Articles

Denver, CO — Earlier today Governor Ritter announced that the State of Colorado secured a vital delay that prevents the Forest Service’s rush to implement a new management plan for the state’s pristine backcountry roadless areas. These landscapes represent some of the most outstanding recreational assets of the intermountain West attracting visitors from around the world. These visitors contribute an estimated $10 billion to the state’s economy and provide jobs for over 100,000 residents of the state. This past fall,

UPDATE: Deadline extended to Dec. 31st!   Your donations to AW in 2008 may have been the best investment you made all year. Your support has yielded new protections and access for many rivers plus flow restoration and countless beautiful days on the water for you and your paddling partners. As 2008 comes to a close we ask that you consider making an additional, tax deductible, donation to American Whitewater beyond your regular membership dues. Plus, to emphasize the value

American Whitewater would like to recognize Doug Ammons of Missoula, MT as our December Volunteer of the Month.   Many whitewater enthusiasts know of Doug for his extensive accomplishments in the cockpit of a kayak. His paddling adventures are a dream list of world-class, big-water descents all over the world. Including the only solo descent of the Grand Canyon of the Stikine in British Columbia.   American Whitewater members may also recognize Doug from his numerous and very popular contributions

The Nov/Dec issue of the journal is now online for all registered AW members!    In this issue you’ll find stewardship updates on the Tuckasegee and Susquehanna Rivers. It also features a number of articles that touch on the issue’s main topic of Paddling the Unknown including a trip all the way to the Karnali River in Nepal.   You can check out the journal online at:   http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Journal_index_issue_6_year_2008_   However, you must be logged in to the AW website

This December 8th-24th KEEN will donate $5 to American Whitewater for each purchase made in their Hybrid.Shop online using the code KEENAW. What’s more, this offer is open to anyone, AW member or not, who shops at Keen’s Hybrid.Shop online. That means that you, your friends and your family can all support American Whitewater’s mission when they purchase from Keen. At the end of the holidays, Keen will tally how many people made purchases using our AW promo code. If

AW has provided comment on the Puget Sound Partnership’s draft Action Agenda for cleaning up Puget Sound in Washington State. The Puget Sound Partnership is a community effort of citizens, governments, tribes, scientists and businesses working together to restore and protect Puget Sound. The scope of this effort includes the headwater areas that flow into the Sound including nearly 100 recognized whitewater runs that are readily accessible to the paddlers of Western Washington and Southwest British Columbia. The charge given

Have you ever seen mud running off a construction site or the French Broad River chocolate brown? RiverLink’s Muddy Water Watch program is bringing a lot more attention to these sites. Over 35 volunteers from Henderson, Buncombe, Madison, and Yancey Counties are now patrolling their neighborhoods to look for sediment running off construction sites. These sites are responsible for the severe degradation of our waterways and have made sediment the number one polluter in the French Broad Watershed. Muddy Water Watch

We ask that paddlers familiar with Idaho’s Black Canyon of the Bear River fill out a short one-page online survey.  The survey will help us understand paddler’s preferences for flow volumes and scheduling.  American Whitewater strives to represent the interests of the paddlers that are out on the water, and surveys are a big help.    Please take the Bear River Survey   Thanks!

American Whitewater would like to recognize John Cantrell as our November volunteer of the month. Stacey Johnson, Gauley Fest volunteer coordinator, had this to say about John: "John Cantrell has been volunteering at Gauley Fest for many years and has always been willing to help wherever we need him. Last year he showed up to Gauley Fest, saw that we needed additional support with directing cars, and offered to oversee parking for all of Saturday afternoon and into the evening.

American Whitewater would like to recognize John Cantrell as our November volunteer of the month. Stacey Johnson, Gauley Fest volunteer coordinator, had this to say about John: "John Cantrell has been volunteering at Gauley Fest for many years and has always been willing to help wherever we need him. Last year he showed up to Gauley Fest, saw that we needed additional support with directing cars, and offered to oversee parking for all of Saturday afternoon and into the evening.

Recently American Whitewater sent our Fall Appeal to our current members. This letter highlights some of the many stewardship projects American Whitewater is working on and some of the current threats that whitewater enthusiasts face.   As you review the Fall Appeal, please consider a couple of things. First, that membership in American Whitewater is more than a subscription to our Journal. Your membership fuels our stewardship work. For each dollar that you invest in membership, American Whitewater is able

October 22, 2008   North Georgia Hydro Project FERC Project No. 2354 Aesthetic and Whitewater Flow Releases Lake Burton Winter Drawdown  Kimberly D. Bose, Secretary Federal Energy Regulatory Commission Mail Code PJ12.3 888 First Street, NE Washington, D.C. 20426  Dear Ms. Bose:  As required by the “Order Approving Plan to Minimize Reservoir Fluctuations,” dated June 23, 1997, we are writing to notify you of a temporary change in the water use allocations from that established in the aforementioned plan.    In

Despite overnight temperatures dipping into the 20’s this year’s Moosefest was a great time as always. Plus, unlike some years, there was no need to dig through snow to get to your gear in the morning as skies were clear and the sun shinning for most of the weekend. American Whitewater enjoyed the weekend connecting with members old and new over a great river and the cool town of Old Forge, NY. AW setup Saturday afternoon at the local paddle

On Thursday, October 16, 2008 the US Forest Service released the Idaho Roadless Rule, which provides management direction regarding road building and resource extraction across 9.3 million acres of public roadless lands in Idaho.  The Rule replaces the more protective 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule as it applied to Idaho’s roadless areas.   In response to thoughful critique, the final version of the Idaho Roadless Rule was made more protective than the previous draft circulated for public review in a