Articles

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

AW Journal Safety Archive Would you like more information on a safety topic? Check out the American Whitewater Journal archive All the articles written since 1955 except for accident reportsare listed here. There are dozens of useful hints that will make your paddling safer and more fun. You can also see how whitewater safety thought and practice has evolved through the last 50 years. Article Year Issue Page Author Kayaking is Safer Than You Think 2000 Sept.-Oct. 102 Laura Wittmann

American Whitewater is part of a coalition of groups currently working to develop a stewardship plan for invasive weeds in the Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Valley. As part of this effort volunteers are needed who are willing to help map the location of invasive weeds for removal. Given the speed and regularity with which paddlers can monitor the river corridor, a unique opportunity exists for paddlers to contribute towards this effort. Background The Middle Fork Snoqualmie River Valley is one

  Atlanta Paddlers…. November 4th What:  An evening to benefit American Whitewater…Vistit with Eric Jackson, listen to Tishmango and enjoy food and beverages! Why:  To raise money for the organization and learn more about the work AW is doing on southeastern rivers: Guaranteed water in the Tuckaseegee and Nantahala (including the Upper Nanty) Working with the USFS to determine a plan for the two year study period of the boating ban on Chattooga HeadwatersWorking to secure whitewater releases on the Catawba in South Carolina Secured releases on the

  Atlanta Paddlers…. November 4th What:  An evening to benefit American Whitewater…Vistit with Eric Jackson, listen to Tishmango and enjoy food and beverages! Why:  To raise money for the organization and learn more about the work AW is doing on southeastern rivers: Guaranteed water in the Tuckaseegee and Nantahala (including the Upper Nanty) Working with the USFS to determine a plan for the two year study period of the boating ban on Chattooga HeadwatersWorking to secure whitewater releases on the Catawba in South Carolina Secured releases on the

West Virginia’s Wild Whitewater is being threatened by a bad USFS forest plan! The Monongahela National Forest is the heart and soul of wild and wonderful West Virginia and contains numerous whitewater runs and the headwaters of countless others.  Sadly, the Forest Service’s recently released draft 15-year management plan for the Monongahela puts our forest and streams at risk.  The agency has chosen Alternative 2 as its preferred alternative, which would allow logging and road building in protected areas.  In addition, the

If you want to share a ride to Gauley Festival and save on gas expense, be kinder to the environment by burning less fossil fuel and make new friends check out the AW Ride Share Board. AW is posting this as a service to those wishing to participate in the upcoming Gauley Festival, September 23 – 25. The ride board is posted at the following URL: AW Gauley Festival Ride Share Board

AUSABLE CHASM FLOW STUDY         Paddlers wishing to paddle the Class IV/V Ausable Chasm section of New York’s Ausable River will be allowed to do so on two more days this year.  The remaining dates planned for 2005 are Saturday, September 24, and  Saturday, October 22.     UPDATE: The first date of the study, June 25th, was very successful.  28 paddlers showed up to tackle the class IV rapids and enjoy the world class scenery of the Ausable Chasm, which boasts a canyon that