Articles

The American Whitewater membership tent will be at the Nantahala Outdoor Center for the Guest Appreciation Festival (GAF). This years event is scheduled for September 26-28. Anchored by NOC’s annual used gear sale, GAF also features a used gear marketplace and big discounts on new equipment in NOC’s famous Outfitter’s Store. There’s also live music, on-river contests and clinics, free rolling pool instruction, manufacturer boat demos, paddling film premiers, a kids’ moonwalk and more! Check with NOC and stay up-to-date

The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is proposing to divert up to 25 million more gallons of water per day from the Tuolumne, enough to fill 1,000 swimming pools, every day. The proposal to divert more water is embedded in the SFPUC’s Water System Improvement Program (WSIP) a $4.3 billion plan to upgrade the Hetch Hetchy water system, which provides water for 2.4 million people in San Francisco, and surrounding communities in Santa Clara, San Mateo and Alameda Counties.

The Big bend run on the North Fork Feather River has been a classic in low water years in California.  As the lake level drops this run grows in length, uncovering the Big Bend Dam and rapids like, Boxcar and Meat Grinder on Steroids.  The problem has always been that even with the lake below the 730-foot elevation mark, doing this run still required a two-hour paddle out. American Whitewater was able to negotiate as part of the settlement agreement for

Like many paddlers, American Whitewater yesterday submitted comments on the Forest Service’s environmental assessment (EA) of recreation on the Chattooga River.  Our comments were a team effort, and can be downloaded and read in the box to the right.  Our comments point out many of the flaws in the EA, which was clearly a strategic document attempting to justify a ban on paddling the upper Wild and Scenic Chattooga.  The EA was the weakest such document that many of our

The United States Forest Service (USFS) has recently issued a draft rule for Colorado’s National Forests that weakens and removes existing protections for backcountry roadless areas. Starting Monday, August 18th in Pueblo, the USFS is hosting a series of Open Houses to discuss the proposed Rule and to hear your comments. American Whitewater has been working with our colleagues in the Outdoor Alliance to analyze the rule and we believe that the draft rule inadequately protects those remote areas with

Take a drive out to the Lock 32 Whitewater Park in Pittsford, NY this weekend for two days of clinics and competition.   The schedule of events at Lockapalooza will feature boatercross, rodeo, whitewater clinics, plus a plastic slalom race. Not to mention plenty of opportunities for spectators to enjoy the show too.   Most importantly, there will be American Whitewater signup forms for you to fill out to join your favorite whitewater-enthusiast-supporting non-profit.   Enjoy some food off the

An Open Letter to Gauley River Boaters   August 13, 2008 Dear Boaters, The 2008 Gauley season is going to be an exciting time for the Gauley River National Recreation Area.  For the first time in the since the Gauley River NRA was established, the park now owns mid-river access where upper Gauley trips may take off the river and lower Gauley trips may put on.  The river accesses recently acquired are the Masons Branch river access and the new

Since first raising the issue of boating on the Upper Chattooga with the Forest Service in 1995 AW has reached out to local and National Trout Unlimited (TU) leaders, the Chattooga Conservancy and Georgia Forest Watch on numerous occasions with no success. In 1995 our requests for a meeting was refused by all involved. Finally in May of 2001 two local TU representatives did agree to meet with us. It was a pleasant meeting but it was clear that they

Earlier this year in January, American Whitewater teamed up with Lunch Video Magazine and Teva to challenge AW's members to create a video that highlights a favorite American Whitewater project. Participants put together film on their chosen AW project then took their final video and uploaded it to YouTube.   After the final submission deadline in June, AW's own staff voted on their favorite video and choose a submission by Eric Martin for his video on the Feather River in

  Help AW protect rivers here in the states and you could win a trip with Small World Adventures in Ecuador.  Join or donate to be entered in the next drawing for a pair of sunglasses and the trip in Ecuador with Small World Adventures.    Anyone who joins or renews their AW membership or donates at least $10 to support our river stewardship efforts will be entered in a raffle to a week long trip in Ecuador with Small

      Colorado- The communities of Gunnison and Crested Butte in the Upper Gunnison River basin, will showcase hundreds of miles of scenic waterways and rugged recreation during the Gunnison River Festival and River Awareness Week. The schedule of events promises to deliver plenty of river fun and learning from August 14th-18th, 2008.         GUNNISON RIVER FESTIVAL & RIVER AWARENESS WEEK SCHEDULE OF EVENTS – 2008 – Thursday, August 14thState of the Upper Gunnison Presentation – Crested Butte

  Steve offers this overview of his internship: "Being part of the AW team has helped me understand what all exactly this organization deals with, and the true value of volunteers. I have been working on many Stewardship projects for AW beginning with development of the success story of the Cheoah River (story should be posted to the website soon).  From there I started developing a database for the FERC Releases, which will be used nationally for hydro power relicensing

    As paddlers and stewards of America‘s whitewater resources we have much to be thankful for in 2007. Your support of American Whitewater enabled us to gain ground on significant issues facing our rivers both at a regional and national level.   Our regional river stewardship program, an integrated approach to the American Whitewater mission of conservation, access and safety, is performing at a very high level. Our stewardship team is racking up on-the-ground achievements while building internal capacity