Articles

This is the time of year many workplaces are doing their annual philanthropy campaigns through their own company or their regional United Way and CFC programs.  We have had a number of calls about how to participate in these programs.  Federal employees will be pleased to know that you can donate to AW through the Combined Federal Campaign (CFC).  AW has been very fortunate over the years to benefit from paddlers who are federal employees and designate us as the recipient of their

The National Park Service recently offered the country an update on the long awaited Colorado River Management Plan, which could potentially improve the permit system that controls boating use on the river.  American Whitewater was one of many groups that collectively advocated for an equitable permit system that would reduce the time paddlers would have to wait to run the river.  Like paddlers across the globe, we are anxiously awaiting the NPS’s decision on how it intends to fix the

AW Regional Coordinator and Keelhaulers member David Hill is leading a movement to protect the Cuyahoga River and he needs your help.  The issue is that a power company is proposing to build a diversion and generator onto an old dam that is a hot target for removal.  If successful, the power company will dewater 700 feet of the Cuyahoga River (including Butterfly Rock Rapids), and end the ongoing efforts to remove the dam and restore upstream rapids and riverine habitat.  To make

The Cheoah River will flow once more this fall on Wednesday November 2nd. The release should be 1,000 CFS but expect river levels anywhere from 900 to 1,200 CFS. Since adequate parking facilities are not in place the USFS is asking all paddlers to use a shuttle service. The shuttle service will be run once again by NOC and will cost $10 which includes a $3 forest service fee. Additional parking fees may apply. The shuttle will not be leaving

Colorado enjoyed a great boating season this past year attracting paddlers from across the country who came out to enjoy many of the wonderful rivers the state has to offer. While we were all out on the water, however, leaders in the state legislature continued to work on the recreational water issue that we all remember as Senate Bill 62, a bill which our community pulled together to defeat last legislative session. Once again, there are now immediate steps paddlers

The Outdoor Program at University of North Carolina Asheville had a very successful boat demo day in their pool this week.  Boats from Wave Sport, Dagger, Bliss-Stick, Liquid Logic, Jackson and Pyranha were on the water.  As well, each of the manufacturers had their reps and/or designers there to give folks the inside scoop on what each boat for 2006 brings to the river.Red Bull was on hand keeping everyone refreshed.  The evening wrapped up with a showing of Wet-House.Drop

UPDATED 10/31/05The Sumter National Forest held a public meeting on October 13th to discuss the User Capacity Analysis that they are required to carry out as a result of American Whitewater’s appeal of their ban on paddling the Chattooga Headwaters.  Meeting attendees were given a short background of the project history, a review of the Chief’s decision, a brief snapshot of the River, and a brief description of the Limits of Acceptable Change methodology.   Attendees were then asked to write down responses to five general questions: How do

American Whitewater was a signatory to the settlement agreement that calls for removal of Condit Dam on the White Salmon River, restoring the 5 mile Buck Creek to Columbia River section of the White Salmon, a new section on one of the region’s most spectacular whitewater resources. PacifiCorp, current owner of the hydroelectric project, has committed to implementing this important restoration project in the fall of 2008. You can review the PacifiCorp Brochure and Commonly Asked Questions for a quick

Bend Paddle Trail Alliance (BPTA) will bring boaters from around the state to Bend, OR on Oct. 27th for the National Paddling Film Festival Roadshow. Besides the NPFF’s excellent national and international films, paddlers will see local kayakers explore steep creeks in OR, WA and CA and take home gear donated by national paddlesport companies. Festivities start off with the Oct. 25 pre-party highlighting some of Bend’s best pizza and microbrews, film clips, and more gear. Proceeds from this fund raiser will support

This weekend will be the last weekend of Feather releases for the 2005 season. The releases will be the same as normal, Cresta Saturday, Rock Creek Sunday. The release will be 1000 cfs from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM. The shuttle will run on Saturday only. Click here for additional information. Kevin Colburn, AW’s National Stewardship Director, and Tom O’Keefe, AW’s Pacific Northwest Stewardship Director, will be on hand at the release. They will be more than happy to tell

Another great race this year, beautiful weekend, and a bunch of good friends hanging out at the Rendezvous. (Thanks Steve Ruth!). This year we had a tie for first place between David Jacobson and Toby MacDermott with a time of 10:51. Third place was John Grace (1 second behind the winners), then Bryan Kirk one second behind John. Robin Betz was the only female competitor this year, and she blitzed the course in 11:42, setting a new women’s record. The

Over the past 2 years, American Whitewater and Beartooth Paddlers have been directly involved with a whitewater flow study on Montana’s stunning West Rosebud Creek, located in the Beartooth Mountains.  The study is one of many that are informing the ongoing relicensing of the Mystic Lake Hydroelectric Project on West Rosebud.  PPL Montana recently published the flow study report and it is now available online for public reading.  We would like to thank the 55 paddlers that participated in the study, Beartooth Paddlers, PPL

NOTICE: The meeting location and times have been changed.  Please read the new USFS press release below for details. American Whitewater’s appeal of the ban on paddling the Chattooga River’s uppermost 21 miles resulted in the Chief of the USFS ordering the Sumter National Forest (SNF) to conduct a user capacity analysis to determine if any limitations on any uses are justified.  The SNF is now beginning that study process with an open public meeting at which they will present

Did you miss this year’s Gauley River Festival?  Did you attend and not grab that sweet looking T-shirt?  Did we sell out of your size too early?  Well today is your lucky day!  We will be ordering more shirts on October 15th for those who missed out on this great design.  We will only be ordering what we sell between now and then so call 866-BOAT-4AW (866-262-8429) to order your short sleeve shirts today.  The shirts are just $15 each

American Whitewater was founded on a single premise: that paddlers have a responsibility to protect wild rivers and the wildness inherent in all rivers. American Whitewater strongly believes that paddlers and other river users can be effective river advocates if they have the right tools to do so. No other community of people knows our nations whitewater rivers so well, or so completely surveys these resources each year. With this knowledge, and through the experiences we share with rivers, comes