Articles

Access to the Puyallup River has long been of interest to recreational paddlers. Puget Sound Energy operates a powerhouse on the river that is located at a site well suited for access. This powerplant is exempted from FREC requirements so there is no formal opportunity to obtain access for recreation through a public process. After speaking with the Puget Sound Energy about the possibility of providing access at this site, however local volunteer Chris Wittenfeld drafted the following proposal. At

On October 23 and 24, roughly 35 paddlers attended a Controlled Recreational Flow Study on the Great Falls reach of the Catawba River in the heart of South Carolina’s Piedmont.  American Whitewater and other organizations requested this study that sought to determine the flow preferences, access needs, and desirability associated with paddling the Great Falls.   AW collaborated with Duke Power, and consultant Bunny Johns in the design and implementation of this landmark study.  Paddlers boated two parallel channels seperated by a large

Snohomish PUD announces start of relicensing process on the Sultan River The Sultan River cuts through a beautiful gorge with over 13 miles of classic pool-drop rapids, located just an hour from the greater Seattle area. There are almost no flat sections—medium-sized pools immediately lead into the next rapid. Aside from a potential wood portage, every drop is runnable and the difficulty factor is, for the most part, solid class IV, with a couple drops that may push class V.

Guest speaker Josh Strange, a fisheries biologist for the Karuk tribe, arrived for his presentation wearing a shirt that said it all: “The Klamath… is my home, church, garden, highway, counselor, friend, brother and provider.”  As the week went on it became obvious to all of the participants that the Klamath River is many things to many people. As these unique relationships were examined it became evident how essential rivers are to their surrounding industry, recreationists, and residents.    During the

Tallulah Season is finally here on November 6-7, 13-14, and 20-21 and here are some important announcments to make this season a success for everyone:1. SIMPLE BEER RULERemember that you are in a State Park where alcohol is PROHIBITED! 2. SHUTTLESNOC will once again be providing shuttles for boaters from the takeout to the parking area beginning at 12:00. THANK YOU, NOC!3. RELEASE TIMES AND WATER LEVELSReleases begin at 9:30 am when the water in the Gorge is stabilized. The

Notable IssuesChattooga RiverColorado River – Grand CanyonNooksack RiverWillimantic RiverSaranac and Ausable Rivers2004 Nationwide Issues MapEach year American Whitewater highlights a series of issues affecting whitewater rivers across the nation by publishing our Top River Issues. American Whitewater staff selected this year’s Top Issues because we feel they are of critical importance this year and are representative of our broad work in river conservation and access. This year we have chosen only five, but American Whitewater staff and our network of

American Whitewater and many other stakeholders are making solid progress on the Catawba River relicensing in North and South Carolina.  Recreational flow studies have been ongoing for the past few months all along the Catawba thanks to Duke Power and the excellent guidance of consultant Bunny Johns, and the assistance of volunteers Maurice Blackburn (Carolina Canoe Club), Andrew Lazenby (AW), and many others. Later this fall we will be studying the Great Falls of the Catawba, a reach that currently only runs

At a meeting earlier this evening (5 Oct), the Ashlu District Council reversed last month’s decision to support the Ashlu Hydro Project, and decided to formally oppose this project. This will not be the last we’ll hear of this project, but it represents an important positive turn of events for the future of whitewater on the Ashlu. The following update of the meeting in Squamish was provided by Stuart Smith: Tonight, the District of Squamish lived up to its name

October 4th is the deadline to vote in the November 2004 general election.  Voting is an important responsibility in our democracy­- a responsibility we must exercise as citizens.  American Whitewater encourages all of its members to register to vote in the 2004 elections.  Be sure to research the river and environmental policies for respective candidates prior to voting.  You can register to vote by contacting your local elections office.  The Montana League of Conservation Voters provides excellent information on how

Grand Canyon National Park Releases Plans to Reduce 26-Year Wait List for Rafting CommunityImportant first step for equity and river management. Contact: GCPBA, Richard Martin, President, leigh@sedona.net  American Whitewater, Jason Robertson, Acting Executive Director, Jason@awa.org, 301-502-4610 For Release: October 1, 2004  FLAGSTAFF, AZ  The Grand Canyon National Park (GCNP) has released it’s long awaited Draft Environmental Statement (DEIS) today, an important part of the process of revising the methods used for recreational management of the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. The plan

The Ohiopyle Festival will be this weekend, Oct 1-3. Spread the Word. The Corps of Engineers have come through as stated in their web site: Yough Weekend Recreational Outlook! “We anticipate reducing the release to 200 cfs Friday morning, to facilitate that event. Criteria for the race requires Ohiopyle stage to be in the range of 1.5 to 1.8 feet. We expect to hold a release level to meet that criteria for the duration of the event.” Lets hear it

During summer 2003 Snohomish PUD constructed a new bridge across the Sultan River at the powerhouse. Unfortunately for river runners and fishermen, this bridge eliminated the historic social trails to the water that provided important river access. Paddlers continued to access the river but this involved climbing over sediment fencing, and with no clearly defined route, resource degradation issues began to develop in an area the PUD had identified for riparian restoration. New bridge constructed in 2003 Members of the

Ticket to Ride.‘Ladies on the Lower G’2nd Annual Fundraiser for American WhitewaterSeptember 24, 2004 (the day before Gauley Festival)The watery women of Lotus Designs will be hostessing this gathering of the girls as a gift to the good folks at American Whitewater. Any woman who is an American Whitewater Member and is comfortable paddling down the Lower Gauley are encouraged to sign up for tips, tricks, and take-out talk. $30 for permit fee and includes shuttle, a hot lunch catered

  The weather forecast for Gauley Festival is for partly sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-70’s.  Summersville Dam will be releasing 15,000 cfs all week until the lake returns to normal pool, and everyone anticipates a normal flow for the festival weekend. Summersville Lake will be at summer pool sometime Wednesday morning. They will continue to release water to get the lake below summer pool. Once the lake returns to summer pool the dam will begin to cut back to

CITIZEN-TIMES.comU.S. Forest Service to close recreation areas earlyBy FROM STAFF REPORTSSept. 16, 2004 12:29 p.m.ASHEVILLE – The U.S. Forest Service will close all recreation areas across the Pisgah and Nantahala national forests at 3 p.m.The areas will remain closed until Hurricane Ivan passes and storm damage can be assessed. This includes all campgrounds, picnic areas, boat ramps, viewing areas, trailheads and trails. Bike trails, horse trails and off-highway vehicle trail systems will be closed as well as hiking trails.All roads

Chico Paddleheads, your California kayak, canoe and raft club, is hosting its 1st Annual Chico Paddleheads’ Film Festival on Friday, September 24th at the Pageant Theater. This event coincides with a whitewater release weekend on the North Fork Feather River. The festival will promote the release, water sport athletes and enthusiasts, local river access, and conservation issues. The Film Festival will also serve as a fund raiser for American Whitewater Association and Chico Paddleheads. Two showings, at 6 PM and 8:30 PM,  will include a mixture of extreme, rodeo,  whitewater, sea

In September of this year, King County announced an agreement to purchase development rights on the Snoqualmie Tree Farm, more than 90,000 acres of working forest once owned by Weyerhaeuser and currently owned by Hancock Timber. This represents the largest public purchase of development rights in the region, and while Hancock Timber will continue to manage the land as working forest for the time being, the North Fork Snoqualmie River corridor will remain undeveloped. This includes two whitewater runs: the

“A River Festival with a Musical Flair” Never in the history of AW’s Gauley Fest has so much effort been put into the “scheduled” entertainment.  In 2004, three bands, the IR Big Gun Show, and the Wave sport Open will grace the Fest’s stage.  Music will start at 4:00 PM and continue until the wee hours of the morning. Each of the three bands playing the Fest has a direct connection to the whitewater world.   http://www.steepcreek.comWith a name like “Steepcreek” they have