Articles

We want to hear from you—and all about you and whitewater. The September/October issue of American Whitewater is devoted to women and their stories, so don’t be shy. If you are anywhere on the scale of average to extraordinary, put your thoughts and/or experiences down on paper and send them to us. We’re interested in topics all across the board. What’s it like to represent the minority gender in your sport? Do you think there will eventually be as many

The Friends of the Falls Association has completed its campaign to raise $225,000 for the design, permitting and construction of the Spokane Whitewater Park. The campaign reached its goal recently thanks to a donation of $40,000 from Teck Cominco American, a diversified mining company headquartered in Vancouver, B.C., which has a regional office in Spokane. In the Great Spokane River Gorge, one mile from downtown and next to the Sandifur Memorial Bridge, the Spokane Whitewater Park will feature two u-shaped

The Forest Service and BLM in Utah are evaluating 1000’s of river miles for potential inclusion in the national Wild and Scenic Rivers system. The agencies are currently soliciting public comment on their lists through June 30. This input will be used to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement by this fall which will be distributed for public review. A final document of recommendations to Congress will be completed next summer. Now is the time for the paddling community and

Some say that with knowledge comes power.  If this is true then the Yuba and Bear rivers in California have a powerful ally in Bob Center.  Bob is one of those rare individuals that have not only the desire but also the technical background to be a truly powerful force in river restoration.   Bob has been putting in a tremendous amount of time on the hydro projects on the Yuba and Bear rivers in California, working for both American Whitewater

Cool Helmet Cool Cause Want to donate $10 to American Whitewater and get a limited edition WRSI Camouflage helmet too??  WRSI has made it all possible. Here is how you can order one of these limited edition helmets: 1. Order right now. Just email us at sales@whitewaterhelmet.com and let WRSI know that "I want Camo!" Once WRSI receives your email, they will contact you to dial in the details and get your new helmet coming your way. Each helmet is

On Friday, May 25th, the USFS released their plan for wrapping up the user capacity analysis and updating their management of the Wild and Scenic Chattooga River, located in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. The USFS stated that they have completed the data collection phase of the user capacity analysis, and that the full findings will be released later this week. The user capacity analysis was triggered by American Whitewater’s successful appeal of the 2004 decision to continue a

As millions of Americans prepare to spend their Memorial Day weekend in our national forests and the rivers that flow through them, Congress has united in a bi-partisan effort to protect those areas for future generations. More than 140 House Democrats and Republicans introduced legislation yesterday that would provide permanent protection for 58.5 million acres of pristine forest land in 39 states. This would include 9.3 million acres of North America’s only coastal temperate rainforest – Alaska’s Tongass National Forest.

Clif Bar and AW team up to promote river stewardship and safety efforts in paddling clubs. American Whitewater and Clif Bar are pleased to announce the 5th annual Clif Bar Flowing Rivers Campaign, pledging $2,500 to American Whitewater Affiliate Clubs for river stewardship work. Funding for this very effective program is provided by Clif Bar. American Whitewater affiliate clubs have the opportunity to apply for one of two $1,250 grants. Grants will be distributed to clubs for projects that promote

The Mokelumne has scheduled recreation flows of 700cfs in the Tiger Creek reach (from Tiger Creek Afterbay to Red Corral Road) between 10am and 2pm on the following weekend dates:  •    5/19, 5/20, •    5/26, 5/27, 5/28 (Memorial Day) •    6/2, 6/3,•    6/9,  6/10 The flows are likely to be about 700cfs from 10am on the first day through 2pm on the last day of each weekend.  This class III /IV run has recreational releases because of American Whitewater’s efforts

Reclaiming the Cheoah The USDA Forest Service is working with American Whitewater to organize a volunteer work day on the Cheoah River on May 18th, 2007.  The effort will be focused on the removal of live woody vegetation from within the stream bed.  Paddlers interested in volunteering should rsvp to carla@amwhitewater.org, and should meet at Joanne’s Store along the Cheoah River at 9am on the morning of the 18th.  Volunteers should wear sturdy shoes and other appropriate clothing for rough work in a brushy and boulder-filled

The US Forest Service has begun releasing the reports that make up their User Capacity Analysis based on the upper Chattooga.  Several more reports are expected shortly, as well as an overarching report that ties all the individual elements together.  As the reports come in, AW is reviewing them and filing technical comments on them.  the reports and our comments are posted at: http://www.americanwhitewater.org/content/Wiki/aw:chattooga_usercapacity Our initial round of comments are primarily focussed on strengthening the basis for decision making, rather than

Gerry Hodge, who is a paddler representative on the Washington State Boating Safety Council is conducting a survey of paddlers who enjoy the paddling opportunities the state has to offer. We encourage our members to take the survey which will provide important feedback to agency staff and non-profits such as Washington Water Trails, American Whitewater, and other organizations working to represent paddler interests in the state. Take the Survey

Over the past few years we have joined with our friends in BC to work for protection of the Ashlu. We provided our perspective on the importance of the Ashlu as a river with international significance and many of our members responded to our action alerts to help make the case. While these efforts were successful at the local and regional level the developer went straight to the BC legislature in spring 2006 and at the 11th hour Bill 30

American Whitewater just completed a successful Board meeting in Portland, OR and we greatly appreciate the efforts of local volunteers like Megi who helped make this such a great event. While the Board Meeting allowed us an opportunity to do some strategic planning for the organization over the next few years, we also took some time to explore a couple of local rivers. Megi served as local host and joined us on tours of the White Salmon and Sandy Rivers

ITÂ’S MAY 5TH FOR 22nd ANNUAL GREEN RIVER CLEANUP WeÂ’’ll be there! So will all your friends! The biggest, oldest, best river cleanup in Washington State is coming soon! The Green River Cleanup is organized by Washington Recreational River Runners (WRRR) and Friends of the Green River (FOG), with many other organizations and government agencies as sponsors. Look for WKC, PTCC, Mountaineers, BEWET, Sierra Club, GDWA, UKC, American Whitewater, WRRR, FOG, CLC and more. Boaters from all over Washington and