American Whitewater recently requested that the City of Boonton, NJ recognize and support paddling on the Class IV Boonton Gorge on the Rockaway River. The request follows several incidences of paddlers being told by police that the river is illegal to paddle based on a city/county rule that prohibits swimming. New Jersey has few whitewater runs, which makes each one all the more important. We hope to work with local paddlers and the City of Boonton to reach a solution that allows paddling on the river. Local paddlers will be attending and presenting at local government meetings soon, and we are hopeful that a solution can be worked out that allows paddling to occur. The full text of our letter can be read below.
Mayor Cyril Wekilsky
Boonton Town Hall,
100 Washington Street,
Boonton, NJ, 07005
RE: Rockaway River Access
January 18, 2007
Dear Mayor Wekilsky,
I am writing on behalf of American Whitewater, a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and restore our nation’s whitewater resources while enhancing opportunities to enjoy them safely. We represent roughly 6,500 whitewater paddlers, and over 100 affiliate paddling clubs with a membership exceeding 50,000. A significant portion of our membership lives in New Jersey and/or paddles rivers in New Jersey. American Whitewater is among the leading authorities on river access, river safety, and whitewater boating.
We have recently received notice that your town is considering eliminating recreational paddling access to the Boonton Gorge on the Rockaway River. We are writing to ask that you support, rather than prohibit, recreational enjoyment of the Rockaway River.
Of the 4,700 whitewater runs in our nationwide database, only 19 are in New Jersey. Among these very few whitewater opportunities in your state, Boonton Gorge represents a superb paddling opportunity of moderate difficulty with regularly available flows. Boonton Gorge is a very important resource to the regional paddling community, and a prohibition on paddling this river would be a significant loss to this group of people who seek only healthy and enjoyable outdoor recreation.
In many areas of the country, as close as Garrett County Maryland, communities are constructing artificial whitewater courses and lobbying for recreational releases of water from dams. These artificial whitewater courses cost many millions of dollars. The goals of these activities are to attract adventure based tourists and their associated economic benefits, and offer healthy back-yard recreational amenities to residents and potential residents. You are lucky to have such a resource already in your community. Whitewater paddling is viewed as an asset by many towns and citizens, and we hope you will share this view and fully support paddling in your community. States as well support whitewater boating because it is considered a beneficial use of public waterways under the clean water act.
While you may be concerned about safety, we would offer that paddling is actually a very safe activity. We track every whitewater boating fatality in our online accident database, and have discovered that whitewater fatalities occur at similar or lower rates than most other types of outdoor recreational activities. The vast majority of whitewater paddlers are trained in swiftwater rescue and highly adept at search and rescue activities. In many instances, paddlers actually enhance the safety of a river corridor by rescuing non-paddlers in trouble.
On behalf of our members and the greater paddling community we ask that you not pass any rules or regulations prohibiting whitewater boating through the Boonton Gorge. If you have significant concerns regarding paddling use, I encourage you to contact me or work with the local paddling community to resolve these concerns through collaborative river management.
Thank you for considering this request,
Respectfully,
Kevin Colburn
National Stewardship Director
American Whitewater