From protecting rivers, to putting water back in rivers, to ensuring the public has access to rivers, to improving safety information for boaters, American Whitewater works to ensure river runners and all who enjoy rivers have opportunities to experience and enjoy clean and healthy rivers.
Dam Removal
American Whitewater and the whitewater community have long been advocates for dam removal, given the significant impact dams have on running rivers. Notable examples where American Whitewater played a role in advocating for removal and / or a role in the restoration and future enjoyment of a restored river, include dam removals on the Tuckasegee River (NC), White Salmon River (WA), Elwha River (WA), and Klamath River (CA/OR).
Safety & Education
American Whitewater works to promote the safe enjoyment of our nation’s rivers through the creation and distribution of safe boating materials including the Safety Code, and through the maintenance of the national whitewater inventory with information on over 6,000 river segments and the accident database, a catalog of incidents on whitewater rivers dating back to 1972 for analysis and review.
Flow Advocacy
American Whitewater works to bring dewatered rivers back to life and restore more natural flow regimes to regulated river systems that provide the full dynamic range of flows essential to river health. American Whitewater developed the “Boatable Days” framework, a peer-reviewed method to quantify the recreational opportunities that various flow conditions offer, which aids in setting targets for flow restoration goals that support both river health and boaters needs.
River Access
American Whitewater uses a variety of tools and approaches to locate and secure permanent access to the rivers we love. Through our access work, our conservation ethic motivates us to go beyond securing access to rivers to ensuring that what we do brings long-term protections to the river. American Whitewater publishes and regularly updates the Navigability Toolkit, a guide to the navigability statutes and case law for all 50 states that define the scope of the public’s rights and privileges on the nation’s waterways.
Recreation Management
American Whitewater plays a crucial role in managing recreation on rivers, ensuring that the public can enjoy high-quality river experiences. Our advocacy efforts span local, state, and federal levels, advocating for sufficient resources to manage rivers effectively. This includes supporting infrastructure for access and facilities, and supporting ecological river restoration and post-flood reconstruction efforts, river gage maintenance, and ensuring accurate and accessible river data for all who enjoy rivers.
River Protection
Witnessing the loss of hundreds of miles of rivers to development and hydropower projects, boaters were among the earliest activists pushing for a national system to protect free-flowing rivers. Today, we remain actively involved, advocating for the designation of new Wild and Scenic Rivers and other federal level and state level protections like state designated Wild and Scenic and Outstanding Resource Water programs, national waterways, wilderness designations, National Monuments, and state scenic waterway designations to protect river corridors with management guidance and to enhance opportunities for the public to enjoy these rivers.
Water Quality
Rivers such as the Potomac (VA/MD), the Cheat (WV), the Menominee (WI), and the Black (NY) were once heavily polluted and considered unfit for outdoor activities. Thanks largely to the Clean Water Act, these rivers, once too contaminated for safe recreation, are now enjoyed by millions. Many rivers however are still polluted enough to cause problems for recreational users and the integrity of the Clean Water Act itself has come into question in recent years. American Whitewater advocates for the whitewater community and all river enthusiasts in striving to fulfill the Clean Water Act’s vision of water quality–that every river in the country is suitable to fish and swim in.