Articles

Late last year you may remember our push to pass over a thousand miles of Wild and Scenic designations and millions of acres of protections for some of the most storied whitewater landscapes in the West, including the Grand Canyon (AZ), the Dolores (CO), the Olympic Peninsula (WA), and several whitewater rich watersheds in California (Trinity Alps, Central Coast, San Gabriels) under the banner of the Protecting America’s Wilderness Act (PAWA) by attaching it to the end of year must-pass

Thirty New Mexico State Representatives have introduced two resolutions asking voters to amend Section II of the state’s Constitution (“New Mexico’s Bill of Rights”). Both resolutions ask voters to approve elevating hunting and fishing into constitutional rights.  Its title “Protecting the Right to Hunt, Fish and Harvest Wildlife” would be more accurately described as “Protecting Property Rights over your Right to Hunt, Fish, or Float.”  These ballot initiatives are designed to preempt stream access rights litigation currently being considered by

In August, we asked our members to take action to help protect flows in the Cache La Poudre (CO). The County Commission was analyzing the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP) for its adherence to the Larimer County Land Use code under an application for a 1041 permit. Despite the 203 letters from our supporters and the majority of all comments raising concerns about the project, the Commission voted 2-1 to approve the permit.   Since then, the November election results

The media is reporting that the new fee program affecting river access areas owned and managed by Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources river access areas has been delayed one year, from starting in July of 2021, to instead starting in July of 2022. The delay is to allow for additional input and reconsideration of how the program should be implemented, apparently specifically to reduce impacts on outfitters. A committee will review the new law and make recommendations on possible improvements. American

As a part of the day one executive order on “Protecting Public Health and Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis”, the new administration directed the Secretary of the Interior – along with the Attorney General, Secretaries of Agriculture and Commerce, the Chair of the Council on Environmental Quality, and Tribal Governments – to review the boundary changes made by the previous administration of Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monuments. A report will be provided to the

The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is the essential law outlining environmental review for public lands and rivers projects. Recent changes to rules governing implementation of the law significantly undermined the Act’s efficacy. The previous administration released new Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) rules which shortened the time frame for completing environmental studies, limited the types of projects subject to review, and no longer required federal agencies to account for a project’s cumulative effects on the environment, such as climate

Redwood Creek flows through the heart of Redwood National Park, offering whitewater boaters the rare opportunity to paddle through groves of the tallest trees on earth. It’s a 25-mile run (or longer) and, for many, the real joy of paddling this reach is making it an overnight trip and camping out on one of the many gravel bars along this very large creek.   Without intending to shut paddlers out of this opportunity, Redwood National Park had stopped issuing camping

By all counts, 2020 was an epic wildfire season, particularly on the West Coast. Throughout Oregon and California, National Forests and other public lands were closed as fires burned through river canyons and communities. In the time since the fires have been contained, most public lands have reopened fully or reduced closed areas significantly, although large closures are still in place in many areas that burned at high intensity.   But, until last week, three rivers in Northern California that

Last winter, like every other year, boaters who were lucky enough to pull permits for the 2020 Grand Canyon river season were planning and gearing up for their spring trips. Trip leaders and their groups were preparing all of the gear, travel plans, menus, rental equipment, and itineraries that make a trip down the Grand Canyon possible. However, this year was different. COVID-19 cases were rising at an alarming rate in late winter and when the river was closed to

A local coalition of whitewater boaters, hunters and anglers, small business leaders, clean water advocates, veterans, local elected officials, and other community members are thanking Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley today for introducing the River Democracy Act of 2021 (S. 192), which will designate 4,700 miles of rivers across the state as part of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System (S. 192 on Congress.gov).   You can take action and let your representatives in Congress know you support

Clean water advocates are buoyed by the recent Executive Order, issued on the first day of the new Biden administration, revoking a prior executive order that resulted in regulations limiting the ability of states to require that hydropower dams meet state water quality standards. The new Executive Order (Protecting Public Health and the Environment and Restoring Science to Tackle the Climate Crisis issued January 20, 2021) revokes Executive Order 13868 (promoting Energy Infrastructure and Economic Growth issued April 10, 2019)

Within their day one executive orders, one of the first things the new administration did was to start the process of restoring more robust Clean Water Act protections to our nation’s rivers that were weakened under the prior administration. This is good news for rivers and paddlers. This first-day executive order signals that a new rulemaking is coming that will restore protections to many headwater and desert streams in particular, which will of course restore protections for many downstream river

Legislation has been introduced in the Washington State legislature that would require operators of all boats and vessels that are human-propelled (e.g. kayaks, canoes, rafts, stand up paddle boards) to possess a boater education card providing evidence of completing a boating safety education program.   House Bill 1018 had a hearing in the House Community & Economic Development Committee on Wednesday January 20th at 10am. It is sponsored by Representatives Lovick, Ryu, Ortiz-Self, Goodman, and Orwall.   Proposed Substitute Senate

In a joint project with the River Management Society, Bureau of Land Management (BLM), US Forest Service (USFS), and National Park Service (NPS), American Whitewater has published the River Access Planning Guide (print) (River Access Planning Guide (low res). American Whitewater is regularly called upon to assist with river access projects. Some are a spectacular success, while others are a disappointment. Over the past three years, American Whitewater has been working with NPS Conservation and Outdoor Recreation Programs to better

In difficult times rivers bring us solace. Those rivers we spend the most time with fill our hearts with truth and wisdom. One of those truths is that we are the guardians of our rivers. For many, the past year was incredibly challenging, but because our community rallied around us, our resilient team was able to continue working hard to protect, restore, and ensure our safe access to flowing water. Thank you! Our stewardship work in 2020 played an integral