Articles

American Whitewater partners with Riverlink and the Nantahala Outdoor Center for a river cleanup on the French Broad River.   Each May lovers of rivers and music gather on the banks of the French Broad River to celebrate the mountain lifestyle at the French Broad River Festival. The festival gives back to the community by raising funds for the river stewardship work of American Whitewater and various local charities.  At the 2009 French Broad Festival American Whitewater is partnering with

Last week Senator Feingold (D-WI) reintroduced the Clean Water Restoration Act (CWRA), S. 787.  This bill is a reaction to law suits that potentially weaken the reach of the Clean Water Act to exclude many headwater streams.  CWRA would:  (1) reaffirm the original intent of Congress in enacting the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to restore and maintain the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the waters of the United States; (2) clearly define the waters of the United States

American Whitewater has joined the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in their Green Power Partnership. AW has purchased enough renewable energy certificates (RECs) from Clean Currents, a leading supplier of wind energy credits, to offset energy usage in our national office. Global warming and air pollution threaten the future of our rivers. Coal for power plants comes from across the US. In the east, it is often mined through Mountain Top Removal, an environmentally destructive practice that is harming communities and

New for 2009, all members who join AW as Platinum Paddlers ($250 Level) will get a custom AW Thin Skin from Immersion Research.   What a sweet deal, you get to support your favorite river-saving non-profit, and get a great piece of gear at the same time. Plus, you can’t get this AW-IR shirt anywhere else, it’s an exclusive product only available to our Platinum Paddlers. A big thanks goes out to Immersion Research for providing this to our members!

April 4, 5 and 11, 12Saturdays at 500 cfs and Sundays at 700 cfs With rain in the forecast for the southeast, Tallulah season is right around the corner! Releases begin at 9:30 am and all boaters must start down the stairs by 3:00 pm to beat the flow down to the lake. You will need to sign a waiver at the top of the stairs to be permitted to paddle the river. Please continue to park across the road

Dillsboro Dam, located on the Tuckaseegee River, is the cornerstone of a comprehensive Federal Energy Regulatory Commission relicensing process that includes whitewater releases on the Cascades and Upper Nantahala (Class IV+ – III) as well as scheduled boating flows on the West Fork of the Tuckaseegee (Class IV). These releases have been delayed due to the ongoing dispute over the removal of Dillsboro Dam.   The following story appeared in the April 2 edition of The Sylva Herald:    

American Whitewater would like to recognize Molly Buirgy as our April Volunteer of the Month.   As a fan of healthy rivers and river trips, Molly didn’t hesitate to invest her energy over the past several months in helping AW undate it’s inventory of whitewater rivers in Colorado. She has been a long-time advocate for monitoring water quality in Colorado’s rivers, and has recently started to explore Colorado’s headwater rivers and creeks with her family and friends.  In the past

Today, President Obama signed the Omnibus Public Lands Bill into law.  This action officially designates 86 new Wild and Scenic Rivers and provides robust protection for well over 350,000 acres of public lands.    American Whitewater and many of our partner organizations actively participated in the development of several of the individual Wilderness and Wild and Scenic River proposals that were part of the Omnibus Bill and advocated for its passage. The hard work and collaboration that went into this

Building off Statewide Traditions Legislation Will Protect Washington’s Most Popular Backcountry Recreation Areas Seattle – Today Senator Murray and Congressman Reichert introduced joint legislation (“Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act” H.R. 1769 and S. 721) that will help ensure the future of some of Washington’s most popular backcountry recreation areas by designating more than 22,000 acres of wilderness adjacent to the existing Alpine Lakes Wilderness Area. The legislation will also protect nearly 30 miles

The US House of Representatives just passed the massive Omnibus Public Lands Bill which has already passed the Senate.  The bill will now go to the Whitehouse for President Obama to sign into law.  The Bill will protect hundreds of thousands of acres of public lands, and directly protect many world class whitewater rivers.  This is great news for the places we paddle!   The Omnibus bill will designate new Wilderness Areas in West Virginia, Virginia, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and

The Washington state legislature continues to discuss the role of hydropwer in the state’s renewable energy portfolio and the Senate recently passed ESSB 5840 which will roll back key provisions of the voter-approved initiative (I-937) that were designed to encourage new investment in renewable energy. Of particular concern to river advocates the legislation as passed would count all hydropower projects of 30 megawatts or less as renewable energy with no qualifications on the impacts these project may have on the

Download your own poster for AW’s major festivals in 2009.   The poster is available as a .pdf for you to print and post as you please. Remember the dates:   Gauley Fest: September 18-20     Summersville, WV   Deerfield Fest: July 25     Charlemont, MA   Wenatchee Fest: June 13-14     Cashmere, WA   Check out our Events Page for more info on AW’s various events this year.

Earlier today Congressman Rick Larsen (WA-2) and Senator Patty Murray (WA) introduced legislation to designate Illabot Creek as a Wild and Scenic River (H.R. 1593 / S. 635). The legislation will protect the free-flowing character of Illabot Creek, an important habitat for threatened wild Chinook salmon, steelhead, bull trout and other wildlife, while maintaining recreational opportunities to explore this remote river gorge. Larsen and Murray’s legislation has broad local support from elected officials, environmentalists, fishermen, agriculture, and other stakeholders.  

American Whitewater’s Kevin Colburn and Jeff Paine were recently featured in LVM’s weekly podcast to talk about AW’s work on the Cheoah River in NC.   The video talks about the long process that AW was a part of to secure releases on the Cheoah. It’s a good chance to see how these negotiations and processes can work and also shows what might have happened to this river was it not for the many members and supporters of AW funding

The Idaho House of Representatives approved a bill yesterday that would require every boat on Idaho waters to bear an annually issued invasive species sticker.  The stickers will cost $5 for each non-motorized boat and would be good for one year. The bill will immediately go to the Senate, where public input from the paddling community will immediately be essential.    The goal of the bill is to prevent the introduction of invasive mussel species, something American Whitewater fully supports,

Here’s an ad we put together that ran in the most recent version of the Kayak Session Magazine. You can download a high-resolution pdf for printing. Feel free to put it up in your local paddling club, gear shop, cubicle or dog house and show your support for American Whitewater.   A huge thanks goes out to Darin McQuoid, a member of the Jackson Kayak team and an excellent photographer, for donating the great photo to AW. If you take