ISSUE: The 1999 drought increased awareness of crowding on a handful of rivers on the East Coast, including the Upper and Lower Yough, and Ocoee. While some eastern boaters traveled to distant states in order to find water, many concentrated use on a tiny handful of popular rivers with regular dam releases. As the popularity of the sport continues to grow, and as whitewater revenues become an increasingly important part of local economies, this is clearly a great time to work on obtaining and publicizing additional whitewater releases on regional rivers. These releases will serve as pressure release valves on the high use rivers.
GOAL: Obtain additional summer releases on busy summer weekends to take crowding pressure off the Ocoee and Yough. Targeted rivers will include the Savage (MD), Stony (PA), Randolph-Jennings (MD), Gauley (WV), etc.