Articles

Restoring rivers through the FERC hydropower relicensing process demands significant time commitments to participate in the regulatory process.  Paddlers on the Spokane River in Washington have taken a team approach to cover all the meetings in the relicensing of Avista utility’s multiple hydropower dams scattered along approximately 50 miles of the river.  John Patrouch, John Karpenko, Paul Delaney, Robbi and  Vicki Castleberry have each dedicated considerable time to this collaborative process serving as representatives for the paddling community.  The Spokane

This week the City of Everett and Snohomish PUD announced that the Allen Gate, which controls access to Lake Chaplain Road will once again be opened on weekends from the hours of 6 am to 6 pm, starting this Memorial Day weekend. This gate has been closed on weekends since fall 2001 preventing the public from accessing designated recreation sites and important river access along the west side of the Sultan River, including areas used by kayakers, birders, bikers, fishermen,

Sirens in SalidaArkansas River, Salida CO1st Annual Fundraiser for American WhitewaterSaturday, June 19th, 2004 The watery women of Lotus Designs will be hostessing this gathering of the girls at  FIBark as a gift to the good folks at American Whitewater.  Any woman who is comfortable rolling and paddling in class 2-3 water, is encouraged to sign up for tips, tricks, and take-out party.  Registration is free to Members of American Whitewater! To join AW, click here! Donations to American Whitewater are greatly

All paddlers utilizing the Upper Blackwater River in West Virginia should make sure to register with the Blackwater Falls State Park before each trip into the gorge.  Currently boaters should register at the Lodge, however the Park has offered to place a self-registration facility at the typical put-in for the Upper B (at the Handicap overlook) in the near future.  Please take the few minutes it takes to register so that the Park has a record of river users and can

American Whitewater is very happy with the successful resolution of our 8 year effort to secure 54 annual releases on Tennessee’s Upper Ocoee River, home of the 1996 Olympics.  We would like to extend a warm thank you to all of you that helped FREE THE OCOEE!  While there are far too many people to thank (thousands participated!), we would like to send out a special message of appreciation to Congressman Zach Wamp, and the outfitters’ representatives Carlo Smith and Larry Mashburn. TVA has published the release schedule

American Whitewater is pleased to announce that Jackson Kayaks and AW will conduct the 2004 AW Membership Drive for Kids – a program for enthusiastic young paddlers.  Jackson Kayaks believes that it is critical that younger paddlers understand the importance of supporting American Whitewater with membership.  To support their commitment, Jackson Kayaks will award a new Jackson Kayak to the paddler who collects the most AW memberships during the contest period.  Additional prizes from IR, Lotus Designs, and AW will

Over the past few years, the Kayak and Canoe Club of New York’s Lauren Cook has been championing an effort to improve the recreational benefits of the Mongaup River in New York State.  Several days ago the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued an order granting the paddling community scheduled releases at two-turbine flows which many paddlers prefer to one-turbine flows.  Beginning this year, the Mongaup now will feature scheduled releases at both flows rather than only featuring one-turbine flows as

MESSAGE FROM CLIF BAR: As part of our continued support for our outdoor advocacy partners, Clif Bar would like to offer each of the members of American Whitewater a great discount toward the purchase of Clif Bars.  Beginning May 1 (and while supplies last), members can visit the Clif Bar Online Store and receive ONE FREE BOX of 12 Clif Bars when they purchase one box of 12 at the regular price.  This offer is intended for AW members only and

During the winter storm of January 2002, the Dosewallips River Road (FS 2610) suffered major damage at mile post 10. The Dosewallips River washed out approximately 100 yards of adjacent road and part of the hillside behind it. This has impacted public access to the Forest Service Elkhorn Campground which is the take-out for the Elkhorn Canyon run (class V+) and the put-in for the Upper Dosewallips run (Class IV+). It has also impacted access to this eastern entrance to

American Whitewater will be making a stop in Leavenworth as part of the 50th Anniversary Membership Appreciation Tour. We will join Osprey Rafting, Leavenworth Mountain Sports, and Team Wave Sport to celebrate the rich whitewater resources of the eastern Cascades at the Wenatchee River Festival on May 21st and 22nd. Friday May 21st Raft Rodeo 4:30-7:30 pm NRS R2 Rodeo Competition sponsored by Osprey Rafting. Please call Osprey Rafting to pre-register, and for information including the site of the competition

30th Anniversary Celebration for Chattooga Wild & Scenic River Monday May 10, 2004 marks the 30th anniversary of the Chattooga River’s Wild and Scenic River protection. The Chattooga was among the first rivers designated by congress for protection as a National Wild and Scenic River. Today the river flourishes as a result of this landmark protection and provides outstanding recreational opportunities for both area residents and others who travel to enjoy this wonderful wilderness resource.Come celebrate this landmark anniversary on Saturday

Congratulations AW Volunteer of the Month for March: CARRIE KELLER Long-time whitewater enthusiast Carrie Keller stepped up to the plate in a big way this past October.  She enthusiastically agreed to help AW host the Paddler’s Art Gallery at AW’s 50th Anniversary Gala in Vail, Co on June 5th.  Over the past six months, she has spent countless hours researching and inviting esteemed river artists to join AW in Vail and to donate a piece of their artwork to be auctioned

Paddlers Celebrate Role as Potomac River Loyal StewardsCabin John, MD and Great Falls, VA – It is common to see paddlers on the Potomac River from one of the overlooks in Great Falls Park (VA) or the C&O Canal National Historical Park (MD), two popular National Park areas near Washington, D.C. What may not be obvious is that these recreational boaters consider themselves stewardship partners of both the land managers and the local safety/rescue organizations for the Potomac’s Mather Gorge,

The watery women of Lotus Designs will be hostessing this gathering of the girls at the Reno River Festival as a gift to the good folks of American Whitewater.  Any women AW member, who is comfortable rolling and paddling in Class II – III water, is encouraged to sign up for tips, tricks, and take-out party.  Registration is free to Members of American Whitewater!Donations to American Whitewater are greatly appreciated to help keep up their work of protecting and restoring whitewater

If you have been trying to contact any of the American Whitewater offices since Tuesday at 9:00am via email, please accept our apologies.  Our email provider has been dealing with a catastrophic failure which has affected AW’s ability to send and receive email.  Please feel free to call us at any our respective offices otherwise we will get back to you as soon as our service is back online.Staff Directory

Throughout the 2004 season AW is thanking each of its members for being part of our first fifty years of success.  All AW members should stop by the AW booth so we can thank you for your support and enter the free AW raffle.   Any expired members from West Virginia should come by the AW booth to renew their membership with AW.  Here are some interesting AW membership statistics for West Virginia, last year at this time there was 149

Thank you for your patience as we have been updating our online shop page as well as changing our fulfilment house. We have replaced our blue hoodie with 2 new colors and a new logo. Now the hoodies are available in sand and red. We have a new vintage T-shirt that reflects AW’s 50 years of commitment to conservation, access, and safety. This shirt will be available in 2 weeks. We will also be offering other exciting products from Immersion

The Seventh Annual French Broad River Festival, a benefit for American Whitewater, will take place on May 7-9, 2004 in beautiful Hot Springs, North Carolina, just 45 minutes north of Asheville, at the Hot Springs Campground and Spa.   Come spend the weekend with family and friends listening to great regional music, shopping for new outdoor gear at the Silent Auction or with one of our many vendors, and watching or participating in either the Kayak Rolling Rodeo or the French

Please donate to AW to help us protect access to America’s Wild and Scenic Rivershttp://www.americanwhitewater.org/donate/ Your help is needed now, please read on…. ·  In 1976, the United States Forest Service made the poor decision of banning boating from the headwaters of the Chattooga, one of the nation’s first Wild & Scenic Rivers. This ban was introduced without research, with a complete lack of information and understanding of whitewater ‘users’, and was supported by local ‘good old boy’ politics. ·  On January 15th 2004

The first scheduled Hoosic River Whitewater Release into the Schaghticoke Gorge will be on Wednesday, April 21, 2004 from 4:15 to 7:15 PM.  American Whitewater and Adirondack Mountain Club negotiated these releases in the relicensing process for this hydropower project with Reliant Energy.  Results from last June’s Whitewater Flow Study demonstrated that the Schaghticoke Gorge contains diverse whitewater opportunities for the boating family!  It has an impressive Class V upper section and a fun Class III lower section.  Do one

Washington’s newest kayak school Fluid Adventures kicked off the start of the spring boating season with a party at the Harmon Brewery in Tacoma. The evening began with a set by Kyle Kovalik, local guitarist and long-time supporter of AW. Brian Smith then showed his video of his recent first descent in India, and the evening closed out with tunes from local band The Dickens. Chris Totten, co-founder of Fluid Adventures, has been an enthusiastic supporter of AW’s access and