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The 2009 Whitewater Symposium will be held at Zoar Outdoor on the Deerfield River in western Massachusetts. The Symposium seeks to advance the sport of whitewater paddling by bringing together key players from all aspects of the whitewater spectrum including freestyle, river running, racing, rescue and playboating. It is an opportunity for paddlers to exchange ideas about trends in equipment, instruction and technique. For the paddling public and active instructors, the Symposium provides an all-inclusive package of technique instruction, dryland

Another year, another awesome American Whitewater Gauley Fest presented by Subaru! Gauley Fest is of major importance to AW as it’s our biggest fundraising event. All the funds raised at this national level event go back to funding AW’s River Stewardship work all over the United States. As important as this event is, however, the 8 full-time staff members of AW simply couldn’t do it alone. This year, nearly 250(!) volunteers helped out. Led by our longtime Volunteer Coordinator, Stacey

The headwaters of our nation’s most iconic southwestern rivers originate in Colorado’s Roadless areas and Wilderness, flowing from 14,000-foot peaks towards 13 states and Mexico. Rivers offer a unique way to experience the Colorado Plateau by water offering unique corridors of travel, few of which have eluded road building, railroad building, logging, and settlement.  The last remaining wild rivers are invaluable to Americans who prefer to experience nature in their canoes, kayaks and rafts, and they offer protection for endangered

  VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!     Show your support of American Whitewater and your love of the Feather River by volunteering some time at the Festival! People are needed to help at the sign-up booth for the races, to sell AW memberships, and to help judge slalom gates during the race. An hour or two of your time will really help and every effort goes to support the Feather River releases! Please call Lisa or Roland at 530-892-8923 Thanks! And, see

Great news, this year’s American Whitewater Gauley Fest presented by Subaru will feature an awesome AW Members-only game of Rock, Paper, Scissors for over $3,500 of awesome gear (including a new Liquidlogic kayak!). Woody Callaway of Liquidlogic kayaks will be heading up this fun and friendly "competition" that’s open to AW members only. Stop by the Liquidlogic booth at 9:15PM to participate, just make sure your membership is current by then, otherwise you can’t play and win!   How the

American Whitewater would like to recognize Bob Taylor as our September volunteer of the month.   Bob has been a major volunteer dedicating hundreds of hours over the years to Deerfield Fest benefiting AW. He’s worked tirelessly with all aspects of the festival from electrical, field setup, booth work and cleanup. Moreover, Bob is well known in the local paddling community as an excellent boater who’s always willing to help teach beginning boaters the ropes. On top of all that,

As you probably already know, AW is holding a huge summer-long membership drive with monthly winners through September and two grand prizes being drawn in October.   The contest is simple and you can still be a part of it:   Only open to members of American Whitewater Members Joining or renewing your membership with AW gives you one chance to win Every $10 donation (by a current member) equals one chance to win (i.e. $100 = 10 chances)  

The September/October issue of the AW Journal is our CANOE ISSUE featuring:   *Olympic Dreams *OC RG Compared to GC *Why C-1? *Open Canoe on the Middle Fork Salmon at 4,500 cfs *Southeast Icons: Steve Frazier and Milt Aitken *. . . .plus much more!   Want to read the AW Journal online? You need a current membership and you must be registered with the AW website and have your membership associated with your website user account.   Current members

September 2, 2009 An Open Letter to Gauley River Boaters Dear Boaters, The National Park Service (NPS) looks forward to another great Gauley boating season beginning in a few weeks. The park continues to develop and improve the river access points at Mason’s Branch and Wood’s Ferry for all river users. The management and use of these two launches went well last year and, for the first time in Gauley River National Recreation Area history, boaters enjoyed public put-ins and

Last Friday Bob Center, Pete Arpin, Moira McSweeny and Riley the Dog scouted the upper 1.5 miles of the Drum Powerhouse Reach.  On Monday we scouted the lower 1.5 miles.  In summary, the upper 1.5 miles are Class III-IV, with one log jam.  The lower 1.5 miles are solid Class V, with blind corners, hazardous wood, a log jam, and willows in the channel (We have seen the middle 1.5 miles at only one point, a Class IV-V rapid).  We

Currently, New Belgium Brewing Company is running a contest among water advocacy groups. The top vote recipient is eligible for a $10,000 grant. Please go to their website and vote for American Whitewater: http://www.newbelgium.com/skinnydip   American Whitewater has been a partner with New Belgium Brewing and their Skinny Dip for a Cause Campaign. Skinny Dip For A Cause is New Belgium’s advocacy and awareness initiative for water conservation, clean water, and saving our rivers. The company has directly supported efforts

American Whitewater is asking our members, particularly those living in Oregon to take action to protect the Wild Rogue.  The Rogue River Wilderness and Rogue River Wild and Scenic River represents one of Oregon’s most treasured natural landscapes. Protected as one of the nation’s first Wild and Scenic Rivers, the Rogue is known for it’s salmon runs, rich natural and cultural history, and incredible wilderness-quality recreational opportunities.  While the remote canyons of the Rogue River provide river runners with a

The U.S. Forest Service announced that the agency is requesting public comments on a proposal to permit a Heritage Center and establish a Southern Appalachian Farmstead living history interpretive site on 20 acres in the Wild and Scenic Chattooga River corridor in South Carolina. Read the press release here. The proposed site is on highway 28 "near" the Wild and Scenic Chattooga, see map. Activities being considered in the proposal include the construction and remodeling of historic structures, placement of