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The 2003 Deerfield River Festival is rapidly approaching, and your help is needed! This year’s event promises to be the best to date, and we can use all the help we can get! The 2003 Deerfield River Festival will take place on August 2, 2003 in the field across from Zoar Outdoor on Rt. 2 in Charlemont, MA. This festival takes approximately 75 people to run, and with only 2 full-time staff and a handful of event planning volunteers we

American Whitewater’s Deerfield River Festival August 2-3rdCharlemont, MA (in the field across from Zoar Outdoor) Admission: $5.00 American Whitewater announces the 2003 Deerfield River Festival. 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

Dear Friends and Volunteers,Web Version (550 KB)MS Word Version (435 KB)As you know American Whitewater is widely considered an expert on the nuts and bolts of river permitting and how permits are viewed by recreationists. Our expertise helps us to lend a unique perspective to discussions with river management agencies that compliments the desire of river managers to control or monitor use through permits. We have begun recording our experiences in order to share our expertise with our volunteers as

June 10, 2003 – Paddy McGuire, the Deputy Secretary of Oregon State and the Land Board Assistant, informed American Whitewater on behalf of the Secretary of State that Oregon will move forward on determining whether the John Day River is navigable. The timing of this announcement is important as it comes on the heels of an effort by a handful of legislators to do an end run on the navigability issue under Senate Bill 293, and on the heels of

Calls and Letters Needed Today and Tomorrow! NEW Action Alert: Hydro Legislation in Senate The Senate Energy Bill (S. 14) will probably see Senate floor action early this week. Please take advantage of this critical opportunity to contact your Senators. As reported by American Whitewater in April, the House Energy Bill contains a hydropower provision that radically changes for the worse the process for licensing private hydropower projects. The Senate version of the Energy Bill contains virtually the same language.

Once again the Potomac paddling community based in Washington, DC put on a terrific event. No event in the United States hosts such a variety of whitewater competitions as the Potomac Whitewater Festival. Competitions included the Liquid Logic Great Falls Extreme Race, the Extrasport Expert Rodeo, various squirt contests, and even an attainment race. When asked why he comes to the event each year to compete and volunteer Jim Buley responds with an emphatic “kayaking is FUN!” Let’s face it,

Just in and ready to be shipped directly to you…The AW Sherman…Order Your’s Today! Lotus Designs and American Whitewater have teamed up to support AW’s work in the conservation and restoration of America’s whitewater and the opportunities to enjoy it. Funds from the purchase of the AW Sherman swimvest will further American Whitewater’s efforts to restore hundreds of river segments dewatered by hydropower dams. Visit http://www.lotusdesigns.com to buy your AW Sherman PFD today!

Now in and ready to be shipped directly to you…The AW Sherman…Order Your’s Today! Lotus Designs and American Whitewater have teamed up to support AW’s work in the conservation and restoration of America’s whitewater and the opportunities to enjoy it. Funds from the purchase of the AW Sherman swimvest will further American Whitewater’s efforts to restore hundreds of river segments dewatered by hydropower dams. Visit http://www.lotusdesigns.com to buy your AW Sherman PFD today!

This is a tragic day for river conservation. A decade after beginning construction, China began filling the Three Gorges Dam today (June 1, 2003) and has completed the first stage of the world’s biggest hydropower project.The dam located in Sandouping near Yichang city in central Hubei province is 1000 kilometers west of Shanghai and the mouth of the Yangtze. The dam measures 181 meters high and 2309 meters wide, and the water depth of the reservoir will be 175 meters

Faults – GAO Quotes – Contact Congress – AW ActionsBy secretly taking money from non-Fee Demo funds, the Forest Service hasspent $15 million to raise $15 million in Fee Demo re By secretly taking money from non-Fee Demo funds, the Forest Service has spent $15 million to raise $15 million in Fee Demoreceipts. –Michael Zierhut, Free Our Forests (FOF)Forest   A new report by the GovernmentAccounting Office (GAO) has found fault with the Forest Service‘s participationin the Congressional Fee Demo

Update (June 1, 2003): High water has swept the strainer on the Savage downstream so the channel is clear. The wood is still in the channel, though it is brushed against the bank. Paddle safely and be aware of unexpected hazards.American Whitewater received this cautionary alert on May 26, 2003. We don’t typically post every strainer warning we receive; but given the safety history of the Savage, we feel that this is appropriate to call to your attention. Please paddle

American Whitewater recognizes Jeff Tallman as our May 2003 Volunteer of the Month for his tireless efforts on acquiring the Green River access point in North Carolina. Jeff has spent hundreds of hours on Green River access and worked closely with Kevin Colburn, AW’s Eastern Regional Associate, and Sutton Bacon, AW Board of Directors. Jeff works for a TV station in Greenville, SC is married and has two daughters; yet he has found the time to create AW’s Green River