Hey folks, we’ve heard some concerns from a handful of people regarding the cost of the Ohiopyle Falls race fee and also, surprisingly, about American Whitewater’s participation in the event.
There are several reasons for charging this fee. The first is that it is a condition of our permit that the event benefits a local charity organization. Therefore we contribute half of the proceeds to the volunteer fire department (VFD) and rescue squad, which help the park and boaters with search and rescue activities.
Second, American Whitewater provides insurance and other support for the event. Our goal is to break even on our staff and volunteer expenses for planning and staging the event. While members provide donations to American Whitewater for access and conservation work, we stage events principally to generate interest in our access and conservation programs as well as essential funding for these programs. The Ohiopyle Falls festival helps us fund our access work on the Falls as well as regional rivers like the Upper Yough, Blackwater, Gauley, Big Sandy, and Stoney Creek.
Third, American Whitewater is the best-qualified organization to stage this type of whitewater event successfully and safely. We have the experience, skills, volunteers, and history essential to make the event happen.
Fourth, we are actively working to gain permanent legal access to Ohiopyle Falls. We have initiated a multi-stage strategy for gaining this access. We aim to show that running the falls is relatively safe, that boaters are responsible, and that boaters want to contribute to the local economy, and community organizations. The first legal run in 1999, helped advance us towards our objective. Almost 300 people made more than 1200 runs. Nobody died, there were no serious injuries, and the event helped raise almost $5000 for the VFD and American Whitewater’s access and conservation programs. This was a huge success! However, we can’t do this without funding. The fees help to cover our expenses.
At present, Park Superintendent Doug Hoehn remains opposed to allowing access to the Falls, and our 2-day permit authority actually comes from the PA Department of Natural Resources and the Governor’s office. However, Mr. Hoehn is not the Bogeyman, he’s actually a very caring park superintendent and he is very concerned about safety. His opposition to boating the falls is based on his experiences with drownings on the Lower Yough. As he says, he remembers every drowning victim that he’s seen, and that is not an experience he enjoys reliving. Though no boater has drowned on the falls, he wants to ensure that we have safety boats and experts present, hence the one weekend a year permit.
However, if this year’s event is as big a success as last year’s, we will have that much more ammunition to forward our proposal for allowing legal access during daylight hours on weekdays from sunrise to 9 AM and from 5 PM to sunset. This strategy paid off on Great Falls of the Potomac, and after several years of safe runs the State of Maryland dropped the hourly restrictions and you can now run Great Falls at any time of the day.
American Whitewater is part of this event because our members have told us that they want permanent legal permission to run the falls. Staging this event, getting the permit, and pulling it off safely helps us achieve our objective. Sure, there are other falls throughout the region, and you can run them for free whenever the water’s up. But, that just provides more evidence that there’s no legitimate reason for this fall’s to be off limits and illegal to run. In the meantime, we are tasked with pulling off the event safely, raising funds for local charitable organizations, and ensuring that the event reflects positively on American Whitewater, the PA-DNR and our hosts at the Ohiopyle State Park.Come on out and have a good time for several good causes!