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Volunteer of the Month-Nancy Gilbert

If you’ve ever attended a Gauley Fest or Ocoee Rodeo, chances are you’ve seen and perhaps met Nancy Gilbert. Nancy, along with her husband and AW board of director Joe Greiner, have been volunteering tirelessly at both events for many years. You’ll usually find Nancy at the Gauley Fest entrance and registration and scoring tables at the Ocoee Rodeo, so stop by and say “hi” and be sure to thank her.Nancy began paddling after her fiftieth birthday as a means

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Image for Volunteer of the Month-Nancy Gilbert

Volunteer of the Month-Nancy Gilbert

If you’ve ever attended a Gauley Festival or Ocoee Rodeo you will have seen and quite possibly met Nancy Gilbert. Nancy, along with her husband and AW board of director Joe Greiner, has been a tireless volunteer at both events. You’ll ususally find Nancy at the entrance to Gauley Fest and handling registration and scoring at the Ocoee Rodeo, so be sure to say hello.A lover of the outdoors, Nancy first got into paddling after her fiftieth birthday to have

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Saturday, the parking issues are tremendous and we ask ALL kayakers to please use the shuttle service located at the Cresta Powerhouse. Rafts need to use a separate put-in so ask at the American Whitewater booth for directions. The shuttle service is a paltry $5.00 donation, and makes life easier for everybody. Sunday, we will also provide the shuttle but things are more flexible concerning parking. Furthermore, there are several runs available depending on your skill level. The section from

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Image for AW Preserving Boating Opportunities on the Upper Colorado River

Help Protect WV Rivers Today!

New Plan for the Monongahela National Forest The Management Plan for the Monongahela National Forest is now being revised and public comments accepted. The current management plan is outdated. This is the first time since 1985 that we have had a chance to significantly change how the Forest will be managed. The process has been described as determining “if the Forest’s one million acres of public land will be an all-you-can-eat buffet for the logging industry, or managed with conservation

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Ocoee Flume Breaks, River Flows!

On Saturday, July 14, an enormous rockside near Tablesaw caused considerable damage to the Ocoee #2 diversionary flume, placing a 40-foot hole in one side, destroying cross beams and supports, and moving the actual structure toward the river about 18 inches. Although the TVA is rushing to make repairs, there is no set timeline for project completion, and it may be 5-6 weeks until a full water load can be returned to the flume. That said, whenever the TVA is

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Image for AW Deerfield Riverfest

AW Deerfield Riverfest

Here is a list of some of the products you can come and bid on to raise funds for AW’s Northeaster conservation and access work. Zoar Outdoor Pyranha Sub 7Wilderness Experiences Unlimited Wave Sport boatPerception Whitewater boat of choiceEskimo Eskimo boatPyranha Pyranha Playdeck (skirt)PS Composites (2) Kevlar helmetsLunch Video Magazine (4) Lunch Box (4 Videos)Teva Teva footwearEMS (2) Paddling DuffelsRiot Riot boatMTI LifejacketSheGear (2) Kokatat Lifejackets If you ever have the opportunity, please say thank you to these sponsors. They

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Image for AW Deerfield Riverfest Update!!

AW Deerfield Riverfest Update!!

Here is a list of some of the products you can come and bid on to raise funds for AW’s Northeaster conservation and access work.Donor: Item:Zoar Outdoor Pyranha Sub 7Wilderness Experiences Unlimited Wave Sport boatPerception Whitewater boat of choiceEskimo Eskimo boatPyranha Pyranha Playdeck (skirt)PS Composites (2) Kevlar helmetsLunch Video Magazine (4) Lunch Box (4 Videos)Teva Teva footwearEMS (2) Paddling DuffelsRiot Riot boatMTI LifejacketSheGear (2) Kokatat LifejacketsIf you ever have the opportunity, please say thank you to these sponsors. They help

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2002 GauleyFest

Nicholas County Veterans Memorial Park Rt 19, Summersville, WV Admission $5 (no glass containers permitted) join American Whitewater for an evening in celebration ofwhitewater and the great outdoors   Satisfy your paddlingneeds all in one location     HIGHLIGHTS OF THE 2002 GAULEY FESTIVAL   VENDORS ! VENDORS! VENDORS! If you want it, they’ll have it.   LIVE MUSIC continuous from 7pmto 2am   2002 ir BIG GUN SHOW-  NEW this year! Lunch VideoMagazine’s encore presentation of this super production!

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Image for Piru Creek: September Releases & Boating Access

Liquidlogic Participates in First AW Blood Drive

Liquidlogic continues to assert itself as a leader in the whitewater industry by being the first organization to participate in AW’s new Blood Drive program. AW memberships represent the very life blood of the only organization that works full time making sure you have the opportunity to enjoy America’s premiere whitewater rivers. Liquidlogic understood this need and in a show of support never witnessed in the whitewater industry became the only organization to ensure that every member of the Liquidlogic

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Liquid Logic First to Participate in AW Blood Drive

Liquid Logic continues to assert itself as a leader in the whitewater industry by being the first organization to participate in AW’s new Blood Drive program. AW memberships represent the very life blood of the only organization that works full time making sure you have the opportunity to enjoy America’s premiere whitewater rivers. Liquid Logic understood this need and in a show support never witnessed in the whitewater industry became the only organization to ensure that every member of the

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Permits unlikely on Arkansas in 2003 (CO)

The Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area (AHRA) on Colorado’s Arkansas River have decided to discontinue counting use in Browns Canyon for the remainder of the 2002 boating season. The decision was made “due to the extreme low water conditions in Browns Canyon & the corresponding low number of private boaters using this section of the Arkansas River.” This is good news for the boating community as the AHRA Managers were conducting the counts to determine whether triggers would be hit this

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AW Surveying Boaters on Grand Canyon Permit & River Management

The survey is now complete- many thanks to all who participated! This is an exciting time in the history of Grand Canyon River Management. Through our paddling community’s successful lawsuit (www.americanwhitewater.org/archive/article/348/, we were able to inspire the Park Service to reopen the planning process for the Colorado River in the Grand Canyon. Now, this summer, we have a unique opportunity to work cooperatively with the Park, conservation community, outfitters, and recreationists to plan creatively for the future improved river management

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County to Vote to Extend Closure on Guadalupe Tonight (TX)

The Comal County Commissioner’s Court is taking measures that will restrict access to the Guadalupe River indefinitely. This goes beyond the court order described in AW’s river closure alert on July 10, 2002.The proposed order, posted below, will be voted on tonight in New Braunfels at 8:15pm. If approved, all recreational access will be curtailed.AW’s letter to Comal County DA Dib Waldrip (email datdww@co.comal.tx.us) and Sheriff Bob Holder (email soajrh@co.comal.tx.us) is posted below.If you contact the DA or Sheriff, please

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Image for AW Restores Access to NC's Little River (Effective April 2003!)

AW Restores Access to NC’s Little River (Effective April 2003!)

Updated update: Do not paddle the Little River yet! Due to a bureaucratic glitch, the ban on paddling the waterfalls in Dupont State Forest will remain in place until the new rules are enacted… in april of 2003. This is still a great victory for paddlers, we just need to be patient. North Carolina’s Little River first drove southeastern creekboaters nuts when it appeared in Wayne Gentry’s video “southern Fired Creekin” under the name “mystery creek.” The paddlers bounced and

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Image for New USGS Gage Installed on Wild and Scenic Wilson Creek! (NC)

Act Now To Protect Roadless Lands (and Rivers)!

Subject: Roadless Protection Call-In Day TODAY PLEASE USE THE TOLL FREE NUMBER TO ASK CONGRESS TO PROTECT ROADLESSAREAS – 1-888-569-8906 Ask for your congressman’s office and then tell the staffer in that office that you fully support the Roadless Conservation Act of 2002, and that you would like to encourage the congressman to do the same when he votes on it. That is it! With the Interior Appropriations bill expected on the House floor earlynext week, we need to let

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Texas’ Guadalupe Closed Following Flooding

Texas boater Chris Burt alerted American Whitewater on July 10th that the Guadalupe River is closed until flood waters from the recent rains that have been pounding South and Central Texas recede. As you can read from the press release below, boating is prohibited until “July, 20 unless this order is further extended”. The Guadalupe, the most visited river in Texas, is dammed just above New Braunfels at Canyon Lake, which from the flood, reached record levels and in fact

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By Tim Kelley AW Safety Chairman Paul Zirkelbach’s recent death hit very close to home (see AmericanWhitewater.org/Forum/AW/192718). Paul had taken me down my first class V run 18 years ago, and just three weeks before his death we had a great day on a class V+ run below the section of river he died on. I marveled at this 50 yr-old’s grace and skill. Twelve years my senior, he was still my hero. We joked about him being a member

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Image for A Legacy for Mount Hood (OR)

Help Acquire & Conserve White Salmon Riverfront (WA), update

In April 2002 American Whitewater joined other organizations and inviduals in support of acquisition opportunities within the White Salmon’s riparian corridor (previous action alert). We are now approaching the final hour for federal appropriations. We just learned this week that Congress is funding $2.5 million for the NW Wild and Scenic Rivers program. This is good news and indicates that our first round of letters had a positive effect. For those who would like to see this project happen it’s

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Behold a Pale Horse, An Analysis: Safety concerns can result in lost access

By Jason Robertson The instinct not to breath underwater is so strong that it overcomes the agony of running out of air. No matter how desperate the drowning person is, he doesn’t inhale until he’s on the verge of losing consciousness. At that point there’s so much carbon dioxide in the blood, and so little oxygen, that chemical sensors in the brain trigger an involuntary breath whether he’s underwater or not. That is called the “break point”; laboratory experiments have

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August 2002 Meetings Scheduled to Discuss Grand Canyon Management

This information is also available at www.nps.gov/grca/crmp/public/index.htm.To the many people interested in the Grand Canyon:The National Park Service is updating Grand Canyon National Park’s Colorado River Management Plan and needs your input. The Plan requires preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), which will: 1) provide a comprehensive look at the impacts to natural and cultural resources from current visitor uses on the Colorado River; and 2) evaluate various alternatives to help maintain and enhance this treasured resource while provided a

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BuRec Reopens Lower Blue River below Green Mountain Dam (CO)

The access to the Lower Blue below Green Mountain Dam is going to RE-OPEN on a LIMITED basis beginning this FRIDAY JULY 5th, 2002. Paddlers in the Steamboat Springs and Summit County areas have long enjoyed this late season Class III stretch of river, as water is released from the Green Mountain Reservoir for irrigation purposes. The stretch of river includes steep, dramatic canyon scenery with no roads or trails adjacent to the river.However, access to the river downstream of

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Image for Zirkelbach Colorado Access Fund

Zirkelbach Colorado Access Fund

A message from Tim Kelley, AW Board of Directors and Safety Committee Chair. Tim was a close friend of Paul Zirkelbach’s. American Whitewater has been asked by friends of Paul Zirkelbach to establish a memorial fund dedicated to river access issues in Colorado. The fund will be used to maintain and improve access to Colorado’s rivers with an end state leaving no doubt that the public has the right to navigate and recreate on the natural streams and rivers of

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Image for Flow Surveys Announced for the Crystal and Roaring Fork Rivers (CO)

Volunteer of the Month – Brad Roberts

For a year and a half, Brad has been providing for paddlers the benefit of his years of experience on rivers and creeks all over the Southeast (and elsewhere!), blessing boaters with information on dozens of streams. The Tallulah Page illustrates his commitment to providing paddlers with plenty of technically accurate beta, showcasing all the rapids supported by great descriptions. His formal StreamKeeping covers a range of rivers, from the Cullasaja (NC) o the Chattahoochee (GA). He has helped the

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Image for Logjam Blocks Metolius River (OR)

Logjam Blocks Metolius River (OR)

Dave Summers reports that the Metolius River is now fully blocked by a logjam. His safety report is posted below. This provides an interesting opportunity to reflect on American Whitewater’s large woody debris policy. The logjam is approximately 6 or 7 miles downstream from Camp 99. The logjam is at the same place where last year boaters could get by on the far river right. The logs have moved around and now there are several new logs added to the

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Upper Yough Raft and Kayak Race – 7/18 (Not the ‘Official’ 22nd Annual)

This event celebrates access to a phenomenal river, for which that American Whitewater volunteers and staff and community partners have worked since the mid-1980’s: – getting water released in a programmed manner (with the outfitters) – continuing to work with them to manage water availability and scheduling (again with the outfitters) – taking on the management of the put in, threatened for years by landowners and public land (less than proactive) management, including financially contributing to cover the costs of

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