2007 Annual Report

As paddlers and stewards of America‘s whitewater resources we have much to be thankful for in 2007. Your support of American Whitewater enabled us to gain ground on significant issues facing our rivers both at a regional and national level.

Our regional river stewardship program, an integrated approach to the American Whitewater mission of conservation, access and safety, is performing at a very high level. Our stewardship team is racking up on-the-ground achievements while building internal capacity to more fully involve the paddling community. This Annual Report highlights the methods and achievements of our stewardship efforts.

On the financial side of the organization, 2007 performance was outstanding. Total revenues for the year were $1,443,175 and expenses were $1,353,964 allowing the organization to reinvest $32,365 in its’ reserve fund.

American Whitewater has a great story to tell right now, one that I took with me to Capitol Hill last fall when I provided congressional testimony on the anniversary of the Clean Water Act. In that testimony I shared the story of the Cheoah River in western North Carolina. A river that had been dammed and water diverted through a massive nine-mile long pipe in 1928. The river went completely dry and died. Generations came and went, a resource extraction and manufacturing economy came and went, and by the dawn of the new millennium Graham County, through which the Cheoah flows, was the third poorest county in North Carolina.

About ten years ago, the 50-year old federal license for the Cheoah dam neared its expiration, and the power company was required to apply for another license that would for the first time fully comply with the Clean Water Act. Relicensing a hydropower facility takes years, requiring significant scientific studies and stakeholder involvement.

As one of the stakeholders, American Whitewater helped secure a test release of water into the barren riverbed so that paddlers could explore and assess the river. What we found surprised everyone involved. The Cheoah River was not merely a good recreational resource – it was fantastic and utterly unique – perhaps the best river in the region.

As the studies and negotiations played out, American Whitewater, along with federal and state agencies created a shared vision of a restored Cheoah River. Our vision included protection of riparian land, creation of new river access areas, protection and reintroduction of endangered species, a reinvigorated local economy, and most importantly the return of water to the long dewatered river. We were able to successfully negotiate a new license for the dam that included high flow events for boating. The Cheoah is just one of dozens of similar flow restoration success stories from around the nation. Citizens everywhere are asking for their rivers back.

The stewardship projects contained in this report create a triple bottom line for users and communities. These projects are good for rivers and their ecosystems, they are good for recreational users who spend their wet dollars in local communities and they are good for communities who are dependant on experience-based economies where clean rivers are the destination.

As American Whitewater members, thank you for your continued support. The following project successes are made possible through your dues and donations.

Mark Singleton, Executive Director