paddling through our mouths, noses, ears, eyes, and any cuts or scrapes we may have. Few of us would scoop up a glass of water from the rivers we paddle and drink it, but in many ways that is exactly what we do every time we go paddling. While little to no data actually exists on the health impacts associated with paddling, we all … text/html 2005-08-30T19:10:01-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:waterfall_access?rev=1125443401&do=diff American Whitewater's members often ask us to help them open or reopen access to waterfalls. Access at waterfalls is often closed by government agencies that are concerned about liability issues related to waterfall running. When AW is contacted, we make a choice about the extent of our staff involvement. Generally, we find that waterfall closures either affect few or many. Our staff is more likely to become heavily involved in solving closures that affect the most people. However, we will … text/html 2008-10-21T02:17:26-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:whitewater_flow_studies?rev=1224569846&do=diff Whitewater Flow Studies Whitewater flow studies are a critical component in a hydropower relicense proceeding for boaters. These studies set the stage for future whitewater flows by identifying a specific range of flows that optimize whitewater recreation. Whitewater flow studies should be done objectively with the goal of accurately and precisely identifying the range of flows suitable for whitewater recreation. Done properly without bias, flow studies objectively document the water volumes… text/html 2008-03-12T15:31:39-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:whitewater_parks?rev=1205350299&do=diff Whitewater Parks – Considerations and Case Studies. American Whitewater -Whitewater Parks Policy Statement Developed May 2007 The Mission of American Whitewater is “to conserve and restore America’s whitewater resources and to enhance opportunities to enjoy them safely.” To that end, American Whitewater does not actively participate in whitewater park projects that are outside of existing river channels. The new generation of closed system pump parks are outside the scope of American White… text/html 2008-02-15T22:29:42-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:wilderness_act?rev=1203132582&do=diff President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Wilderness Act into law on September 3, 1964, formally creating the National Wilderness Preservation System which was established to ”...secure for the American people of present and future generations the benefits of an enduring resource of wilderness.” Wilderness areas are not merely wild lands, but federal public lands designated by congress to receive the strongest possible protection from human impacts. In general, no roads or permanent structures are … text/html 2008-01-07T18:01:45-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:woody_debris?rev=1199746905&do=diff Large Woody Debris Removal Ecology and Ethics How Much Wood Does a Paddler Chuck? By Kevin Colburn Originally published in the American Whitewater Journal 2001. <http://www.americanwhitewater.org/photos/archive/1197.jpg>Strainers, filters, sweepers, wood, log sieves, log jams, timber, do you have a chill running down your spine yet? At every blind corner or blind drop we shudder a little and worry about a hiding log. Logs give us nightmares. Logs are the predators of paddlers and we treat … text/html 2005-08-05T20:14:47-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:writing?rev=1123287287&do=diff The outcome of many stewardship issues comes down to communication and often this is in the form of written letters, emails, or formal comments. While teaching writing skills is beyond the scope of the toolbox there are some basic ground rules and formatting rules that will help individuals effectively communicate in writing. The following are some general guidelines to consider before writing letters or comments to governing bodies, potential allies or opponents, or the public at large. text/html 2009-03-09T01:04:41-05:00 /content/Wiki/stewardship:wsra?rev=1236575081&do=diff American Whitewater and the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act [:stewardship:kennedy.jpg]Paddlers love Wild and Scenic Rivers and have successfully advocated for their inclusion in the Wild and Scenic Rivers system for decades (Wild and Scenic Rivers Map USFS Eligible Wild and Scenic Rivers Map). Upon witnessing the loss of hundreds of miles of great rivers to water development projects and hydropower, paddlers were among the first activists who advocated for a Wild and Scenic Rivers system to protec…