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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

Today both the House and Senate took decisive, bi-partisan action to responsibly budget for the costs of suppressing catastrophic wildfires by introducing the FLAME Act (Federal Land Assistance, Management and Enhancement Act), H.R. 1404.  The human-powered outdoor recreation community applauds this critical step in getting a handle on the financial impacts that catastrophic wildfires currently have on recreation and other programs.   Under the current system, about one-half of the U.S. Forest Service’s annual budget is already set aside for

Utah House Bill 187, a recent bill that would have made it illegal to paddle all but a short list of rivers, was voted down last week in the Utah Legislature, reintroduced, and then voted down again.  The bill would have inappropriately taken away the rights of the public to paddle rivers and streams that are part of the public trust.  The bill also went far beyond asserting new property rights and attempted to create privacy rights for people that

Act Now to Save the Mokelumne River from Proposed Pardee Expansion East Bay MUD has announced its intent to expand Pardee Reservoir as part of its latest  water plan. The expansion would flood the entire Middle Bar reach of the Mokelumne and nearly a mile of the Mokelumne above Highway 49. These miles of river are popular for fishing and kayaking, and used by local people and visitors to our area. The expanded Pardee would flood nearly a mile of

The March/April issue of the AW journal is now available online!   This issue features articles on:     * River Conservationists Discuss New Protections     * Conversing With the River     * First Descent: Carter Creek Canyon     *Whitewater Evolution: A Novelists Route from Phobia to Obsession (In order to read the online version, you must be registered with the AW website and have your membership account associated with your website user account) Get your journal online and save AW

KEEN, Inc. continues their partnership with American Whitewater to support river stewardship. Through KEEN’s Hybrid.Care program, American Whitewater river stewardship efforts are strengthened. This critical funding comes in a tough economic environment and helps to provide American Whitewater with the resources needed to take advantage of the many opportunities to conserve and restore America’s whitewater rivers. KEEN has been a Class V partner with American Whitewater since 2005.   To learn more about KEEN’s Hybrid.Care program, click here.

American Whitewater would like to recognize Allen Kirkwood as our March volunteer of the month.   As a river steward and whitewater community member, Allen sets a great example. He was the Silent Auction Coordinator for the National Paddling Film Festival this year in addition to his role as the Vice President and former Conservation Officer for the Bluegrass Wildwater Association.  Allen has also been responsible for organizing one of the biggest cleanups on Elkhorn Creek in Kentucky, removing over

Our May/June issue of American Whitewater is dedicated to the best of family whitewater paddling. To that end, if you have a story about growing up around rivers or exposing your own children, spouse, or parents to whitewater, we’d love to hear from you. Please take the time to send us your stories about family paddling, and please don’t forget to include digital photos, captions and photographer credits. If you have any questions about possible articles for this or another

The Utah state legislature is currently considering legislation that would radically limit the rights of the public to recreate on rivers and streams.  H.B. 187 Substitute was a knee-jerk response to a lawsuit that last summer clarified the public’s longheld right to float down rivers and streams in the state.  The Utah legislature now wants to eliminate those rights on all but a small number of rivers.  We strongly encourage Utah paddlers, anglers, and other river enthusiasts to contact their