Articles

Help Stop the Bush Administration from Giving Away Our Last Roadless Lands In mid July, the Bush Administration proposed to repeal the Roadless Area Conservation Rule, putting 58.5 million acres of our national forests at risk to destructive road-building, logging and drilling.  The public spoke out in unprecedented numbers to encourage Clinton to sign the Rule into law and now we must all step up again to voice our support for the protection of our roadless lands.  A public comment period started

American Whitewater and the Academy of Huge Experiences are proud to announce a $5,000 academic scholarship to the kayak high school.  The scholarship contest is open to any whitewater kayaker under the age of eighteen.  The winners must submit an essay describing a personal river experience.  A panel of faculty from Huge Experiences will evaluate each essay for both style and content. The panel will look for writing that is creative, clear, articulate and logically organized.  All entries must be

American Whitewater’s Deerfield River Festival July 30th – Aug 1st Charlemont, MA (in the field across from Zoar Outdoor) Admission: $5.00 American Whitewater and F.L.O.W. started the Deerfield River Festival in 1994 to celebrate the successful dam relicensing process that took place on the Deerfield in 1993. The event focuses on bringing people to Charlemont, MA to enjoy a weekend of outdoor activities while showcasing whitewater paddlesports and raising funds for AW. The main activities take place on Saturday afternoon/evening

American Whitewater members can now read the latest issue of the AW Journal as a PDF online in Full Color, even before it arrives at your doorstep.  Check it out now.  If you aren’t a curent AW member, Join Now for full access to the journal archive.

Roughly twenty-four paddlers attended this first release on the Swan.  Nineteen of these paddlers were not American Whitewater members.  After paddling this fantastic  whitewater resource eighteen of the nineteen paddlers recognized the importance of supporting American Whitewater’s river conservation work and quickly joined up.  Burgers and beer were provided to all members in appreciation of their support.  Thank you! In early 1998 PacifiCorp started the relicense process for the Bigfork hydropower project. American Whitewater got involved at the outset in the

2004 AW Member-Get-A-Member Campaign…Continues!So far the campaign has been a great success, but due to slow mailing we have decided to continue the program until July 31st.If you still know someone who is not a member and you would like to receive an AW Nalgene Bottle then get busy!“When you experience something good, you want to share it with others.  It’s the natural thing to do.”Well the paddling season is in full swing and that means, that AW is about to start its bi-annual

In spring of 2002, the Forest Service announced a plan to develop a new put-in access for the Upper Sauk run. This project was proposed as part of the recreation mitigation package for relicensing of Seattle City Light’s Skagit River dams. The existing access for paddlers is in the Bedal Campground. This access point consists of a one vehicle pull-in within the campground. The campground access road consists of a single narrow lane. The Forest Service has identified potential congestion

10:00am-2:30pm, July 10, 2004University of Oregon, Knight Law SchoolSponsored by the Hydropower Reform Coalition IMPROVING THE MCKENZIE RIVER The McKenzie River meets the Willamette River in Eugene, Oregon, but 50 miles upstream in the Cascades lies the Carmen-Smith project.  The project consists of three dams which reroute the confluence of the Smith and McKenzie rivers.  The hydropower dams are owned by Eugene Water and Electric Board (EWEB), and their collective operating license expires in 2008. Right now, agencies, Tribes, and stakeholders have begun

American Whitewater and the Beartooth Paddling Club are partnering with PPL Montana to conduct a Whitewater Flow Study on West Rosebud Creek, Montana.  The purpose of the study is to identify a preferred range of whitewater boating flows.  PPL Montana operates the Mystic Lake Hydroelectric Project in the upper West Rosebud drainage. The Project regulates flows into West Rosebud Creek affecting whitewater boating opportunities.  The Project is undergoing relicensing with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and PPL Montana, American

Americans Outdoors Act Introduced in Senate On Thursday, June 24th, Sen’s. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) and Mary Landrieu (D-LA) introduced a bill that funds a variety of outdoor recreation programs. The Americans Outdoors Act, S. 2590, would provide a permanent funding stream from Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) revenues for wildlife conservation, coastal protection, the stateside Land and Water Conservation Fund, and the Urban Park and Recreation Recovery Program (UPARR). The bill would direct $1.4 billion to be spent each year for

SALARY:         OpenLOCATION:    Silver Spring, MD (2 blocks from metro)TYPE:              Regular Full-Time, SalariedPOSITION SUMMARY: Reports directly to the Executive Director, manages and coordinates American Whitewater’s business operations and satellite locations, bears responsibility for multiple fiscal sub-units and functions, which may include budget preparation and control, human resources administration, accounts payable, accounts receivable, contract and grant accounting, business resources and assets, cashiering, bookkeeping, preparing the annual report, and/or recordkeeping for the annual audit.DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES: Manages the daily financial activities of the

Contact: Thomas O’Keefe, okeefe@riversandcreeks.com, (206-527-7947) University Kayak Club, a local American Whitewater Affiliate Club, Receives $5000 Grant from National Park Foundation and Tom’s of Maine For Release: July 1, 2004 Seattle, WA – The University Kayak Club announced today that it has received a $5000 grant from the National Park Foundation, the official nonprofit partner of America’s National Parks, to be used to formalize river access sites to provide public access and address bank erosion issues. In addition the funds

The USFS is making way to proceed with devastating logging in the steep and flashy Little Stony/Big Stony watersheds in Southern Virginia. In the Little Stony watershed, the plan calls for the logging of approximately 175 acres in the Joel Branch and 215 acres in the Daveyland Branch.   Several smaller private holdings have been logged creating sedimentation in the stream which once ran crystal clear even after several inches of rain. Now after just 1/2″ of rainfall, the creeks usually runs a muddy brown

The 2004 whitewater release dates will be June 27, July 24/25, August 28/29, September 25/26 and October 23/24.  These dates correspond to the 4th weekend of each month (not the last since some months have five weekends). The Cresta whitewater release scheduled for Saturday June 26th has been canceled to protect frog egg masses and tadpoles.  With the exception of June, all release weekends occur in the following order; Cresta on Saturday; Rock Creek on Sunday.   Release volumes start at

Friday July 30th After the Release Fun!!!3-4 pm Kids Family Fun RaceLast year’s premier of our family fun kid’s race was a success. Many entries resulted in a very special occasion, separate and meaningful to those who participated. So special that we are featuring the race this year on it’s own day. Friday July 30th. Between 3 – 4 pm we will be registering children with guardians at the parking lot across the street from Mountain Surf . A $15

A PUBLIC MEETING ON THE REMOVAL OF DILLSBORO DAM HOSTED BY AMERICAN RIVERS JUNE 24, THURSDAY 7-9pm at the Dillsboro Inn, in Dillsboro, NC The meeting will consist of a presentation by American Rivers staff on the ecological benefits and risks of dam removal followed by a group discussion.  American Whitewater supported the removal of Dillsboro Dam as part of the Nantahala and Tuckasegee relicensing settlement agreements and we continue to believe that the removal of the dam is the best thing for the

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) recently released the FINAL results of the 2+ year long Reservoir Operation Study (ROS).  Based on public demand and advocacy from American Whitewater and other groups, TVA began new scheduled recreational releases on June 1st of this year.   American Whitewater began working on the Reservoir Operations Study as a means of affecting positive change on the management of the Upper Ocoee. Based on our in depth involvement, TVA invited AW to represent river recreationists on a steering

On June 5th, in the midst of the hustle and bustle of the Teva Mountain Games in Vail, Colorado the whitewater community took a moment to sit and celebrate the first 50 years of American Whitewater.  In all 250 whitewater folk put aside their river gear and put on a shirt and tie (or dress) to attend AW’s 50th Anniversary Gala Event.  The dinner was a celebration of American Whitewater’s role in the development of the whitewater community in America over the past

Little Sandy Creek is a popular intermediate run near Bruceton Mills, West Virginia. The normal access from a narrow shoulder at the Route 26 bridge is rather steep and exposed to fast-moving traffic. Many paddlers have found a welcome alternative: the back-yard of the Little Sandy Church of the Nazarine. The friendly folks in this small riverside church welcome paddlers any day except Sunday. Last year pastor Chad Harvey and his congregation decided to offer a picnic lunch to paddlers.