On March 8th, 2006 a letter signed by American Whitewater and 17 other groups was sent to congressional representatives advocating for full funding of the National Streamgaging System. The diverse group of signatories was made up of organizations representing environmentalists, boaters, anglers, hydrologists, geologists, biologists, river managers, and dam safety specialists. Together, we requested that the USGS’s Cooperative Water Program and the National Streamflow Information Program be fully funded. The budget, as currently drafted, would leave the programs underfunded for the second year in a row.
American Whitewater has an active partnership with the USGS to share public flow information. We feel strongly that good flow information is critical to monitoring our nation’s rivers for both scientific and recreational purposes. We hope that through educating congressional represtnatives on the value of stream gages to our members that we can ensure adequate funding the continuation of the gaging program.