2007 is going to be an awesome year for American Whitewater. We anticipate that big new agreements will be reached all across the West to modernize, and even remove a few dams; Southeastern rivers that have been off limits for years will be runnable; flow schedules all along the east coast will be improved; and AW will launch a new position in Colorado. Behind these great results we’re looking forward to is an organization that is up to the challenge. We have a great team on staff, a sustainable business model, new volunteer and web tools on the way, and an enduring commitment to whitewater rivers and the community of paddlers who enjoy them. 2007 also marks a changed political climate that most anticipate will make conservation Top RIVER ISSUE efforts more successful. Don’t pop the champagne just yet though!
The coming year will offer up some serious challenges and epic opportunities for the paddling community. We are once again highlighting 10 projects that are among the top issues we will focus on in 2007. These projects represent the wide range of AW’s stewardship wok. Our regional model coupled with our volunteer program means that rivers across the country receive personal attention, and our mission ensures that we work on conservation, access, and safety issues. It is a big job, and we currently have over 100 projects on our plates. The 10 projects we have highlighted—in no particular order—illustrate the incredible ecological, social and recreational benefits paddlers can achieve when we work together, and the devastating losses we will experience if we fail to do so. Nothing we do would be possible without your support. We are a grassroots organization and are limited only by the enviable enthusiasm of the paddling community to volunteer, write letters, pack meeting halls, vote, paddle responsibly, and fi nancially support AW. Along with a description of each of the Top River Stewardship Issues of 2007 we have included a suggestion on how to get involved. We hope that all of our members will get involved on these or one of our many other projects in 2007.
1. Colorado Initiative
Colorado’s rivers are faced with some of the biggest threats since the mining boom of the 19th century, and paddlers are in a unique position to do something about it. Proposals abound in the state to dam rivers and pipe them to population centers that are growing at alarming rates. Headwater rivers and streams will need people to advocate for keeping water in the rivers where it supports fi sh, wildlife, recreation, economic benefi ts, and local municipal uses. In the next couple of years, decisions will be made that chart the future of Colorado’s whitewater rivers: will they continue to flow or be sacrificed for distant cities? American Whitewater is hiring a new staff member, a Colorado Stewardship Director, to work with the regional paddling community and play an effective and organized role in this and other critical issues in the state of Colorado. The Colorado Stewardship Director will work with a wide range of stakeholders on issues including water allocation, waterrights, watershed management, and public river access, beginning in early 2007.
Get Involved: Colorado area paddlers are encouraged to help us financially support this position, and to sign up as AW volunteers. We are seeking guidance and assistance from our members in setting up our work plan so please contact us if you have ideas and want to be part of the team. Our efforts in Colorado will only be successful through strong grassroots support.
Learn More about AW’s Colorado Initiative
2. Restoring Rivers for Salmon and Boaters
For much of the last century, rivers in the Pacific Northwest have been harnessed for hydroelectricity, irrigation, and flood control to allow development in river flood plains. While we will continue to depend on those social services that rivers provide, there are also opportunities to protect and restore rivers for the benefits of paddlers and salmon—both of whom depend on clean, free-flowing rivers. In the coming year we will play an active role representing the interests of salmon and recreational river users in discussions over new and existing water development projects. As a conservation organization whose members regularly use rivers for recreation, we occupy a unique niche with coalitions like Save Our Wild Salmon, where we can credibly represent therecreational benefits of restored rivers. At the local level we will focus our efforts on keeping water in rivers, working with land trusts to protect lands along rivers, and providing fish passage at dams. At the federal level we will continue our long commitment to protect our bedrock environmental laws including the Endangered Species Act and Clean Water Act, and work with our partner organizations to protect the last best rivers under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.
Get involved: Big decisions will be made by elected officials on all these issues and they need to know that you support restoring free flowing rivers. Stay informed and write your elected officials often. We will be providing updates on opportunities to provide input on our website over the coming year.
Learn More about Restoring the Snake River
3. Feather River
For 10 years, AW staff and volunteers have worked to restore the ecological and recreational value of California’s Feather River. This year we face the new challenge of keeping this important resource alive. Over the next year AW will be working with resource agencies and Pacific Gas & Electric to determine whether negative impacts from recreation or power generation are actually occurring. The Feather has been a lightening rod for river restoration controversy and has uncovered a conundrum that affects dam-controlled rivers across the country. The fundamental questions are: What is river restoration, and how do we measure benefits and impacts of altered flows? Should the costs and benefits of providing hydropower to be evaluated on an equivalent standard as the costs and benefits of providing whitewater boating, angling, or any other beneficial use of rivers? We are looking to develop specific studies that will answer these critical questions. AW will continue to work hard to find solutions on the Feather because of the significance of this important public recreational resource. With your help we will ensure that paddlers have a seat at the table to affect decisions made on the Feather and all rivers across the country.
Get Involved: This is a highly technical battle and we need your financial support to stay engaged. Keep an eye on the AW website for letter writing opportunities.
Learn more about AW’s work on the Feather
4. Outdoor Alliance
Supported by a generous grant from the Turner Foundation, American Whitewater, American Canoe Association, Access Fund, International Mountain Biking Association, American Hiking Society and Winter Wildlands Alliance came together to form the Outdoor Alliance to address the need for a human-powered outdoor recreation coalition. While almost 150 million Americans annually participate in recreation activities such as hiking, backpacking, climbing, canoeing, kayaking and backcountry skiing, broader groups with different recreational values and agendas often politically overshadow this large constituency. The Outdoor Alliance has several key goals that include educating decision makers about the size, characteristics, and needs of the human-powered outdoor recreation constituency, coordinating and mobilizing the alliance’s collective grassroots on key issues, and developing unified public messages. AW is very excited to be a part of this new coalition and we look forward improving the collective voice of human powered recreationists across the nation.
Get Involved: The Outdoor Alliance will be calling upon paddlers to support various initiatives throughout the year.
Learn more about the Outdoor Alliance
5. Little Tennessee Watershed
The heart of our Southeastern river stewardship efforts is the Little Tennessee River System, and more specifically the Cheoah, Nantahala and Tuckasegee Rivers. We have been working hard to put water back in these rivers and we are finally starting to see the results of those efforts. The Cheoah is already a big hit with paddlers and local residents, and in 2007 we’ll be working to improve access, management, and ecological conditions on the river. We are anxiously awaiting new licenses for the dams on the Nantahala and Tuckasegee Rivers, which are expected in early 2007. As soon as those licenses are issued we’ll be racing to build suitable access at the West Fork of the Tuck and set up an access plan on the Cascades of the Nantahala so that releases can begin sometime in the summer. Regardless of whether or not we actually get on these rivers in 2007, this year will be a critical one in their restoration. Another key piece of the puzzle will be the removal of Dillsboro Dam, which we are anxiously awaiting.
Get Involved: Keep an eye on the AW website for opportunities to build trails, remove invasive vegetation, and responsibly enjoy the newest recreational treasures of the Southeast.
Learn more about AW’s work in the Southeast
6. Chattooga
The debate over the Chattooga River has entered a new phase that will likely define the management of the river for the next 10-15 years. Our lawsuit against the US Forest Service over their ban on floating the Wild and Scenic Upper Chattooga River was dismissed and we have appealed. This appeal could take many months to resolve. Meanwhile, the USFS is carrying out a user capacity analysis that will lead to a new management decision this fall. Both processes require continuous involvement from AW staff and volunteers, and both are critical to bringing nationally consistent management to the Chattooga. Regardless of the outcome of the access issue, our efforts have already been successful on a different front. For the first time ever, the USFS is gathering data and expertise on the use and ecological integrity of the Upper Chattooga River corridor. Our advocacy has triggered a crash courses in river management for the local USFS staff, although it still remains unclear whether they will do the right thing in the end. You can make a difference though by sending in your comments to the USFS when they open the several formal comment periods anticipated this spring and summer, and attending public meetings during the same timeframe. One way or the other, the USFS will reach a new decision this fall, and it is vital that the paddling community stay fully engaged.
Get Involved: Support AW though membership and donations, and send comments to the USFS’s John Cleeves (jcleeves@fs.fed.us). The most important time to voice your concerns will come this summer, when the USFS will propose their new management plan and specifically request public comments.
Learn more about AW’s work on the Chattooga
7. White Salmon River, WA
Washington’s White Salmon River has long been recognized as one of the nation’s top paddling destinations. Flowing into the Columbia River, the White Salmon has year-round paddling opportunities that span the range from beginner runs to others that challenge the country’s top experts. The watershed and surrounding communities have been an outdoor enthusiast’s paradise with year-round paddling, wind surfing and kite boarding, climbing, and a ski/snowboard season that lasts long into the spring. With the goal of enhancing recreational opportunities on this river and restoring one of the best candidate rivers for salmon recovery efforts in the Columbia Gorge, we signed the Settlement Agreement in 1999 to remove Condit Dam. We continue moving forward on the effort which has required a full court press in response to an attempt by a local utility to acquire the dam by condemnation and stop its removal. This project will be a major focus in 2007, but we will also stay involved in other dam removal issues. Small dams that no longer efficiently produce power are set to be removed on the Hood River, Sandy River, and Elwha River and we will continue representing recreational users in those decisions.
Get Involved: Letters to Congress (Senators Murray and Cantwell and Representative Hastings) and Washington Governor Christine Gregoire expressing your interest in a restored White Salmon River would be a huge help as we still need state and federal support for critical permit steps. If you live in Klickitat County we especially need local help in communicating the benefits of a restored river to local County Commissioners.
Learn more about AW’s efforts on the White Salmon
8. Paddling Opportunities at Government-Owned Dams
AW has a long history of working across the country with utilities that operate federally-licensed dams. To obtain a license these owners must meet current environmental standards and provide river-based recreational opportunities through a process that restores overall river health. Remarkably, however, government-owned dams are exempt from the same requirements that it imposes on private owners. These include dams owned by agencies such as the Army Corps of Engineers, the TVA, and the Bureau of Reclamation. Projects run by these government agencies have proven a much harder nut to crack. We are beginning to see changes, however, and opportunities to provide downstream recreational benefits at projects that have previously focused mainly on reservoir recreation. There are opportunities to translate our early success on projects like the Gauley, an Army Corps of Engineers Dam, to other rivers across the country. In the coming year we will focus our efforts on documenting benefits of instream flows on recreation on rivers like: Green River, WA; Crooked River, OR; Lehigh, PA; Savage River, MD; and others. We will be able to use the results of our studies at the local level to work with water managers to find opportunities that enhance recreational opportunities, while working within current parameters for project operations. We will also be active at the federal level working to set policy that recognizes the benefits of river-based recreation.
Get Involved: Agencies managing government-owned dams answer to Congress. Agency attitude towards river-based recreation is changing for the better, but only through our continued efforts to educate members of Congress. In addition, we are working to develop examples of government dams where slight modifications to operation could provide recreational benefits. Please contact AW by posting a comment on the stewardship forum on our website if you have a home river where you see such an opportunity. We will use these examples in our discussions with agency staff.
Learn more about AW’s work on the Green River, WA
Learn more about AW’s work on the Lehigh River, PA
9. Gauley River Access
For the past decade, American Whitewater has paid for a leased field on Mason Branch road to provide free parking and public access to the Gauley River. The one-mile hike from the riverside to the field is steep and difficult on a rough trail along Mason Branch. AW’s agreement with the landowner for Mason Branch parking is on a year-to-year basis and was never intended to be a long-term public access solution. In 2005, mid-river access was almost shut down for public use by stalled negotiations between landowners and the Park Service. A mini crisis was created when landowners (two well known river outfitters) along the Gauley River corridor threatened to deny access from the river to the Mason Branch field. As a result of that crisis and heightened awareness of the need to craft a long-term solution for public access to the Gauley River, the NPS is in the process of preparing a new appraisal. This appraisal, based on value of the land as an outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism site, should provide the necessary landowner compensation to complete the land transfer. AW is supportive of transferring these lands into the public trust to protect the Gauley River as a unique natural treasure. The end game is to see the Park Service own lands that will protect the river, insure public access, and allow the park to reach its management potential.
Get Involved: Support American Whitewater through membership and donations. The Mason Branch field is paid for with membership dues to American Whitewater.
Learn more about AW’s work on the Gauley River
10. Ausable River
Some corporations never give up. New York State Electric and Gas is certainly a shining example. They have blocked public access to the- spectacular Class IV Ausable Chasm for decades and have fought against efforts to open the river at every turn. In 2007 they will run out of options to continue denying access and will likely be forced by federal regulators to unlock their gates. AW needs to play an active role in these final decisions which themselves are based on over six years of activism. The Ausable Chasm really is a recreational treasure: it boasts naturally flowing Class IV bedrock creekin’ in a spectacular vertical walled canyon throughout the summer and fall. This project is just one example of the advocacy work we do on rivers across the country to protect public access to waterways developed for hydropower.
Get Involved: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission needs to know you are interested in this river! We’ll be asking paddlers to send letters to FERC on our website early in 2007.
Learn more about AW’s efforst on the Ausable
SUPPORT FOR OUR WORK
The support for our work on the Top 10 Issues comes in many forms. Our members serve as volunteers and also provide direct financial support for our stewardship work. Several foundations are critical to our success including the Hewlett Foundation supporting our hydropower work particularly in the West, the Conservation Alliance and Charles Stewart Mott Foundation supporting our work on the Little Tennessee watershed, and the Murray Foundation in New York. Finally many companies have stepped up over the past year to support our project work and they are profiled on our Corporate Sponsors page in this and every issue of American Whitewater.
Click here to donate to American Whitewater’s River Stewardship work today!