American Whitewater is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 1954 with a mission to protect and restore whitewater rivers in the United States and to enhance opportunities to enjoy them safely. American Whitewater maintains a national, crowdsourced, online guide to approximately 6,000 whitewater river reaches, integrating real-time data, user-generated alerts, and verified safety and access information. This guide, the National Whitewater Inventory (NWI), is core to our organization’s commitment to whitewater river safety and exploration.
American Whitewater seeks multiple independent contractors to support a federally funded project to update and enhance NWI content. Contractors will review and improve online river guide pages to provide the boating public with timely, clear, and accurate safety and trip-planning information.
Scope of Work
Contractors will conduct tasks including, but not limited to:
- Reviewing, updating, and editing river-reach descriptions, including access points, rapids, flow considerations, and known hazards on an agreed to number of river pages. (training provided)
- Verifying the accuracy of existing content, including flow ranges and logistical details.
- Adding photographs and documenting hazards or access changes.
- Coordinating with American Whitewater staff and engaging with volunteer or local subject-matter contributors, when needed, to ensure accuracy and completeness.
- Using web-based tools to enter, edit, and manage copy and images.
All work will be completed in accordance with American Whitewater’s quality standards, safety policies, data-accuracy requirements, and project deadlines. The work will be completed between the hiring date (on or before May 22, 2026) and September 30, 2026.
Minimum Qualifications
Applicants must demonstrate the following:
- Documented personal experience navigating multiple whitewater rivers, with sufficient knowledge to describe their recreational, safety, access, and logistical characteristics.
- Strong written communication and editing skills and/or high-quality photography skills, with a willingness to share original photographs for project use.
- Attention to detail and the ability to produce clear, concise, and accurate technical content.
- Ability to use web-based content-management tools for editing text and images.
- Ability to communicate professionally with project staff, volunteers, and local experts.
- Commitment to supporting river safety and accurate public information.
Selection Criteria
Contractors may be selected based on:
- Demonstrated depth and accuracy of knowledge about a substantial number of whitewater river reaches in the United States.
- Quality of writing, editing, and/or photographic examples submitted during the application process.
- Ability to contribute knowledge of specific geographic areas that fills existing data gaps, with the goal of assembling a contractor team that collectively covers a broad and diverse range of regions across the United States.
- Capacity to meet project timelines and deliverables.
Selection will follow a fair, open, and competitive process based on the above criteria.
Compensation
Selected contractors will be paid a set fee of $3,000 to $7,000 for updating an agreed upon number of river pages, commensurate with experience and the requirements of the project. The rate will be specified in the contract agreement. Contractors are responsible for their own taxes and are not eligible for employee benefits.
How to Apply
Applications will only be accepted through this online form, which includes several questions and requires the following attached materials:
- A cover letter describing relevant experience and qualifications.
- A writing sample in the form of a sample river-reach description you have authored (.pdf or .doc format).
- Up to three representative photographs if applying with photography experience, no more than 5mb in size. (Attach one at a time through the form and use the add another response button to the right to attach subsequent images).
Applications will be accepted through April 20, 2026.