The numbers speak for themselves: nearly 600 people made almost 5,000 descents of Ohiopyle Falls over a total of three days in 1999 and 2000… and no one was injured! Even the head of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR), John Oliver, made a successful run over the falls this past weekend. He had a little swim, but came up smiling and raised his fist in victory after his descent.
American Whitewater’s goal in applying for the special event permit and sponsoring this race was never simply to sponsor a race, or raise money as same particularly jaded individuals have claimed. Instead, it has always been to open the falls on a free and permanent basis. Yes, we have charged fees for reasons described below; but, this is balanced by the fact that we have moved our boating community far down the track towards obtaining permanent access to the Falls and that every penny is going to great causes! This is huge!
With this year’s safe and successful expansion of the 1999 race, we have proven that the falls can be run safely by responsible and experienced boaters, as well as a few yahoos who probably shouldn’t have been there in the first place.
While a couple people have complained about the cost of the Ohiopyle Falls race fee and also, surprisingly, about American Whitewater’s participation in the event, we have been using this event to promote future access here and on the Upper Yough. Admittedly the fee was steep, but every penny that we raised is being used to either benefit the local rescue squad and VFD, pay for event insurance, fund access work on the Lower Yough, or help obtain a new public take-out on the Upper Yough.
It is naïve to believe that we can successfully pull off these kinds of victories without funding. That is why we regularly ask for donations or contributions to fund our staff, reimburse volunteers, pay for insurance, hire attorneys, and cover the cost of our operations.
There are several reasons for charging this fee.
The first reason is that when, with the help of Jim Greenbaum, American Whitewater met with representatives at Ohiopyle State Park in 1999 to discuss the first Falls Race, it became apparent that the race would NOT occur under any circumstances unless the local fire department and/or rescue squad benefited. DCNR required, as a condition of our permit that the event, benefit a local charity organization. Therefore we contribute half of the proceeds to the volunteer fire department (VFD) and rescue squad, which help the park and boaters with search and rescue activities. In two years boaters have raised almost $5000 for the rescue squad through this event!
Second, American Whitewater provides insurance and other support for the event. Our goal is to break even on our staff and volunteer expenses for planning and staging the event. While members provide donations to American Whitewater for access and conservation work, we stage events principally to generate interest in our access and conservation programs as well as essential funding for these programs. The Ohiopyle Falls festival helps us fund our access work on the Falls as well as regional rivers like the Upper Yough, Blackwater, Gauley, Big Sandy, and Stoney Creek.
Third, American Whitewater is the best-qualified organization to stage this type of whitewater event successfully and safely. We have the experience, skills, volunteers, and history essential to make the event happen.
Fourth, we are actively working to gain permanent legal access to Ohiopyle Falls. We have initiated a multi-stage strategy for gaining this access. Our aim has been to show that running the falls is relatively safe, that boaters are responsible, and that boaters want to contribute to the local economy, and community organizations. The first legal run in 1999, helped advance us towards our objective. 276 people made about 1500 runs. Nobody died and there were no serious injuries. This was a huge success! However, we can’t do this without funding. The fees help to cover our expenses.
At present, Park Superintendent Doug Hoehn remains opposed to allowing access to the Falls, and our 2-day permit authority actually came from the PA-DCNR and the Governor’s office. However, Mr. Hoehn is not the Bogeyman, he’s actually a very caring park superintendent and he is very concerned about visitor safety. His opposition to boating the falls is based on his experiences with drownings on the Lower Yough. As he says, he remembers every drowning victim that he’s seen, and that is not an experience he enjoys reliving. Though no boater has drowned on the falls, he wants to ensure that we have safety boats and experts present, hence the one weekend a year permit.
However, since this year’s event was an even bigger success than last year’s, we have that much more ammunition to forward our proposal for allowing legal access during daylight hours on weekdays from sunrise to 9 AM and from 5 PM to sunset. This strategy paid off on Great Falls of the Potomac, and after several years of safe runs the State of Maryland dropped the hourly restrictions and you can now run Great Falls at any time of the day.
American Whitewater is part of this event because our members have told us that they want permanent legal permission to run the falls. Staging this event, getting the permit, and pulling it off safely helps us achieve our objective. Sure, there are other falls throughout the region, and you can run them for free whenever the water’s up. But, that just provides more evidence that there’s no legitimate reason for this waterfall to be off limits and illegal to run. In the meantime, we are tasked with pulling off the event safely, raising funds for local charitable organizations, and ensuring that the event reflects positively on American Whitewater, the PA-DCNR and our hosts at the Ohiopyle State Park. Thanks to everyone who came out, volunteered, and made this event such a huge success.
Pictures by Tom Uhlman, 2000