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U.S. SUPREME COURT SET TO HEAR LANDMARK STATES’ RIGHTS CASE WASHINGTON, DC – The hydropower industry is about to get its day in court in a Clean Water Act case before the U.S. Supreme Court this February. If the industry wins, rivers everywhere will lose. On February 21, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in S.D. Warren v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection. In this case, brought by a South African-owned paper company that owns several dams on Maine’s

What can bring top whitewater names like Jimmy Blakeney, Christie Dobson, Eric Jackson, Willie Kern, Tanya Shuman, and Clay Wright together united for one common goal?  Answer: American Whitewater’s new athlete ambassador program.  In 2006 American Whitewater launched its Athlete Ambassador Team, a core of whitewater paddlers who will publicly represent American Whitewater and reinforce its mission of preserving and restoring ’s whitewater resources.  AW sought out the leaders of the whitewater community to come forward and publicly promote and

Cleansweep for the Chattooga. January 29, 2006. 10 a.m. Highway 28 access on the Chattooga River. Saturday January 28th: Hike into the headwaters 9am:I am going in at Burrell’s Ford and planning on covering as much of the river as daylight will allow. I don’t want to take a large party into the headwaters. That is the reason for keeping this separate from the cleanup for the lower sections. There are a few spaces left in my group for this

In the fall of 2005 AW had a "House Party" in Atlanta, thanks to Mary Beth Kinney.  With Mary Beth leading the charge, the event turned out to be an enormous success.  She worked closely with Jeff Espy at Hooked on the Outdoors and the Atlanta paddling community came out in full force to support AW’s work.  From picking up the tables to putting out the food, MB was the key to making this a great social evening and a

The 39th annual Missouri Whitewater Championships will be held March 18-19, 2006. This event consists of slalom and downriver races with classes for all types of whitewater craft, age groups and skill levels. Boat classes range from expert glass slalom boats to a special K-1 Short class (under 8’6") to cater to today’s shorter boat designs. When: March 18-19, 2006. Where: St. Francis River, near Fredericktown, MO Hosted by the Missouri Whitewater Association. Sanctioned by the ACA. Website: http://missouriwhitewater.org/mwc.html (please

With temperatures hovering around freezing and a fresh blanket of snow, boaters converged on the Sultan River for a rare opportunity to paddle the bypass reach between Culmback Dam and the Jackson Powerhouse this past December. Pioneered by Northwest legends Bob Artis, Rolf Peterson, and others in the 1970’s the reach known as the Upper Sultan was a local favorite prior to enlargement of the dam in the early 1980’s which now “more efficiently” captures water and sends it down

This year, the Forest Service has an opportunity to acquire the Wild and Scenic White Salmon Hopper property along the White Salmon Wild and Scenic River. An appropriation of $280,000 from the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) through the FY 2007 Interior Appropriations bill is needed to preserve this land. This parcel is located along the BZ Section of the White Salmon just downstream of Husum Falls and its preservation will protect the scenic qualities of this river corridor

January 3rd What:  Chattooga River Clean Up When:  January 29th at 11 a.m. Where: Highway 28 Access More Info:  Call Brian at 336-416-0487 From Brian (the organizer), Having been somewhat involved in the AW appeal to open the headwaters of the Chattooga (www.fs.fed.us/r8/fms for info and forum) I wanted to film the clean up needed in the lower sections of the headwaters and trail management. Then I realized that with this rationale I was being selfish, just like those wanting to continue

A hydropower dam owner in Maine has brought a case to the U.S. Supreme Court (S.D. Warren v. Maine Board of Environmental Protection) that could take away every State’s ability to use the Clean Water Act to protect rivers, fish, wildlife, water quality, and recreation at hydropower dams. Specifically, hydro power operators typically must obtain state water quality certification to operate a project on a public waterway. Acquiring this certification requires formal evaluation of flow needs for fish, wildlife, and

Right after the winter holidays, officials from 3 units of the Forest Service will be pondering how to best study public use on the Upper Chattooga River (NC/SC/GA).  The officials will be discussing a range of possible study options, some of which include allowing paddling to occur, and others which do not.  The Forest Service will eventually have to make a decision based on this study, and limitations in the study will directly limit the management options on the table.  In other words,

American Whitewater has joined a lawsuit aimed at scuttling retroactive use of the new Energy Bill.  Retroactive use of the new hydro rules in the energy bill would impact numerous rivers that American Whitewater is actively participating in, including projects in California, Washington, and New Hampshire.  At stake are a dam removal, fish passage, river flows, and water quality.  As our members are well aware, AW prides ourselves on using litigation as an absolute last resort.  In this case, AW and our partners

Last week, a provision in a federal budget bill that would have allowed mining companies to purchase millions of acres of publc lands for development was removed from the bill.  Americans rallied against this blatant attempt at privitizing our public lands, and sent calls and emails to House and Senate leaders in large numbers. We would like to thank all the paddlers out there that took a moment to call or write their political representatives.  Your time was well spent, and

Show us YOURS? The 2006 National Paddling Film Festival is looking for the best films and photo of the year. For 23 years, the volunteers of the NPFF have strived to make your film, photo presentation and viewing experience the very best possible. Thanks to the suggestions by you, filmmakers, photographers and sponsors the festival continues to be the best and most recognized film competition supporting river conservation in the world. The 2006 NPFF will showcase the best of the

Mountain Surf rings in the holidays with American Whitewater.  As a holiday gift to AW, Mountain Surf encourages AW members to upgrade their membership before December 31, 2005.  Those who do so will receive 10% off on any direct purchase from Mountain Surf before January 21, 2006.  You can find Mountain Surf at www.mountainsurf.com, or call them at 301-746-5389, or stop by their outlet in Friendsville, MD.

It’s now time to start thinking about multi-day trips for next year and there are several great opportunities on Western Rivers. Many of these rivers require you to fill out a lottery application and deadlines are coming up. Check our permit database for the information and links to agency sites with detailed instructions and applications you can download. .  River Agency Deadline Alsek/Tatshensnini (AK) Glacier Bay National Park Permit Info Send in application to get on waitlist for preferred dates