Articles

The Washington State legislature is considering a bill that could significantly impact river access in Washington State. Public road right-of-ways that dead end on waterways provide important access to rivers and marine shorelines across Washington State for kayakers, rafters, canoeists, sea kayakers, and fishermen. Paddlers who enjoy the Middle Fork of the Snoqualmie for example are familiar with the Tanner take-out where an old bridge crossing site is a King County right-of-way between two private parcels that serves as the

I teach a fair number or ACA Safety & Rescue classes each year.  I’ve also lead numerous Instructor Certification Workshops.  The ACA Level 4 Curriculum covers many topics.  Some students/candidates are interested in real world examples where these skills come into play.  I was quite fortunate to have Charlie Walbridge lead my Instructor Certification Class.  One of the many interesting exercises was a slide show of various incidents we analyzed and took a stab at “what would we do?”.  With

The Nez Perce and Clearwater National Forests encompass some of the best paddling and salmon habitat in the United States including the Lochsa, Selway, and Clearwater rivers. The Forest Service is updating their management plan which must include an updated roster of streams they will protect as eligible for Wild and Scenic designation. They tentatively propose to grow the list from 29 to 89 rivers which is a well-reasoned decision. Unfortunately they propose to significantly cull that list in the

The 50th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act marks an incredible opportunity to build positive awareness, support, and activism around the need to grow our one-of-a-kind system of protecting outstanding rivers. American Whitewater will be working to protect 5000 new miles of rivers and streams in 2018 by securing new Wild and Scenic designations via Congress, as well as new protections through National Forest and Bureau of Land Managment planning efforts.   Designating 100 New Wild and Scenic Rivers

For many years Gary Korb’s guidebook, A Paddler’s Guide to the Olympic Peninsula, was the primary source of information for paddlers who were in search of adventure in a landscape of deep forests, spectacular gorges, and ever-changing rivers.    Out of print for two decades, we are pleased to report that Gary has given us permission to make his guidebook available in electronic format for a new generation of paddlers (see document link adjacent to this article and within all

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Come see American Whitewater and the year's best photos and videos at the National Paddling Film Festival (NPFF)! This year's NPFF will be held on February 16-17 in Frankfort, KY at the Buffalo Trace Distillery.   Grab your tickets online early and save some cabbage. Online tickets are $20. Tickets at the door are $25. Ticket includes admission for Friday night and Saturday night, as well as beer and a raffle ticket. Early registration tickets available here. Last day for

Earlier today Montana Congressman Greg Gianforte introduced legislation to designate Montana’s East Rosebud Creek as a Wild and Scenic River! The bill matches bipartisan legislation introduced earlier this year by Montana Senators Jon Tester and Steve Daines. As we approach the 50th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 2018, this popular bill is now well positioned for passage if the Montana delegation can shepherd it through Congress. We’d like to thank the delegation for championing this bill!

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corps of Engineers are expanding efforts to repeal a 2015 rule that clarified Clean Water Act protections for our nation's headwater streams and wetlands (the “2015 Clean Water Rule”). The agencies are receiving comment through Wednesday, December 13th on a proposal that would delay implementation of the Clean Water Rule. If successful, the current effort will make it easier for the agencies to repeal and replace the Rule. Specifically, the agencies are proposing

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) has released their Draft Environmental Assessment (DEA) for the future of the Ocoee River. The news is generally good. They support the continuation of the historic flow schedule on both the Middle and Upper Ocoee River, minus 5 September weekdays on the Middle. The DEA finds that the releases benefit the local economy and at least one rare plant living on rocks in the riverbed.  Paddlers can learn more and read the DEA, and can

Each year American Whitewater comes together for our annual Board of Directors meeting, hosted by one of our stewardship directors near a river in their region. Our stewardship staff spends a lot of time putting together presentations to our Board which detail all of the stewardship projects they are involved in and the stewardship issues they see on the horizon. The event is meant to keep the Board informed on our progress and to help identify areas where they might

Arizona – The Tonto National Forest, home of popular paddling destinations like the Salt River and Verde River, is now accepting formal comments on a Preliminary Proposed Plan. Comments on the Preliminary Proposed Plan are most useful if received by January 12, 2018.  The Preliminary Proposed Plan (PPP) is the first step in revising the current land and resource management plan. The PPP was developed based on public and resource specialist feedback and is intended to update the 1985 Tonto Plan as well as address

In late 2016, the Bureau of Land Management initiated a 20-year ban (i.e. “mineral withdrawal”) on new mining claims in Southwest Oregon, protecting the pristine waters of many rivers in Southwest Oregon that are cherished by the whitewater community. American Whitewater and our partners cheered the decision to protect the watersheds of the Illinois, Rogue and North Fork Smith Rivers, as well as Hunter Creek from the threats of industrial scale nickel strip mines. Earlier this fall, Rob Bishop, Chairman

The Grand Mesa, Uncompahgre, Gunnison National Forests (GMUG) are revising their Forest Plan. The new Forest Plan will dictate how recreation, wildlife habitats, watersheds, timber projects, grazing, and more will be managed on the GMUG for the next 20-30 years. We need your involvement to protect important whitewater resources and the special landscapes throughout the Forests. Public Comments are due on the draft by December 8th.   “¨”¨The Forests have published the Draft Assessment – an important milestone in the

THIS WEEK ONLY! American Whitewater is thrilled to announce that we have partnered with FLOAT to bring you limited edition river stewardship T shirts available this week only! For every shirt sold FLOAT will donate $8 to American Whitewater to help us restore rivers. Head on over to www.float.org and SHOP today – lots of fun colors to choose from!   With the holidays around the corner, these shirts make the perfect holiday gift. You can place your orders with

Colorado Gives Day is on December 6th but you can schedule your donation today!                                            Your gift matters! American Whitewater is working hard to protect and restore flows to Colorado’s rivers. With your support, we’ll defend the public’s ability to fish and float Colorado’s rivers and keep working hard to ensure that the Colorado Water Plan will protect the state's rivers and

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Army Corps of Engineers are continuing the process of reversing and replacing the 2015 Clean Water Rule that offered protections for our nation's headwater streams and wetlands under the Clean Water Act. The agencies are receiving preliminary recommendations about which water bodies the Act should cover through Tuesday, November 28th. This action is the second step following a February 2017 executive order that directed the EPA and Army Corps to rescind or revise

Each year American Whitewater’s membership elects Board of Director members to serve three-year terms. These candidates volunteer to serve on the American Whitewater Board. Current American Whitewater members can cast their votes through Midnight Pacific Time, December 19th. Currently, American Whitewater has four Director Nominees to fill four open seats for election, you may vote for up to four candidates on the slate. The ballot for our Board of Directors election is placed online here.   You must be a

Come out and celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act with American Whitewater staff and similar likeminded river lovers. For the past few years, the staff of America Whitewater has joined with a number of our members to participate in a four-day float trip on the Rogue River in southern Oregon. This trip has been a great opportunity to connect with members in ways that build a lasting understanding of the role of recreation in fostering