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Washington State Department of Ecology has initiated a rulemaking process to establish the first Outstanding Resource Waters in the State. In 2022 American Whitewater joined other river conservation groups in the state in nominating the state’s first Outstanding Resource Waters: the Cascade (Skagit watershed), Green (Toutle watershed), and Napeequa (Wenatchee) rivers. The Washington State Department of Ecology has opened a 60-day public comment period to establish the level of public support for these designations and your voice is important. Outstanding

After a decade of advocacy to restore a section of the Connecticut River in Massachusetts and expand whitewater boating opportunities, American Whitewater signed a settlement agreement with FirstLight Power as part of the FERC relicensing of the Turners Falls and Northfield Mountain hydropower projects. American Whitewater was joined by affiliates Appalachian Mountain Club and New England FLOW along with supporting outfitters Zoar Outdoor and Crab Apple Whitewater in achieving this historic agreement. The Settlement Agreement will provide boatable flows in

Back in December of 2022, American Whitewater shared a survey to gather paddlers’ opinions on the permit systems that are used to manage use on multi-day river trips. This survey was designed to investigate both satisfaction with, and preference for various permitting systems in the U.S., as well as specific attitudes towards these systems. A huge number, 1,261 paddlers, were able to fully respond to the survey, answering both general questions regarding permitting systems as well as specific questions about

Boatable flows on the lower Dolores River petered out at the end of June as downstream releases from McPhee dam matched the inflows into the reservoir. Boaters were about to enjoy a total of 55 days of flows over 800 cfs and an extended high flow period (over 3,200 cfs) for 28 days – an entire month. These flows were thanks to an extremely healthy snowpack in the southwest, especially low elevation snow that provided early season high water in

American Whitewater recently filed a formal objection to the newly revised Ashley National Forest management plan. The objection challenges the Forest Service’s decision to permanently release 28 rivers and streams from protection as potential Wild and Scenic Rivers after previously finding them eligible for such protections. Only two eligible streams retained protected status in the plan. The Forest is the first to attempt this release of river protections under the 2012 planning rule, which requires protection of eligible streams. The

For the first time since 2019, boatable flows have been released from McPhee dam into the lower Dolores. A record setting snowpack in the basin has allowed for a long season with extended high flows. If you got a chance to experience this stunning river, or have a trip planned for the near future, we would love to hear more about your experience. Your responses to this survey are incredibly helpful in working with dam operators on structuring releases. Please

The Colorado Supreme Court issued their decision on the Hill v. Warsewa case after hearing oral arguments just last month. The justices unanimously found that Roger Hill did not have standing to seek a legally protected interest to pursue his claim “that a river segment was navigable for title at statehood and belongs to the State.” This question in front of the state supreme court was a narrow one. The justice’s found that he did not, that “Hill has no

Our membership is growing and so is our team! If you or someone you know would love to work with American Whitewater and help serve our members and our mission, please encourage them to apply today. The Membership & Operations Specialist is a new position that will primarily work with our Membership and Engagement Director Bethany Overfield and help support the necessary programmatic, administrative, and data management tasks associated with maintaining and growing the organization’s member and donor base. Additional

The newest edition of the American Whitewater Journal is now available online. If you’re an American Whitewater member that receives the print version of our journal, it should have landed in your mailbox last week (if not, it’ll be there soon!).  We have a wonderful team of talented folks that work on publishing this journal five times a year, but at its heart the American Whitewater Journal is a volunteer publication that relies on community members to submit their stories, photos, art

Four spots on our four-day float trip on the Rogue River in southern Oregon just opened up. Trip dates are June 20th – 23rd. This is a wonderful opportunity to enjoy one of the country’s first Wild and Scenic Rivers with American Whitewater staff and similar likeminded river lovers.  As one of the original eight Wild and Scenic Rivers in the country, the Rogue is an outstanding classroom for American Whitewater’s river stewardship program. Staff shares current projects, their challenges and

Walt Harvest, a leading California kayaker in the ‘60s and ‘70’s died on May 10, 2023. He was 85. Walt built his first kayak with his father back in the 50’s when kayaks were a real novelty. He was one of the strongest kayakers in the country and a leader of the Sierra Club Bay Chapter River Touring Section on many of the early runs of now-classic rivers. Twice a national champion slalom kayaker (‘63 and ’65), he was mentioned

Put these events on your calendar this June because you won’t want to miss these fun river gatherings where you can meet up with American Whitewater staff! American Whitewater only has two Stewardship Program staff in Colorado and we love connecting with the river community whenever we can. Come find us at one of these river events to learn more about what we’re working on, become a member, and best of all have fun on the river with your friends.

Legislation raising the federal debt ceiling includes unrelated provisions weakening the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by limiting environmental reviews of federally permitted activities. NEPA is a critically important safeguard that ensures that federal agencies consider the environmental impacts of hydropower dams, pipelines, mining projects, public access enhancements, and other activities when issuing permits. The deal between the White House and House leadership would limit the scope of environmental reviews and seeks to fast track energy projects that have the

The Supreme Court today issued a decision that significantly narrowed the scope of the Clean Water Act protection of wetlands adjacent to rivers. The Court ruled in a 5-4 decision in Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency that only wetlands that have a “continuous surface connection” to a river are subject to the Clean Water Act. The decision effectively prevents the EPA from requiring a permit for filling, dredging, or polluting wetlands that are next to a river and hydrologically connected. This

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) Commission will consider public comments submitted by May 24th about a proposed change to regulations on use of state wildlife areas (SWA). The proposed changes would restrict the use of any vessel on state wildlife area property to ones being actively used for hunting or fishing. This would affect river access such as the Granite SWA property that includes access to Pine Creek on the Arkansas. Please provide your comments by signing up and submitting