American Whitewater has a long history of working in the Mid-Atlantic. Our regional conservation and access program is directed towards securing recreational releases from dams and securing public access points to rivers, which would otherwise be lost due to development. Our work on securing releases on the Gauley and Yough (both Upper and Lower) have proven integral to developing regional rural economic strategies and building sustainable commercial markets for eco-tourism opportunities. We are lucky that West Virginia, Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Maryland have fairly strong navigability and public access laws; however we are vigilant for any legislation that would reduce the public right to float. We are also increasingly concerned about the state of water quality in the Mid-Atlantic and the effect of surface mining and extractive mountain top mining removal in which unusable dross is simply pushed into sensitive headwaters streams and creeks.
Recent Successes
- AW management of the Upper Youghiogheny Sang Run Launch Point and construction of changing facilities at the Mountain Surf Inc. take-out in Friendsville.
- Protected funding for several streamgages in West Virginia in the area of the Gauley, Cacapon, and Blackwater.
- Securing on-going access to the Upper and North Fork Blackwater Rivers.
- Providing the only legal public access to take-out on the Upper Gauley and launch on the Lower and Middle Gauley.
- Providing the only legal public take-out on the Dry Fork Cheat and Blackwater River.
- Protecting access to Rock Creek, the only navigable river in Washington, DC.
- Working with volunteers and the Park Service to establish the Potomac River Safety Committee.
Ongoing Projects
- Developing a comprehensive regional plan in Maryland for staggered whitewater releases on the Upper Yough (Class IV-V), Savage River (Class III+), Stoney Creek into Kitzmiller on the Potomac (Class III), and Jennings-Randolph on the North Branch Potomac (Class II).
- Protecting West Virginia streamgages.
- Securing stream buffers and public access points on the Cheat and Big Sandy Rivers from the log company who purchased the property in 2003.
- Securing legal access to Johns Creek, VA.
Future Challenges
- Opening rivers in Montgomery County, MD to legal whitewater recreation.
- Working with anglers to provide desirable whitewater and fishing opportunities on a complementary basis.
- Relicensing of the Deep Creek hydropower project on the Upper Yough in 2005.