07 Feather Festival a success!

Paddlers from all over California and the West came out to celebrate the Feather River and support American Whitewater at this year’s Feather River Festival.   Thanks to some key volunteers from the Chico Paddleheads , the events went off without a hitch.  The slalom and down river races were a success in large part due to the efforts of Keith Kishiyama, Roland McNutt, Charlie Guilbault along with, Macy Burnham.  

The old school classic “Wild Americans” was a big hit at the film festival. Watching these paddlers bomb down California Classic Runs in their fourteen-foot boats reminded us of California’s long whitewater history.  Also shown at the event was the “Best of California Flow Studies” from AW.  In this video, the crowd was able to see a number of rivers that AW has been working on across the state.  These studies have helped AW negotiate for more water in these rivers that boaters will be padding on soon.

The 2007 Feather River Festival slalom race was held at Tobin Vista for the first time.  The slalom race was traditionally held at Shady Rest on the Cresta section, but since the releases were cancelled on the Cresta section this year, the race was moved upstream. 

Since Tobin Vista is the take out for the Rock Creek section and the put in for the Tobin Section, it is conveniently located and many more people were able to watch the race.  The Tobin Vista course has numerous features where the slalom gates were positioned to test the paddler’s skills. The competitors found the new slalom course a lot more challenging than the Shady Rest course.  Overall, both competitors and spectators enjoyed the action on this exciting new course. 

Saturday night, singer, songwriter, and raft guide, Alice DiMicele entertained the group with her incredible voice and songs of the river.  There was also a raffle and silent auction that helped raise money for American Whitewater. 

Many at the Festival were asking if the Cresta Run was going to come back next year.  Releases were canceled this year over concerns about the effect of releases on foothill yellow legged frogs. AW will be meeting with the Forest Service in the fall to discuss alternatives for the Cresta Reach in the future.  We are interested in pursuing a number of options for the Cresta Reach including, lower release levels, moving releases to later in the season, developing a play feature below the Cresta Powerhouse in lieu of releases.  In order for these discussions to be successful, we need to let the Forest Supervisor know how important the Cresta Reach is to paddlers. If this is important to you, please consider writing a letter to the Forest Supervisor Alice Carlton or Deputy Supervisor Maria Garcia .  Your letter should contain the following:

• Why the Cresta Reach, and the North Fork Feather, is an important paddling opportunity for you.
• How is the Forest Service planning to balance the needs of whitewater recreation and foothill yellow legged frogs?
• How is the Forest Service managing the other impacts to frogs including, dam operations, train derailments, disconnection from wintering habitat from the highway, railroads and dams?
• What is the Forest Service plan for whitewater recreation in the rest of the Feather Basin including, the Belden Reach, the Poe Reach, and the South Fork Feather?

Please send your letters to:       
                    Forest Supervisor: Alice Carlton
                    Deputy Supervisor: Maria Garcia
                    159 Lawrence Street
                    PO Box 11500
                    Quincy, CA 95971-6025

Or email to: mjimenezholtz@fs.fed.us

Slalom Results

Down River Race Results
1 Charlie Center 5:57
2 Ben Wartburg  6:20
3 Cullie Thomas  6:32
4 Macy Burnham 6:39
5 Thomas Moore 6:47
6 Trevor Haagenson 6:48
7 Eric Petlock     6:52
8 John Amis       7:07
9 Jessica Subido  7:12