Articles

The weekend of March 15th Blue Sky Outfitters will host the third annual Skagit River Clean-up. We are looking forward to this annual event that celebrates the beauty of the only designated Wild and Scenic River in Western Washington. Boaters will focus clean up efforts on the Goodell Creek to Copper Creek run and the Copper Creek to Rockport run. The day will end with a great party on the Skagit River including a dinner and a raffle with proceeds

In Leadville, Colorado mine run-off laced with toxic levels of cadmium, zinc, and arsenic, is trapped in a blocked mine drainage tunnel, prompting the Regional Administrator of the US EPA to declare that an "uncontrolled, potentially catastrophic release of water to the Arkansas River is likely at some point."   The Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel, built by the federal government and owned by the US Bureau of Reclamation, is believed to have collapsed, trapping over 1 billion gallons of water

Late yesterday FERC issued a letter rejecting the Preliminary Permit Application for the McKenzie River Hydro Project (FERC P-13099) by Principle Power Hydro (read letter). In the letter FERC stated that the application "patently fails to conform to the Commission’s regulations" and went on to cite several deficiencies with the application. We are pleased that FERC agrees with our assessment that this was an incredibly poorly thought out application and provided stakeholders with no meaningful information on what was being

In response to the ever-increasing demand for water in Colorado, water managers are moving forward with projects aimed at developing new water supplies for Denver and the Front Range. Several of the proposed projects involve billion-dollar schemes to move water across the continental divide, from the Upper Colorado River Basin to the S. Platte basin.While these larger proposals are several years from realization, smaller water projects are moving closer to implementation. One such project, the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP),

AW has completed a study of instream flow needs for recreation on the Crooked River in Oregon. Our thanks go out to Evan Stafford who completed the data analysis and put this report together. The information will provide river managers with important information on how the river is used by whitewater paddlers. We are working on similar efforts throughout the West where we see increasing pressures on limited water resources for irrigation, municipal water supplies, fish and wildlife, and recreation.

In the past decade recreational pressure on the Lower Blue River has increased, resulting in detrimental impacts to natural resources, conflicts with private landowners, and dimishing quality or recreational values and experiences. The Lower Blue River Management Plan is a cooperative effort to develop a strategic framework for protecting natural resources, managing public recreational activities, minimizing conflicts between river users, and protecting private property rights along the lower Blue River, from Green Mountain Reservoir to the confluence with the Colorado

Last month Principle Power Hydro based in San Francisco filed an application with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission for a preliminary permit to develop a series of 9 hydropower projects on the McKenzie River outside of Eugene, OR. These projects would be constructed on the reach that starts at river mile 75 at Scott Creek (just upstream of Paradise Campground) and ends just above Leaburg Dam at river mile 41 (download permit application).   What Would Be Constructed? The applicant

  The US Forest Service is conducting a statewide suitability study to determine which of the outstanding rivers in Utah’s National Forests should be protected as Wild and Scenic Rivers.  The Forest Service released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the suitability study on November 29, 2007.  In this Draft, the Forest Service is recommending that 24 of the 86 rivers that have been identified as eligible for designation should be formally recommended for Wild and Scenic designation.     About

The Alberton Gorge with its rose-colored canyon walls and spine-tingling whitewater is a natural treasure. After more than a decade of effort, the 320 acres of former Montana Power Company lands adjacent to the Alberton Gorge on Montana’s Clark Fork River are being transferred into public ownership. These lands form a corridor along the popular Class III whitewater reach west of Missoula on I-90. Transferring these lands to public ownership ensures public access to this reach of river in perpetuity

Spring is just around the corner and along with spring will come the Annual Tellico River Clean Up on Saturday, March 08, 2008.   Registration will begin at 8:00 a.m. at the Tellico Ranger Station.  Last year’s clean up saw over 200 participants and nearly 2 tons of trash was collected along Tellico River, North River and the North Carolina OHV Area.   Everyone is encouraged to wear long sleeves, wear sturdy shoes, bring gloves and something to eat and