Come join American Whitewater at the 2019 Oh Be Joyful Creek Race in Crested Butte on June 22! “The World famous Oh Be Joyful Steep Creek Race is back on this year! Saturday, June 22nd is the day to come out and show your stuff on one of the steepest kayak races out there! Registration is now open, so sign up to race or just come out and watch one of the greatest shows on Earth!” – Paul Raymond, OBJ
A local planning agency has championed a study of the Weverton access site just downstream of Harpers Ferry. This site is an important Potomac river put-in/takeout site for Shenandoah and Potomac River paddlers who have few access options in the area. At issue is an informal crossing of the two-track CSX railroad used by almost 27,000 paddlers, Appalachian Trail hikers, and visitors to the C&O Canal National Historical Park last year. The study outlines two options to formalize this access
This spring in Colorado has been so cool and wet that the U.S. Drought Monitor has officially declared the state drought free. For paddlers this has meant a slow start to the boating season in a lot of places and excitement for the long season expected. For reservoir operators the delayed inflows mean more uncertainty. Memorial Day releases on the Dolores River provided a great opportunity for boaters to enjoy flows of 1200 cfs for the long weekend. American Whitewater
Thanks to generous grants from the US Coast Guard and significant volunteer efforts American Whitewater has created a new modernized version of our website that works across mobile devices, has significantly updated programming systems, and works with our volunteer-created apps for both iOS and Android. We want to acknowledge that the new version of the site has had numerous bugs, and to share that we have worked to address them as quickly as possible. This work continues with a lean
The Hanging Lake hiking trail, located in Glenwood Canyon (CO), has had issues with crowding, illegal parking, and degradation to the lake by the over 130,000 people that hike there every year. A stakeholder group including the City of Glenwood Springs, the Forest Service and Colorado Department of Transportation among others have been working on a plan to mitigate for these impacts to protect the iconic lake and prevent conflicts at the rest area. The rest area also served as
The Hanging Lake hiking trail, located in Glenwood Canyon (CO), has had issues with crowding, illegal parking, and degradation to the lake by the over 130,000 people that hike there every year. A stakeholder group including the City of Glenwood Springs, the Forest Service and Colorado Department of Transportation among others have been working on a plan to mitigate for these impacts to protect the iconic lake and prevent conflicts at the rest area. The rest area also served as
Crested Butte, CO – Increased user conflict on the Slate River has led to a Floating Management Plan that proposes a “voluntary no-float period” between March 15 and July 15 this season. Since our last news post in November, the Slate River Floating Management Plan has been updated and revised for the 2019 season. An open house will be at The Depot in Crested Butte on Thursday, May 16 and it is critical that paddlers from the local community attend
At the end of last Congress, the House and Senate negotiated a public lands package that ultimately resulted in 256 new miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers for Oregon when the John D. Dingell, Jr. Conservation, Management, and Recreation Act was signed into law on March 12th, 2019. While rivers like the Molalla and several tributaries of the Rogue were designated Wild and Scenic, the lands surrounding the immediate river corridor were left unprotected. Despite the hard work of Senator
Citing benefits to Olympic Peninsula salmon recovery, local jobs, economy, & clean water, the Quinault, Quileute, Elwha, Jamestown S’Klallam Tribes and mayors of Port Angeles, Aberdeen, Hoquiam, Port Townsend, Elma and Ocean Shores joined more than 800 local businesses, elected officials, farms, faith leaders, sportsmen, conservation & recreation groups now backing Wild Olympics QUILCENE, Wash. (May 9, 2019) Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. Representative Derek Kilmer (D-WA-06) reintroduced the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers
The Dolores Water Conservation District recently put out their updated spill prediction based on the Colorado River Basin Forecast Center’s May 1st inflow forecast. In addition to a positive forecast, low and middle elevation snowpack has raised McPhee water levels at approximately a foot per day. This lower elevation snow and May storm cycle have also helped in keeping fields wet and pushing back the start of irrigation season. One more benefit of the healthy low elevation snowpack was the
The May/June issue of the AW Journal is available in the “Library“. This issue includes an incredible historical account of John Wesley Powell’s travels along the Colorado River as well as: A riveting recap of a lower water Selway trip (spoiler: it was still fun!!) An introduction of our new Southern Rockies Stewardship Director, Hattie Johnson An international journey down the Usumacinta River along the Guatemala/Mexico border A touching travelogue highlighting a family’s road trip with their young kiddos Loads
A bill to fully fund the Land and Water Conservation Fund (LWCF) was introduced last month by Colorado Senator Cory Gardener and West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin and cosponsored by Colorado Senator Michael Bennett. If passed the bill would provide $900M annually for projects protecting natural, cultural and historic resources. Existing funding from the LWCF recently enabled the transfer of two important river access points on the Upper Colorado River. The State Bridge and Two Bridges parcels were owned by
KEEN has been a longtime supporter of our river stewardship work and if you need a new pair of KEENs now is the time to get them – use the code AMERICANWHITEWATER in the KEEN online store to receive $10 off and KEEN will kick $10 our way to continue our stewardship work for rivers. It’s a win win and your feet will thank you!
The Spring Stewardship Update for 2019 is here! This spring American Whitewater is working to protect water quality in our nation’s rivers, designate new Wild and Scenic Rivers, restore flows to rivers affected by hydropower dams, promote outdoor recreation on our public lands, and protect access to our favorite whitewater rivers – we’re getting it done in 2019, but we can’t do it without your help. This stewardship work is possible only through your support, and your financial contribution plays a
Durango, CO – June is fast approaching and Animas River Days is not to be missed. On June 1, the Animas River in Durango, CO will be filled with kayakers, rafters, SUP boarders, and spectators celebrating healthy and safe rivers. Be sure to put this event on your calendar for fun and whitewater this summer! Check out the Event Schedule and don’t forget to pre-register if you are planning on competing in any of the many events. Pre-registration ends on
The Bureau of Reclamation and the Dolores Water Conservation District (DWCD) hosted a 2019 Spill Meeting for the boating public on April 18th at the Dolores Community Center. American Whitewater was joined on the panel by Dolores River Boating Advocates, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Riparian specialists from Fort Lewis College, and the Colorado River Basin Forecast Center (CRBFC). The CRBFC presented on how they develop their forecasts and all the variables included. Then we heard from the DWCD and Bureau
Jerry Griffin has been a long standing member and officer of the Appalachian Paddling Enthusiasts for over two decades. His humble demeanor and servant’s heart has been a shining example to our local paddling community. He is always one of the first to step up to help with a river access project, river cleanup or guide a beginner/intermediate paddler down a local river and plays a key role in providing volunteer labor and equipment for many local river access projects. He has helped
The rivers are rising and warming up, and if you are like us your calendar is filling up with river trips scattered around your region and beyond. One of the many cool things about paddling is how we can traverse natural landscapes without even leaving a footprint. While our paddle strokes disappear when their tiny whirlpools collapse, it’s still a good time of year to reflect on how we can be the best possible visitors to the special places we
THIS WEEK ONLY! American Whitewater is happy to announce that we have partnered once again with FLOAT to bring you limited edition Keep Rivers Flowing stewardship T shirts and hoodies available this week only! For every shirt sold FLOAT will donate $8 to American Whitewater to help us restore rivers. Head on over to FLOAT and shop today – lots of styles and colors to choose from! Wear your love for wild rivers and support our stewardship work to
American Whitewater is hiring a Policy Strategist for the Colorado Stewardship Program. The Colorado Policy Strategist role is a grant term limited position. The location of the position may vary within the state of Colorado, but in-person meetings along the front range are expected to be frequent. Work would be primarily done from a home office. The policy strategist reports to American Whitewater’s Southern Rockies Stewardship Director, and benefits from significant support and collaboration with AW staff, board members, and
The Bureau of Reclamation is hosting this public meeting at the Dolores Community Center, April 18th 7-9 pm, to discuss the potential managed release for 2019. They will review their operations from 2018 and lay out a prediction of their plan for this year. Come hear about what a release may look like this year and how the BOR does their forecasting. The meeting will include panel members from American Whitewater, Dolores River Boating Advocates, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, BLM, and Fort
In her campaign, newly elected Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham laid out a plan to end work on the Gila River Diversion Project. This past Friday she took great strides towards that promise by vetoing $1.69M in New Mexico Unit funding requested by the Interstate Stream Commission for Gila diversion planning and design. The Gila is one of the region’s most iconic and wild rivers. This veto goes a long way to end the costly and environmentally destructive diversion project. The
For over 40 years, the Clean Water Act has ensured that Americans have clean water to drink and that our rivers are safe for outdoor recreation. Americans recreate in the water – swimming, paddling, surfing, boating, fishing – 4 BILLION times each year (source). Right now there's an attempt by the EPA to significantly weaken the Clean Water Act and we need your voice to help protect the water quality in our nation's rivers! As crucial as it is,
The US Coast Guard has pulled back their 2017 decision to close a popular section of the Potomac River whenever high ranking political officials are using the adjacent Trump National Golf Course. The decision to replace the 2017 rule came in response to over 630 public comments, significant media, and a lawsuit filed by the AW affiliate club Canoe Cruisers Association. Watch a news video here with interviews and scenes from the river. The new interim rule is a big step in the right
American Whitewater needs your letters written to Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) Board Members and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to help protect access to the Class II-III whitewater and White Rock Powerhouse take-out for the Slab Creek section of the South Fork American River. We make it almost too easy with our super simple easy action forms so take action today. In a recently filed Parking and Access Plan, SMUD breaks a condition of the 2007 Upper American River
