Articles

No Trespassing? No Problem. 8 Tips for Approaching Landowners for Access By Jason RobertsonHere are eight tips for approaching private landowners and getting permission to access creeks and streams via their private property. After your visit, consider thanking the owner with a postcard, phone call, or even with some of your stories.1. Be prepared. Write down your name, contact information, license tag, and car description in advance. Offer to the owner. Many owners will allow access if they simply know

No Trespassing? No Problem. 8 Tips for Approaching Landowners for Access By Jason RobertsonWinter’s here and spring’s coming, that means water’s on the way. Now’s the time to do your research, check out the snow pack, watch for rainfall, look at the topo maps, read the guidebooks, and figure out which creeks you’re going to run. It’s also the right time to figure out how you’re going to get to the water. Here are eight tips for approaching private landowners

Learn more about American Whitewater’s work on fees and recent Congressional Testimony.The SF Chronicle reports that Visitors flood parks after user fee cuts. The article reports that there is a direct impact on public land visitation from fees. While the article begs the question of whether too much use is possible, it clearly correlates the negative impact of fees to diminished visitation. The article also makes the point that the solution to many of the problems of increased use is

Contacts: November 30, 2001 Lisa JonesJohnson Communications720-890-8400 x-208lisa@jcomm.com Kevin SchneiderCROA Chairman970-945-6737kevin@glenwoodactivities.com Jason RobertsonAW Access Director301-589-9453jason@amwhitewater.org “RIGHT TO FLOAT” COURT CASE GAINS SUPPORT American Whitewater and Colorado White Water Association Intervene in CaseColorado River Outfitters Association and America Outdoors File Amicus Brief Gunnison, Colo. – The Cannibal Outdoor Network Inc. dba ‘Cannibal Outdoors’, a Colorado River Outfitters Association member, is being sued for civil trespass for conducting float trips on the Lake Fork of the Gunnison River through the private property

In a bold move, the United States Forest Service (USFS) has radically revised its estimates of National Forest use through the National Visitor Use Monitoring Project. The revisions have been welcomed by Congress and are designed to more factually represent the overall use in America’s forests and recreation areas. This could have huge ramifications for forest visitors and the boating community as the agency calculates real use levels and allocates funds accordingly. In addition the agency is actively seeking volunteers

Protect Tennessee’s Water Quality and Supplies From Irresponsible Logging Practices! Urge the State To Strengthen Chip Mill Storm Water Permits TDEC (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation) is about to reissue its industrial storm water permits, including chip mill facilities that encourage the large-scale clearcutting spreading across Tennessee and the Southeast. Voice your concern at a public hearings and/or a letter to the state!! (Sample Letter and Public Hearing dates and locations are listed below.) Forestry is a WATER issue!

Are YOU the lucky boater AW is going to send on a 7-day paddling trip in Ecuador? Sign up for AW’s Paddle Ecuador Contest today and we’ll enter you in a drawing for a 7-day trip paddling in ECUADOR. Win even more entries in the drawing by helping AW grow! Find out how. Existing contest participants – be sure to let us know your progress! Just e-mail the names of your new members to: EcuadorContest@amwhitewater.org. Just think…it could be YOU

Protect Tennessee’s Water Quality and Supplies From Irresponsible Logging Practices! Urge the State To Strengthen Chip Mill Storm Water Permits TDEC (Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation) is about to reissue its industrial storm water permits, including chip mill facilities that encourage the large-scale clearcutting spreading across Tennessee and the Southeast. Voice your concern at a public hearings and/or a letter to the state!! (Sample Letter and Public Hearing dates and locations are listed below.) Forestry is a WATER issue!

Hundreds of acres have been cut since the rivers were designated Wild and Scenic 10 years ago, while not a single comprehensive management plan has been drafted.“The Wild & Scenic Rivers of the Ottawa are national treasures facing death from a thousand clearcuts,” said Brent Plater, attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity. “The Ottawa has been running roughshod over the management guidance provided by the people of this state and country, and its time we all stood up and

OutdoorPrices.com and American Whitewater have partnered to offer a new boat donation program, from which the proceeds are going to AW. The program is simple: you donate your old boat to AW at one of the donation centers located around the country. Our representatives at the donation centers will give you a receipt you can use to value the donation for use as an itemized charitable deduction. American Whitewater Boat Donation Centers signed up so far include: Confluence Kayaks (CO)Lumber

Donate Your Boat to AW and ‘Write it Off!’ OutdoorPrices.com and American Whitewater have partnered to offer a new boat donation program, from which the proceeds are going to AW. The program is simple: you donate your old boat to AW at one of the donation centers located around the country. Our representatives at the donation centers will give you a receipt you can use to value the donation for use as an itemized charitable deduction. Boat Donation Centers established

The Friends of Blackwater Canyon has launched an intensive campaign to get e-mails, calls, letters and postcards to Governor Wise asking him to protect Blackwater Canyon by putting it in public ownership. Please help us by visiting our new website; www.saveblackwater.org. From our site you can link to the Governor’s “Special Places Website” and nominate the Blackwater Canyon, West Virginia’s Crown Jewel, as a special place in need of protection. Once on the Governor’s site, please add a simple message

It is my pleasure to thank Bob Taylor from Moosup, CT for his enormous contribution of time and effort at the 2001 Gauley Festival. Bob was one of the people responsible for handling all of the electrical wiring at the festival. Bob is a well-known paddling personality from Southern New England and is respected for both his playboating and his river running prowess. But, Bob is best known for his big mouth and even bigger appetite. Bob has been boating

Quick Links RESOURCES and UPDATESFAQCONTACTS AMERICAN WHITEWATER COLORADO RESOURCES Colorado Access Fund Established American Whitewater has established a fund dedicated to protecting your public rights to access Colorado’s rivers. Please make a contribution and help defend your fellow boaters’ rights and priveliges! Court Deals Minor Setback in Lake Fork Suit Court ruling does not allow attempts to use criminal trespass law to determine civil trespass. Boaters reaffirm private property rights. The suit moves to court in Fall 2002 (Posted 12/11/2001).

In October 1998, American Whitewater asked the Park Service to consider reopening a handful of Yellowstone’s rivers for limited whitewater recreation opportunities. Our proposal called for a paradigm shift in management of recreational opportunities in Yellowstone. In short, AW proposed that all recreation use in the park be subject to a non-degradation standard. The complete proposal is attached below. Though we submitted the proposal at the Superintendent’s request, it was rejected in August 2000.The Superintendent’s negative decision relies entirely on

In October 2001 several people asked American Whitewater about the Tohickon’s lost releases. American Whitewater has received the attached explanation from the Bureau of State Parks for why these releases failed to occur. The Bureau of State Parks would like to supply the paddlingcommunity with an update as to what is happening with the dam at NockamixonState Park and the potential of rescheduling the Tohickon release. When theupper gearboxes were removed from the bunger valve it was found that itcontained

Great Falls, Virginia – On November 9th, 2001 Superintendent Audrey Calhoun announced the availability of the Environmental Assessment (EA) for “Improvements to Trails and Overlooks at Great Falls Park, Virginia,” a unit of the George Washington Memorial Parkway.The proposed action is based on the fact that the overlooks are currently “in a deteriorating condition, visually incompatible with the surroundings, and inaccessible to disabled visitors.”The assessment also notes that numerous social trails have been established as a result of visitors leaving

In October John Gangemi and Kevin Colburn, American Whitewater staff,toured a series of hydropower projects in and around Adirondack State Park inNew York. In the span of nine-days nine hydropower projects encompassingseventeen dams were visited. Five of these projects four of which containmultiple dams are currently going through the relicensing process. AmericanWhitewater is actively engaged in these relicense proceedings fighting torestore whitewater flows to dewatered reaches, access and publiclyaccessible real-time flow information. “I’ve long awaited an opportunity to paddle in