Articles

For many boaters, our lives have been built around an ability to visit rivers as frequently as possible. And if they’re not, we’re probably dreaming about being able to do so. Unfortunately, paddling responsibly during COVID-19 has made visiting rivers difficult for many of us. Responses to the pandemic vary regionally and in some areas paddling opportunities are beginning to open back up. Most of the places where restrictions are being loosened, local leaders have made clear that this is not

On May 5th, Senator Udall and Senator Heinrich of New Mexico conditionally filed a proposed Memorandum Brief as Amici Curiae, or “friend of the court”, in strong support of the case Adobe Whitewater Club brought against the Governor and Game Commission in the New Mexico Supreme Court. The Senator’s beautifully describe the value of preserving constitutionally defined public access to the state’s rivers and streams. Read the full brief here. The brief does a brilliant job of relating this case

The May/June Issue of the AW Journal is available in the “Library“. This issue includes a report on the introduction of the “Great American Outdoors Act’ as well as:   A report on proposed rule changes to the Clean Water Act and the National Environmental Policy Act The second part of a packrafting adventure story A southwest stewardship update A couple of great wilderness whitewater features by AW Members And much more!          Current members – Read the issue now!           Not a current

Like you, I am feeling disappointed for lost river time on my favorite runs due to social distancing measures that attempt to flatten the curve of COVID-19 transmission. I write to you today to say that we will get through this, it will not be easy but thanks to strong support from our members we can weather the storm. During the financial crisis of 2008, American Whitewater’s lean administrative model had a huge impact on keeping our stewardship program intact.

One thing that unites boaters is our passion for rivers, and the sometimes overflowing passion with which we celebrate our whitewater rivers at spring and summer festivals across the country. Unfortunately, due to the Coronavirus we’ve had to make the tough decision to cancel American Whitewater’s first festival of the 2020 season, Deerfield Fest in Charlemont, Massachusetts, June 26-28.  This weekend of whitewater paddling, music, fun and games can’t be replaced, but we’re cooking up some informative and entertaining ways

In order to be the strongest advocate out there, you’re gonna need tools. Written tools, visual aids, citations, factoids, and anything else you can use at your disposal. We try and make things as seamless as possible for the river community, but occasionally, you need to go that extra mile. For those instances, we’ve created this page as an easy place that you can turn to. Resources, wisdom, and information can be found on issues taking place across the country

An interesting article in Outside Magazine, based on a research paper done with information stored in the American Whitewater Accident Database. Certainly cold water plays a big role in a flush drowning death, especially when the swimmer has inadequate thermal protection. In addition to cold water shock, a few drops of cold water down the throat can cause laringospasm, which narrows the trachea and can make breathing very difficult. But in my opinion, the relentless, fast moving character of Western

On February 9th, 2020 kayaker Jamie Gray was killed on the Middle Fork of the Tygart river in West Virginia. The next day the state DNR closed the river while they searched a large undercut rock where she was last seen. When that effort was unsuccessful, DNR officer Chris Evans coordinated with local kayakers to do a thorough downstream search. They found her body on the Main Tygart a mile downstream, just above S-Turn Rapid. A full description of the

The Nez Perce and Clearwater National Forests are taking another big step toward eliminating protections from most or all of 89 outstanding whitewater streams in the Lochsa, Selway, and Clearwater watersheds. These rivers have been found eligible for Wild and Scenic designation and should be protected through the Forest Planning process. Instead, the Draft Forest Plan proposes to remove those protections for political reasons through a misapplied process they call “suitability.”   Stand up for Lochsa area rivers today! Use

The Kaweah River is one of the crown jewels of southern Sierra whitewater. Flowing out of Sequoia National Park, the river and its forks offer challenging, non-stop whitewater through golden granite canyons. But despite its grandeur and popularity, boaters have long been challenged by inadequate public river access and a lack of real-time flow information for the Middle Fork and East Fork Kaweah rivers.  American Whitewater is working to resolve these issues through the hydropower relicensing process for Southern California

Our friends at Outdoor Alliance recently released How to Get Outside (during a pandemic), a set of guidelines for recreating in the most responsible way possible. We borrowed their considerations and added some paddling specific ideas. This is an important time for paddlers to be a part of the solution to both help slow the spread of COVID19 and advance stewardship efforts for your favorite rivers. The first step is simple – stay in your zip code. A short abstinence

We know that many of you are struggling financially due to economic loss as a result of COVID-19. Our mission is to protect and restore America’s whitewater rivers and to enhance opportunities to enjoy them safely. Most of us are keeping it close to home; visiting favorite rivers that require additional travel will be limited for the foreseeable future. But American Whitewater will continue to protect and restore these rivers so that we can enjoy them in the future—rivers need

The much-anticipated Draft Forest Plan for the 1.1 million-acre Nantahala-Pisgah National Forest was released in February, but the public meetings and comment period are being delayed because of COVID-19. We are grateful for the pause in the process to allow the public time to give the new Forest Plan the attention it deserves. We’ll be taking the extra time to review the plan with our collaboration partners in great detail. We’ll let paddlers know when it’s time to attend a

A large part of our stewardship work at American Whitewater is following the science of healthy, clean rivers, and how to enjoy them safely, and that commitment continues to this day. The science of what’s happening with COVID-19 suggests that within our communities, including the paddling community, we need to take whatever precautions are necessary to slow the spread of this virus. Flattening the curve will keep us from overwhelming our healthcare systems and will reduce fatalities from the disease.

American Whitewater and its partners, including Outdoor Alliance and the Hydropower Reform Coalition, are filing comments today on the administration’s proposed rollback of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations. The proposed revisions would allow federal permitting without adequately considering climate change impacts, limit consideration of alternatives, and limit public participation in the permitting process. AW is committed to protecting our natural resources from degradation by assuring thorough environmental review before federal permitting to ensure the protection of environmental quality

It’s been a wild ride this past week for the Land and Water Conservation Fund and Restore Our Parks Act, and it all seems to have been initiated by a tweet from the President that began with these words: “I am calling on Congress to send me a Bill that fully and permanently funds the LWCF and restores our National Parks.” Earlier this Congress we were invited to testify before the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee and we highlighted