Articles

American Whitewater is pleased to share that we were recently awarded a $5,000 grant from the Community Foundation of Western North Carolina to support professional facilitation for the Nantahala-Pisgah Forest Partnership. The Partnership is made up of a diverse range of regional interest groups working together to create a shared vision for the future management of the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests. The Nantahala and Pisgah national forests are comprised of 1.1 million acres of biologically diverse and recreationally treasured

The March/April issue of the AW Journal is available in the "Library". This issue features ‘Does Hydropower Have a Place in the Renewable Energy Future?  Read the issue now online or download your copy. This issue also includes. . . ·         Top River Access Issues in Washington State ·         Update on Kalmiopsis Rivers Protection ·         Wild and Scenic Whitewater ·         . . .and much more Current members – Read the

American Whitewater is an organization that prides ourselves on getting work done, both effectively and efficiently. Eighty-one cents of every dollar we see goes directly to our stewarship work, and in 2017 we succeeded in turning that work into favorable outcomes on projects across the country. For a concise and graphic look at the work we accomplished together last year, check out this one page document that will be a part of our 2017 Annual Report – Our Work Together

The Department of Agriculture recently announced that it will not review a 20-year prohibition on new mining development (i.e., a “mineral withdrawal) for over 101,000 acres of public lands in SW Oregon. The protection, which was implemented in late 2016, covers rivers cherished by the whitewater community including the Wild and Scenic North Fork Smith and Illinois Rivers and their headwaters. The threat to the SW Oregon mineral withdrawal came last fall when Representative Rob Bishop of Utah called on

American Whitewater is an organization that has been serving paddlers for over 60 years. We are committed to meeting the needs of the whitewater community and our members by providing the highest quality of service and the best representation of the community’s stewardship needs. We strive to continually improve the services we provide paddlers, and every couple of years we ask the community to examine our current performance across a range of issues critical to our success. The best way

There is no shortage of stewardship work for American Whitewater in 2018. We're working towards bringing 5,000 new miles of river under Wild and Scenic protection in the coming year. Our Top Ten Stewardship Issues for 2018 reflect this goal, with many of our top issues being Wild and Scenic in nature. Our Top Ten list highlights the areas that we think have the potential to be game changing and where we’ll focus a lot of our energy striving for positive

Senator Stewart Greenleaf, a Pennsylvania State legislator known for his practical, problem solving approach to solving the State’s problems, has announced that he will not seek re-election in 2018. Mr. Greenleaf, 78, was first elected to the Pennsylvania House in 1976 and has served in the Senate since 1978. He is a long time member of the Philadelphia Canoe Club and his work was directly responsible for fall and spring white water releases on Tohickon Creek (1977) and summer releases

American Whitewater is advocating for improved access conditions at Ward’s Ferry Bridge on California’s Tuolumne River, which is the take-out for the Wild and Scenic Meral’s Pool run above the Don Pedro Hydropower Project. Together, with our partners Tuolumne River Trust, Central Sierra Environmental Resource Center and Tuolumne River Outfitters (ARTA, OARS, Sierra Mac), we are using the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s hydropower relicensing process to champion upgrades for a safe, multi-user recreational facility at this site. Today the take-out

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!