Articles

El Dorado County has released the Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) for the Mosquito Road Bridge Replacement Project.  The preferred proposal would cut off key access to the Slab Creek reach of the South Fork American River.  Last spring saw the first boating releases on this reach where over 200 paddlers showed up to experience this classic Class IV-V run. Yet, despite 3 years of community engagement, the DEIR fails to recognize the impacts to recreation like whitewater boating.  The

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 15th. 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

The Chehalis Basin is the second largest river basin in Washington State. It is a uniquely fertile and abundant river basin, but it has suffered from devastating flooding for decades. One proposal to address the chronic flooding issue is construction of a new dam that would represent the largest new dam in Washington State in years on a currently free-flowing river.   The Washington Department of Ecology is currently accepting public comment on this proposal for a new massive dam

On October 29-30, recreational releases on the Pit 1 reach of the Pit River marked the end of another amazing year for restored boating opportunities at hydropower projects in California. Since the first recreational release in California occurred on the North Fork of the Feather River 15 years ago, the number of scheduled recreational boating days each year on California’s rivers has grown to over one hundred. In addition to the releases on the North Fork Feather and Pit rivers,

Last year our friends at REI started a movement for people to reconnect outdoors over the holidays. REI closed their stores on the day after Thanksgiving, one of the most popular shopping days of the year, paid their 12,000+ employees to spend time outside, and invited America to join in.   Here at American Whitewater we enthusiastically join our partners at REI in the belief that A Life Outdoors Is a Life Well Lived. Whether you’re a little kid building

Over the last several years, American Whitewater has been working with our partners to protect cherished whitewater rivers in SW Oregon and NW California from mining threats. Mining companies want to develop industrial scale nickel strip mines on public lands in southwest Oregon’s Kalmiopsis region, threatening Rough and Ready Creek, the Wild and Scenic Illinois River, Baldface Creek, and the Wild and Scenic North Fork and mainstem Smith Rivers. Nearby Hunter Creek and Pistol River on Oregon’s Wild Rivers Coast

American Whitewater works to protect and restore whitewater rivers across the country, and we rely on your ongoing support to keep our work on track. In the upcoming months, we will continue our stewardship work on the rivers you love and ensure that everyone has more opportunities to enjoy them safely.   Your membership dollars and donations will support our conservation efforts from protecting large landscapes and the whitewater rivers that flow through them to securing protections under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act,

American Whitewater is pleased to announce our 2016 Holiday Membership Offer – a one year AW membership paired up with our 2017 AW calendar. . .and all for just $40! Giving a great gift and supporting your favorite non-profit at the same time. . .great river karma!  We’ve made ordering the Holiday Membership Offer quick and easy, choose one of the options below and we’ll take care of the rest.     A gift for someone else – if they already have an AW

American Whitewater has received a seventh 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America's largest and most utilized independent evaluator of charities. November 1, 2016, Charity Navigator, America's largest and most-utilized independent evaluator of charities, announced that American Whitewater has earned its seventh consecutive 4-star rating. Receiving four out of a possible four stars indicates that American Whitewater adheres to good governance and other best practices that minimize the chance of unethical activities and consistently executes its mission in a fiscally responsible way. The letter

Arkansas River, Colorado – The Bureau of Land Management and U.S. Forest Service, in cooperation with Colorado Parks and Wildlife, invite you to share your views about Browns Canyon of the Arkansas River National Monument at several upcoming listening sessions. The listening sessions are intended to guide the development of the Coordinated Management Plan for the National Monument and to increase understanding of how people interact with the monument, what is meaningful about it and the role it plays in

Last month, American Whitewater and our conservation partners won a monumental shift in Wild & Scenic River considerations in Colorado. The Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) reversed its long-standing policy of opposing federal Wild & Scenic River protections and voted unanimously to support the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) draft Resource Management Plan and Wild and Scenic Suitability determination for key segments of the San Miguel and Dolores Rivers. Now the BLM is accepting public comments on their Uncompahgre Field

Fall is upon us, which means different things for paddlers in different parts of the US. Maybe it's time to get out on classic dam release rivers like the Gauley, Feather, or Moose, or maybe another great season on the water is winding down as winter approaches. Either way, this could be a great time to sit back and reflect upon adventures, comraderie, incredible places or mishaps that whitewater has led you to.  Here at the AW Journal, we’re excited this

We would like to recognize lifetime American Whitewater member, Keith Kishiyama, for organizing the ACA sponsored Rock Creek Slalom and Tobin Downriver Race for the 2016 Feather River Festival. Keith’s experience designing the annual Mokelumne River Slalom and organizing the annual Cherry Creek Race made him the perfect candidate to take over the paddling fun at this year’s Feather Fest.   Keith started paddling in 1991 and slalom racing in 1993 on the very same river he first kayaked, the

We would like to thank Matt Anger, our volunteer of the month for helping set a new precedent this year at Gauley Fest, American Whitewater's biggest fundraiser of the year! Matt was essential in contributing to the early set up and challenging break down at the festival grounds. Matt has been volunteering with American Whitewater at Gauley Fest for 7 years and has generously shared over 200 hours of his time. In addition to manning the sledge hammer and organizing

Federal agencies in the Northwest charged with protecting endangered wild salmon and steelhead from the lethal impacts of federal dams in the Columbia and Snake rivers are holding fifteen Public Scoping Hearings this fall in Washington State, Oregon, Idaho and Montana.   These Scoping Hearings represent the first phase of a court-ordered review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) of salmon restoration alternatives in the Columbia and Snake Rivers. One obvious alternative is removal of the lower Snake River

Ohiopyle Falls (PA) Festival Update – due to significant rain in the mid atlantic for the weekend of the Ohiopyle Falls Race, the Ohiopyle Fall Festival and Over the Falls Race is being postponed to Oct 15, 2016. We hope to see everyone there.

Join us in a celebration of the paddling culture, on and off the river, at the 23rd annual Russell Fork Rendezvous. Meet up with old friends and make new ones and you paddle the Russell Fork River through some of the most beautiful Autumn scenery the Southeast has to offer. Don’t miss the annual “Lord of the Forks” race on Saturday. Camp at Carson Island, in Elkhorn City, KY with live music, drums, fire circles, food and dancing. All proceeds benefit American Whitewater.

Colorado, Sept. 2016 – After another lengthy round of meetings between American Whitewater and our conservation partners, and members of the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB), a monumental shift in Wild & Scenic River considerations has been won in the State. This week, the CWCB reversed its long-standing policy of opposing federal Wild & Scenic River protections and voted unanimously to support the US Bureau of Land Management (BLM) draft Resource Management Plan and Wild and Scenic Suitability determination for

Earlier this year, Oregon Governor Kate Brown designated portions of the Molalla and Chetco Rivers as the state’s first new State Scenic Waterways since 1988. Now, the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department is developing rules that will apply to how the rivers are managed. The agency is seeking public comment on their proposed rules through 5 p.m. on Friday, September 30th. The whitewater paddling community highly values the Chetco and Molalla Rivers, and it’s been exciting to see the state