The Upper Youghiogheny River is one of the country’s finest summer venues for expert whitewater paddlers. Many old-time boaters remember when this classic river only ran on weekdays, creating a problem for working paddlers. Today’s weekend release schedule was the work of many paddler-activists beginning in the late 70’s. The current state permit was negotiated in 2007 between the dam owner, Brookfield Power, and lake users, fishermen, and whitewater paddlers. It was meticulously crafted to be fair to all stakeholders. The Town of Friendsville, which sees the river as an important economic asset, has been a vital ally.
Late summer and fall of 2010 was unusually dry. Predictably, the lack of water impacted everyone. Many whitewater releases were cancelled and the lake dropped to a level that stranded about 50 homeowners in Deep Creek Lake’s backwater lots. Although less desirable than home sites on the main body of the lake, these lots are still quite valuable. Problems in the backwaters have been exacerbated by continued silt accumulation, which is a normal part of a dam’s life cycle.
These wealthy homeowners are not shy about pushing their interests at the expense of others. Blaming paddlers for their problems, they asked the Maryland Department of the Environment (via the Deep Creek Lake Policy and Review Board) to raise the lower rule band. This is the minimum level that Deep Creek Lake can be lowered to support releases. Since the fish enhancement releases can’t be reduced, this change would cut the summer whitewater release program by 60% and eliminate most Saturday events.
In responding to the petition paddlers had two strong local allies. Jess Whittemore, who serves on Friendsville Town Council, believes strongly that river use is important to the town’s future. He has worked dilligently on paddler access issues in town for many years. Roger Zbel, owner of Precision Rafting, has a deep and nuanced knowledge of dam operations developed through years of working with Brookfield Power. Both of these men have been "giving back" to the sport they love for decades; Jesse with his work on Town Council and Roger by serving as liason to various dam owners. Assisted by AW Board Member Adam Cramer and AW Stewardship Director Kevin Coburn they came up with two ways that the permit could be modified to conserve water without reducing whitewater or fish releases. These are:
1) Raising the Upper Rule Band to allow for additional water storage.
2) Clarifying the permit so that any release for whitewater also counts as a temperature enhancement release to support fish.
Additionally, AW supports repairs to the “Wicket Gate” on the dam to control leaks. This requirement was added to the permit as well.
Together these iumprovements create an additional 12" of water in the lake that’s available for power generation, fish flow enhancement, and whitewater.
Deep Creek Lake property owners are not satisfied and have vowed to continue their efforts. Support from the Town of Friendsville will be vital to the future of Upper Yough releases. Paddlers can say "thanks" by being courteous and respectful when parking, changing clothes, and loading boats. As was the case last summer, there should be no non-resident parking or river access on Water Street (river left) and Morris Avenue (river right) above the Maple Street bridge. Please take out at the Wilderness Voyageurs store or at the Town Park one mile downstream.