2015 Clif Bar Flowing Rivers Campaign Announced

American Whitewater is proud to announce the two affiliate recipients of the 2015 Clif Bar Flowing Rivers Campaign: Save The Ocoee and Base Camp Cullowhee! Each group will receive a $1,250 grant to go towards their respective stewardship projects.  

 

The Ocoee River is the nation’s most popular whitewater river with nearly 250,000 visits annually for paddling. Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) normally diverts water around the riverbed through one of the nation’s only wooden flumes used to generate hydroelectric power. Current Federal legislation requiring TVA to release water for recreation expires in a few years. TVA is the only utility in the country that is allowed to charge fees to the public for lost hydro generation when they release water into the river channel for paddling. The increased fees TVA proposes to charge the public under a new agreement are not economically sustainable. Receiving the Flowing Rivers Campaign Grant will help fund legislative outreach mandating TVA release water as a project purpose on the Ocoee for the benefit of recreation and community development.

 

 

The annual Tuckasegee River Cleanup is on of the largest single-day river cleanup in the country and coordinates over 1000 volunteers each year to remove 3-4 tons of garbage from 27 miles of the Tuckasegee river in western NC. Participation in the cleanup has doubled in the past six years and continues to increase as interest in the Tuckasegee River has grown with the addition of many river access improvements as a result of the FERC relicensing agreement with Duke Energy. The 32nd annual river clean up will take place April 16th, 2016. Receiving the Flowing Rivers Campaign Grant will provide support to increase the volunteer base of the river clean up.

 

Thanks again to all the affiliate groups who participated in this year's grant process. Most of all, a huge thanks goes out to Clif Bar for sponsoring this wonderful opportunity for river stewardship!