American Whitewater's Top Issues of 2003!

American Whitewater's TOP Issues of 2003

1: Nationwide USGS funding for river gages is threatened
2: Nationwide Boat Registration efforts are increasing
3: Nationwide Wild and Scenic River Act may be weakened
4: Nationwide Federal Power Act revisions may weaken public's voice
5: Nationwide Conflicts among river groups reduce our effectiveness
6: Nationwide Increased threats to rivers and need for paddlers to act
7: West Virginia Land sale in Cheat Canyon threatens the river and access
8: Washington State Access opportunity on Skykomish and Snoqualmie rivers
9: Arizona Opportunity to reduce wait list on Grand Canyon
10: North Carolina Cheoah River negotiations failing, going to FERC
11: Georgia, S. Carolina USFS addresses access on the Headwaters of the Chattooga
12: California Resource agencies oppose releases on Pit River

Introduction:

In the past 12 months American Whitewater has been doing a lot of soul searching. We searched the soul of the sport (you), searched the soul of the River, and searched within ourselves to see how we could do a better job of fulfilling our mission. One of the most important things that we uncovered is a problem that plagues virtually all environmental non-profits, seeing the trees and not the forest. Like a Labrador retriever thrown too many sticks, the Environmental Community hurries to address the most pressing challenges in a near frenzy. Few would argue that American Whitewater doesn't do a good job of getting results that are consistent with our mission, but in the coming year we are trying to rise above the treetops and see the forest. We have challenged ourselves with treating the causes before we treat the symptoms. We will never stop our on-the-ground, results-driven conservation and access work, but hopefully we will continually do that work smarter and more efficiently. This years Top Issue list represents this shift in our focus. The issues range from precedent setting cases like the Headwaters of the Chattooga, to some of the underlying causes of this issue in the Conflicting Partners in River Conservation piece. The list is a sampling of the hundreds of active projects being worked on by American Whitewater staff and volunteers on rivers across the nation. Looking into the coming year, the paddling community will face some epic challenges regarding our right to paddle healthy rivers responsibly. The pressures on our rivers and rights to paddle them flow almost as forcefully as the River itself: Hydropower diversions, pollution, development, politics, land abuse, other recreationalists, and the list goes on. At American Whitewater, we hope that each of you will become involved with these causes and take action. We will proudly be there helping you protect and restore rivers.

TOP National Issues

USGS Funding

Issue: 1/3 of all streamgages may be cut due to lack of funding

Goal: To educate Congress and State governments about the value of these streamgages for safety, scientific research, tourism, and recreation.

Current Status: In a April, 2003 meeting with the USGS, American Whitewater's Access Director Jason Robertson learned that as many as 1/3 of the streamgages that our members rely on for recreation may be cut. The funding cuts are driven by three factors. First, there have been huge decreases in funding from state partners over the last 2 years, and these cuts are expected to be increased even further in 2004 as long as most state budgets are in the red. Second, federal funding from Congress has been decreased or flat funded for several years. The USGS only provides funding for about 5% of the streamgages directly, but traditionally picks up the slack when states can not meet their objectives. With State funding down, the federal funding must increase to make up the shortfall; unfortunately this is not happening. Third, nearly half of the USGS streamgages are actually funded by the Army Corps of Engineers. The Army Corps has a requirement to contract half of its labor and budget. In the absence of the large hydropower or river channelization projects that were typical between 1950 and 1990, the Army Corps has reduced the number of contracts it can offer. The result is that the Army Corps no longer has funding for many traditional activities such as streamgaging.

Next Steps: Write letters to all 50 state tourism departments explaining the recreational, safety, and economic benefits of streamgaging and asking each agency to support protecting these gauges. Educate Congress about the need for adequate funding for streamgaging. Work with the Army Corps to develop a funding strategy for subcontracting out streamgaging services.

Contact: Jason Robertson, American Whitewater Access Director

Boat Registration

Issue: Many states are seeking to require boat registration to make up budget shortfalls. None of these registration requirements are designed to benefit whitewater boaters or protect the natural resources.

Goal: To ensure that any registration fees are fair and result in a direct, measurable benefit to the whitewater community and the river resource.

Current Status: Only seven states currently require canoe and kayak owners to register or pay special taxes on their boats: Ohio, Alaska, Illinois, Oklahoma, Iowa, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania. Arizona repealed their registration requirements in 2000 due in part to high administration costs and an ineffective ability to return services to the public. However, in 2003, the number of states requiring new boater registrations almost doubled! Connecticut, Oregon, Washington, and Montana were all considering new registration requirements. Quick action by American Whitewater, our affiliates, and partners helped to roll back the tide on all of these registration requirements! However, these were temporary successes, and we expect new legislation to be introduced in 2004 after the registration proponents have had time to lick their wounds.

Next Steps: Work with the state agencies that are pushing boat registration legislation to ensure that there is a fair means of collecting the fees and that there will be a direct, measurable benefit to the boaters who are being taxed as well as resource protection.

Precedent: We want to establish our ability to work in cooperation with state agencies to ensure fair management of all river users to the benefit of all river users and protection of the river resource.

Contact: Jason Robertson, American Whitewater Access Director

Wild and Scenic Rivers Legislation

Issue: Congress introduced legislation allowing new bridge and road construction in Wild and Scenic River corridors.

Goal: To ensure that Wild and Scenic Rivers protection remains strong, and to ensure the long-term protection of both designated and eligible rivers from development.

Current Status: In Spring 2003 House Resolution 2088 and Senate Bill 1072 were introduced to address Transportation funding issues (SAFETEA). Section 1812(i) of the Transportation bill would exempt bridges from section 7(a) of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Section 7(a) states "…No department or agency of the United States shall assist by loan, grant, license, or otherwise in the construction of any water resources project that would have a direct and adverse effect on the values for which such river was established, as determined by the Secretary charged with its administration." Construction of highway bridges that directly affect a designated river, including "footings" in the river below the ordinary high water mark, must meet this standard. 160 rivers have been designated as Wild and Scenic and more than 11,000 miles of river are protected; this is about 1% of the nation's total river miles. Virtually every river classified as scenic or recreational is crossed by one or more bridges. This includes more than ¼ of all Wild and Scenic rivers and over 6,000 miles of the National Wild and Scenic System.

Next Steps: Educate Congress about the role and importance of section 7(a).

Precedent: If the federal agencies that manage wild and scenic rivers no longer have the authority to review bridge projects, the rivers will have no protection from bridge construction and refurbishment, and no agency will review the impacts on the river values for which the river was designated wild, scenic, or recreational. Federal agencies will not be able to meet the non-degradation standard to "preserve and enhance" the values that led to protection of the river if they lose all control over bridges crossing wild and scenic rivers. Without section 7(a) there is no way to prevent harm to natural resource values that are protected by the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.

Contact: Jason Robertson, American Whitewater Access Director

Hydropower Legislation

Issue: Legislative Reforms of Federal Power Act

Goal: Protect river resources and existing environmental standards in the Federal Power Act

Current Status: The hydropower utility industry continues to lobby Congress to change the Federal Power Act to solve the "hydropower dam relicensing problem". Utility lobbyists have hitched their wagon to the omnibus energy bill with a section labeled the Hydropower Title. The lobbyists have carefully steered legislators toward the "problems" inherent in licensing private hydropower projects. Not surprisingly the hydro industry's search for solutions always highlights the need to reform environmental regulations contained in the Federal Power Act.

The Senate hydropower title, S. 511, contained in the energy bill basically permits utilities to draft alternative environmental conditions to those proposed by resource agencies. In short, the hydropower title gives utilities the following: 1) a louder voice than any other interest in deciding how dammed rivers are managed; 2) undermines the environmental standards that hydropower dams must meet, and 3) opens a loophole for utilities to challenge basic environmental protections on the grounds that they harm profit margins. The hydropower title further skews the licensing process in the favor of utilities, at the expense of equal public participation and critical environmental protections.

American Whitewater opposes the language in the hydropower title. American Whitewater recommends an amendment that 1) reduces the red tape and complexity in hydropower licensing; 2) places other interest groups - Indian tribes, states, conservation groups, communities, interested members of the public - on equal footing with industry; and 3) protects environmental quality through existing environmental laws - especially fish passage, water quality and protection of affected federal lands.

Next Steps: The House has already approved the energy bill. The Senate is poised for discussion and vote in July or August. There is likely to be heated debate in the Senate on various components of the energy bill including the hydropower title. Amendments may be proposed for the latter. The debates will likely lead to a Senate version that differs from the bill already approved by the House. The Senate and House must rectify any differences between the Senate and House energy bills in a Senate-House conference committee. Both the Senate and House must approve the final bill that comes out of the conference committee, and the President must sign it. American Whitewater will post alerts when each critical step comes up. Calls should be made, letters written, and visits to legislative offices are encouraged.

Precedent: The Federal Power Act should not be altered in a fashion that skews the process for licensing a hydropower project in favor of the utilities with an economic self-interest in the outcome. The nation's rivers and streams are a vital resource that should not be monopolized for power production alone. Public input and resource agency review are critical components in the licensing process to ensure that non-power values are balanced with power generation.

Contact: John Gangemi, American Whitewater Conservation Director

Conflicting Partners In River Conservation

Issue: Recent public debates between boaters and other river users are weakening our ability to protect and restore rivers.

Goal: Increase solidarity among groups working to protect and restore rivers.

Current Status:
In the past year American Whitewater staff and volunteers have increasingly found themselves at odds with fishing advocacy organizations and agencies. These conflicts have reduced our ability to protect the very resources that we are all passionate about saving, namely healthy rivers and responsible public access to them. From the Headwaters of the Chattooga in Georgia to the North Fork Feather in California these conflicts have weakened our collective ability to represent the River, as well as our rights to recreate in a boat or in a pair of waders.

The missions of many of the prominent fishing advocacy and river conservation groups are very similar to American Whitewater's, and we often work together to represent our common interests. Recent examples of this collaborative relationship are the National hydroelectric legislation work we do together with Trout Unlimited as members of the steering committee of the Hydropower Reform Coalition, and the settlement agreements we recently signed outlining higher instream flows and public access for fishermen and boaters alike on the Tuckasegee and Nantahala Rivers in western North Carolina with TU and other fishing interests. In fact, our interests align on most issues: public access to public lands and waters, protecting and improving water quality, maintaining a healthy riparian buffer on our nations rivers, protecting riparian lands from development, and re-regulating dammed rivers to benefit the public and the rivers rather than the power utilities alone. These are the big battles of river conservation.

Recently however, smaller disagreements over specific flow requirements in dammed rivers or specifics regarding public access between American Whitewater and a variety of angling advocacy groups have divided the paddling and angling communities. Instead of focusing our efforts collaboratively on river restoration, we squander our limited resources debating with one another due to being overly focused on our respective special interests. There is little doubt that when the dust clears, the Rivers are the losers in these skirmishes because our energy has been diverted away from our true adversaries; those that wish to pollute, divert, and privatize our Nation's mountain rivers.

Precedent: While strong partners on many river conservation issues, boating and angling groups must focus on commonalities rather than differences in order to protect and restore our nations rivers.

Contact: Kevin Colburn, Eastern Conservation and Access Associate.

Increased Need For Paddlers and Public To Speak Out on River Issues

Issue: Societal Apathy toward River Conservation

Goal: Motivate paddling community and society at large to play active role in restoration and protection of our nation's rivers.

Current Status: Over the past two years there has been an increasing trend to rollback environmental protection regulations ranging from the Clean Water Act, the Federal Power Act, roadless lands protection and basic administrative procedures within the natural resource agencies. These rollbacks coupled with decreasing federal and state budgets for resource agencies as well as access restrictions in the name of Homeland Security pose significant threats to our Nation's rivers and recreational opportunities. Meanwhile, the number of threats to our river resources continues to grow exponentially. Society appears to be watching silently this collapse of environmental protections and site specific impacts to the nation's rivers-a public trust resource. The paddling community cannot afford to mirror society's lethargy.

As paddlers we have an opportunity to lead society by example. We need to remember that we are ambassadors for our sport both on and off the river. Along with that role comes an implicit duty to be actively involved in the protection and restoration of rivers. We can and should cultivate a strong river conservation ethic in our society. Paddlers can and should be a positive force demonstrating to society at large the importance of river protection and restoration. Our river conservation actions should go beyond self-serving whitewater recreation interests extending to protection of riverine habitats and organisms. If we don't accept this challenge to think beyond our personal recreation interests we may someday discover we have very few places to play particularly healthy rivers with clean water and native aquatic species. Clearly, whitewater river conservation goes beyond access and flows for whitewater recreation.

American Whitewater works 24/7/365 to protect and restore rivers and our ability to float responsibly. Staff and volunteers strive to restore rivers dewatered by hydropower dams, eliminate water degradation, improve public land management and opportunities to access rivers for responsible recreational use. We believe river restoration and protection to be our primary mission. Whitewater paddling is a by-product of a healthy river system and should be exercised in a responsible fashion.

Next Steps: If you enjoy recreating on rivers it is critical that you:
· Are active in local river issues
· Promote efforts to prevent damage to rivers and enhance long-term sustainability of rivers
· Join American Whitewater-membership funds holistic conservation and access work on local rivers
· Lead by example

American Whitewater promises to keep the paddling community informed of threats to local rivers and attempts to rollback environmental regulations through our website, journal and volunteer list. American Whitewater staff work closely with local river volunteers and affiliate clubs on specific river issues. American Whitewater staff have tremendous knowledge and background in river conservation and access.

Precedent: Rolling back environmental regulations equates to significant impacts at the local level for our nation's rivers. Paddlers need to lead our nation by example. We can be a positive force as river stewards.

Contact: John Gangemi, American Whitewater Conservation Director

TOP River Issues

Cheat River Land Sale, WV

Issue: The sale of land on the Cheat and Big Sandy Rivers could result in the loss of traditional access points on both rivers.

Goal: To protect access to take-out for the Cheat and Big Sandy Rivers, as well as the Rockville put-in for the Big Sandy.

Current Status: In June 2003, despite a tremendous offer made by Governor Bob Wise, West Virginia narrowly lost a bid to purchase the Cheat Canyon and create a new wildlife management area. American Whitewater was a key member of the Cheat Canyon Coalition, a key supporter of this effort. This summer, we have been meeting with representatives of Allegheny Wood Products, the new owner, to insure access for paddlers, hikers, and other users. Much of the land along the Cheat Canyon and Big Sandy in Northern West Virginia has been owned by Allegheny Energy since the mid - 1920's. It was purchased for a dam that was never built because of extensive caverns found in the walls of the gorge. Early this spring, the company, which had narrowly averted bankruptcy, decided to put the land out to public bid. With strong support from West Virginia Governor Bob Wise, a group of dedicated state workers developed an outstanding offer of $9.4 million for the land. Interestingly, all the money came from federal, private, or special funds. Not one penny of general revenues was used. On May 29th Allegheny Energy announced that the winning bid, $9.75 million, had been received from Allegheny Wood Products. This was slightly higher that the $9.4 million bid received from the West Virginia DNR. The state offered to raise its bid by $500,000, but was quickly rejected.

The sale of this land automatically terminated American Whitewater's 10-year lease of the put in for the Big Sandy at Rockville.

Next Steps: American Whitewater, a founding member of the Cheat Canyon Coalition, is meeting with Allegheny Wood Products to insure continued access to the Cheat Canyon and Big Sandy Rivers.

Precedent: Loss of access to this property would mean the loss of the take-out for the Cheat and Big Sandy Rivers, as well as the Rockville put-in for the Big Sandy.

Contact: Charlie Walbridge, American Whitewater Board of Directors

Access on Skykomish and Middle-Middle Snoqualmie, WA

Issue: Acquiring land for public recreational access to meet the rapidly growing recreational demands for visitors from the region around Seattle.

Goal: For government agencies to acquire and develop useful public access points on primary Class II-IV whitewater rivers in the region around Seattle.

Current Status: In May, American Whitewater's Access Director Jason Robertson and StreamKeeper Tom O'Keefe met with King County Parks and Recreation to discuss development plans for a take-out and put-in on the Middle-Middle Snoqualmie. The County is very interested in developing the sites we identified, or at the very least allowing American Whitewater and our affiliates to develop the sites for the paddling community. In July, O'Keefe began circulating a proposal to develop these sites. This proposal is available on our website at resources/repository/2220_rtca_proposal.pdf.

Also in May, Robertson and O'Keefe toured the Skykomish watershed looking at potential access points. Use on this river continues to grow, yet access is inadequate. For kayakers, the best put-in is at the base of Sunset Falls on the South Fork of the Skykomish (elevation 500'). Access to the traditional put-in was at the base of Sunset Falls. However this site was closed about 5 years ago. Currently, the best alternative access point is on Forest Service land above Powerline Rapid (1.9 river miles downstream from Sunset Falls). Additional access points include Forest Service land at the Hwy 2 bridge at mile 35.1, and on the North Fork at either the railroad bridge in the town of Index or Forest Service land near Llama Ledges less than a mile south of Index. American Whitewater is preparing a proposal for the Forest Service to formally develop the access point at Powerline. Our hope is that this will begin to solve some of the parking and access problems on the river. The obvious problem with this short-term solution is that 2 miles of whitewater are lost between Sunset Falls and Powerline, including at least one excellent play spot.

Next Steps: Submit proposals to the appropriate agencies and move to develop access points.

Precedent: If these proposals are successful, they will provide a model for future cooperative efforts between paddlers and government agencies in Washington State.

Contact: Jason Robertson, American Whitewater Access Director

Grand Canyon, AZ

Issue: There is a 25 year long wait list for private boater permits to float through the Grand Canyon.

Goal: Reducing the Wait for private boater launch permits to 3 years or less.

Current Status: The Park will be issuing an environmental impact (EIS) statement in Autumn, 2003. This EIS will list several alternatives for managing recreation on the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. American Whitewater's Access Director Jason Robertson and American Whitewater Board President Kevin Lewis, a rafter, have been representing American Whitewater and private boaters at the stakeholders meetings sponsored by the Park Service. There has been one significant outcome of these meetings: at different times the commercial outfitters, wilderness advocates, and private boaters all expressed consensus that when we ran the computer model simulations using the Park's modeling program, we could easily craft scenarios that substantially increased total use AND did a better job of meeting the Park's measurable Limits of Acceptable Change for controlling ecological and social impacts than the current operational practices. This is significant, because each of our groups has approached this problem from radically different angles and perspectives, and each of our groups believes that an increase in use is a reasonable outcome of the Colorado River Management Plan (CRMP) EIS unless the Park identifies significant new impacts or concerns that are not captured in the models or literature that they have provided to the public. Further, each of our groups stated at different times in the meetings that any increase in use should be allocated to the private boaters as a fundamental matter of fairness, and each also expressed support for a primary alternative with a 50/50 division of allocation between commercial and private use. Related to these broad consensus points, American Whitewater has been advocating for the National Park Service Advisory Board to convene a meeting between the primary recreational stakeholders to develop two viable management alternatives that meet private boater needs: one alternative would allow the continued use of motors, and one would phase out motors.

Next Steps: Continue to facilitate and encourage dialogue between all stakeholders and the Park Service. Submit comments on the EIS when it is released.

Precedent: The dialogue we have created on the Grand Canyon in the past year has opened doors at the Park Service and with our partners. American Whitewater is viewed as a professional organization that is capable of building bridges and looking out for the interests of both our members and the river resource.

Contact: Jason Robertson, American Whitewater Access Director

Cheoah River Negotiations (Southeastern US)

Issue: Dam operator is offering no recreational enhancements to a dewatered world-class whitewater run and has abused the Alternative Relicensing Process.

Goal: Achieve a comprehensive mitigation package through the dam relicensing process that includes land protection, increased public river access, and the provision of a robust instream flow capable of protecting aquatic species and a reasonable annual schedule of recreational releases in the Cheoah River.

Current Status:

After working diligently for three years on the relicensing of the dam that controls the Cheoah River, it became clear that the power company that owns the dam never intended to provide a single whitewater recreational enhancement. The relicensing process clearly showed that the Cheoah River would offer 9 miles of world class, class 3-4+ continuous whitewater that would be highly desirable to both commercial and private paddlers. The process also showed that each day of releases on the Cheoah would generate at least $155,000 dollars for Graham County, North Carolina. These facts garnered strong support for recreational releases in the Cheoah from many stakeholders including American Whitewater, Western Carolina Paddlers, Carolina Canoe Club, at least 6 Commercial Outfitters, the United States Forest Service, and many other groups.

In the spring of 2003 the dam owner decided to only negotiate with a few stakeholders and to file its license application which proposed only 5 days of boatable flows (for ecological purposes). The recreation community was no longer invited to negotiation meetings so American Whitewater and Western Carolina Paddlers filed nearly 50 pages of comments on the license application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. Negotiations were continued without the recreation community present, and the current proposed settlement includes 18 boatable days of releases that are designed and scheduled for ecological purposes only. Most of these proposed releases are below the optimal flow for whitewater recreation and are scheduled primarily in the early spring. In addition, the dam owner is not proposing to provide adequate public access, to clear the live woody vegetation from the channel, to shape unplanned spills to make them boatable, or to protect a critical tributary watershed with high recreational potential.

Next Steps: The dam owner's decision to pursue a partial settlement to the exclusion of the recreational community seriously jeopardizes the hard work that dozens of groups have put in over the past 3 years and several key components of the settlement agreement as it exists. American Whitewater will continue to work with the dam owner and the other stakeholders in pursuit of a comprehensive settlement. If the dam owner remains unwilling to mitigate the dams' impacts on the recreation community then American Whitewater will lead a coalition of recreational and environmental interests in direct communications with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, and request a comprehensive mitigation package that meets all the stakeholders' needs.

Precedent: American Whitewater is a nationally recognized expert on dam relicensing and has signed dozens of settlements on rivers across the country. Our position on this issue will likely dictate the ultimate outcome of this seriously flawed and abused process.

Contact: Kevin Colburn, Eastern Conservation and Access Associate.

Access to the Wild and Scenic Headwaters of the Chattooga (SC, NC, GA).

Issue: The U.S. Forest Service is proposing to maintain a ban on paddling the Headwaters of the Chattooga as a means of zoning what are being considered two incompatible uses, angling and paddling.

Goal: To have the U.S. Forest Service lift the ban on paddling the Headwaters of the Chattooga and acknowledge that paddling and fishing are compatible uses.

Current Status:

After thousand of public comments requesting boating access to the Headwaters of the Chattooga and constant pressure from American Whitewater, The US Forest Service (USFS) has finally studied the option of lifting the ban. We applaud the Sumter National Forest for listening to our concerns. The study comes in the form of a Draft Environmental Impact Statement that will result in a revised forest plan. The USFS analyzed three basic alternatives relating to opening the headwaters to paddling, the first maintained the ban, the second partially opened one of three distinct sections based on season and water level, and the third opened the Headwaters without restrictions. The USFS's preferred alternative, prior to reviewing public comment, is to maintain the ban. American Whitewater is used to fighting an uphill battle on this issue and we remain optimistic that the USFS will lift the ban when they make a final decision early in 2004. Public comments were due on July 3rd, 2003, and now we are anxiously awaiting the USFS decision.

Next Steps: Work with the USFS in lifting the ban if that is their decision, or consider appealing a decision to maintain status quo.

Precedent: The Headwaters of the Chattooga is the only stretch of river in the USFS system that is banned to paddling for non-ecological reasons. This inconsistent management is in direct opposition of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act as it was applied to the Chattooga River. The current justification for the ban (it changes regularly) would set a precedent that could have wide-ranging negative implications for all river enthusiasts. The justification being used is that backcountry angling and boating are conflicting uses and therefore must be zoned to avoid conflict. If this were applied across other rivers in the region or the county, fishermen could lose access to half of the USFS controlled trout streams that they fish and boaters could similarly lose access to half the USFS controlled rivers they paddle. Obviously this would be a senseless disaster.

Paddlers and fishermen have demonstrated an ability to share other creeks in the Southeastern USFS system and throughout the nation without conflicts. Just over the ridge from the Chattooga in Western North Carolina American Whitewater and Trout Unlimited designed a mutually beneficial flow regime for the dam controlled Tuckasegee River that enhances the ecological integrity of the river while providing for quality fishing and paddling. Our contention is that fishing and boating are compatible uses of our mountain rivers on public lands, and that standard river etiquette is enough to avoid any potential conflicts. We will keep advocating for unrestricted access to the Headwaters of the Chattooga to protect access to all of our publicly managed rivers for all users.

Contact: Kevin Colburn, Eastern Conservation and Access Associate.

Pit River Dam Relicensing (CA)

Issue: Lack of consistent management standards of beneficial uses in hydropower license conditions on the Pit River.

Goal: American Whitewater seeks an annual schedule of summer whitewater releases that mimic natural flows in the Pit River reaches dewatered by hydropower operations.

Current Status: PG&E's hydropower operations on the Pit River dramatically dewater the Pit 3, 4 and 5 river reaches below each dam. Natural flows in the Pit River prior to dam construction rarely dropped below 2,000 cfs. As part of the relicensing process for the Pit 3, 4 and 5 hydropower project American Whitewater requested Whitewater Controlled Flow Studies. Those studies indicated that flows equal to or slightly below historic natural flows provided ideal flows for whitewater recreation. In essence, the Pit River historically provided opportunities for whitewater boating 365 days per year. Today, PG&E's hydropower operations reduce the flow to 150 cfs in the natural river channel below each dam.

As a condition for the new 30 year hydropower license American Whitewater proposed a summer whitewater flow schedule for the seven-mile Class IV Pit 4 reach and the ten-mile Class III-IV+ Pit 5 reach. The schedule included releases in the Pit 4 and 5 reaches on consecutive weekend days equal to or below the natural hydrograph. In an effort to balance whitewater boating with other recreational uses in the river corridor such as angling, swimming and tubing American Whitewater only requested one weekend in June, two in July, August and September as well as abstaining from whitewater releases entirely on the six mile Class III Pit 3 reach entirely due to the high value anglers place on that reach.

Resource agencies objected to American Whitewater's proposal claiming in part that the flow fluctuations between minimum instream flows prescribed by the agencies and the whitewater flows do not adhere to the natural hydrograph and the flows will impact other flow dependent recreational users. American Whitewater contests the agencies opposition on both counts. Requiring whitewater releases to adhere to natural hydrograph metrics is inappropriate on a regulated river where the agencies have given the lion's share of the water resource to the utility for continued power generation. Compliance with the natural hydrograph should be universal for all recognized beneficial uses including hydropower. American Whitewater believes summer whitewater releases can be managed in a fashion that minimize or eliminates impacts associated with flow fluctuations.

Precedent: Resource agencies once largely silent in hydro relicense proceedings are now recognizing that aquatic organism life histories are adapted to the natural hydrograph of the river system. Unfortunately, the natural hydrograph concept has been applied inconsistently to all the beneficial uses.

Contact: John Gangemi, American Whitewater Conservation Director