Articles - American Whitewater

Community Proposes Post-Hurricane Plan for Rocky Broad River (NC)

June 12, 2025

Flooding caused by Hurricane Helene largely destroyed the town of Chimney Rock and the Rocky Broad River as we knew it. The river grew to fill the entire valley with a torrent, and the storm left behind a greatly widened river often lacking a clear channel and with massive carved out banks. Shortly after the storm, the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) built a temporary road through the gorge that is often in the middle of the river channel.

May June American Whitewater Journal Hot Off the Press!

June 11, 2025

The newest edition of the American Whitewater Journal is now available online. American Whitewater member’s print editions should have already arrived (if not, they’ll be there soon!). We have a wonderful team of talented folks that work on publishing the Journal five times a year, but at its heart the American Whitewater Journal is a volunteer publication that relies on community members to submit their stories, photos, art and other contributions that make up its content. This is OUR Journal!

Help Us Understand Boating on the Lower Chiwawa River (WA)

June 11, 2025

Do you paddle the Lower Chiwawa River outside of Leavenworth, WA? Your input is needed. Chelan County has launched a survey to better understand how people use the Lower Chiwawa River for recreation–especially whitewater boating. The survey will help project planners and land managers determine whether and how the river is being used by kayakers, rafters, and other river users, and how future restoration and development efforts might support or impact access and navigation. If you’ve ever floated the Lower

2025 Gauley Fest Vendor Registration is Live!

June 10, 2025

We’re excited to kick start 2025 Gauley Fest planning! Started in 1983 to celebrate the derailment of a hydro-electric project that would have disrupted the flows on the Gauley River, Gauley Fest has grown to become the largest paddling festival in the world. The Gauley Fest vendor marketplace is second to none for reaching the whitewater boating and outdoor community in the US. The 2025 Festival will take place from September 18th through September 21st. We’ll be posting more details

Notice: Web Users May Need to Reset Passwords

May 21, 2025

Heads up that American Whitewater updated our website on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, and website users will be logged out of the site by this update and may need to reset your password by clicking “forgot password” to log back into the site. Follow the steps for resetting your password and log back in. You will need to know the email address that you’ve been using to log into the site. We are working to resolve this issue this week.

American Whitewater Releases New River Guide App!

May 15, 2025

American Whitewater is excited to announce the release of our new mobile app, available for both ios and android devices! The new American Whitewater app shares crowdsourced information on over 6,000 whitewater runs, including easy driving directions, improved flow information, maps, descriptions, and photos. The new app is a volunteer-led project supported by American Whitewater staff and contractors. We hope you love it, and that it inspires you to explore our nation’s many awesome rivers and contribute to the app.

Congress Thinks You Don’t Care About Public Lands and Rivers

May 14, 2025

Last week, the US House Natural Resources Committee passed a budget-related bill that–if it becomes law–will sell off significant public lands and weaken our collective ability to have a say in public land management in unprecedented ways. This legislation will go through one more committee and merge with other bills to become one huge bill that can pass with a simple majority vote in the Senate through a process called reconciliation. Boaters are encouraged to speak up (and can do

California 2025 Recreational Releases Reminder & Updates

May 14, 2025

American Whitewater and California boaters are victims of our own success. As a result of over two decades of work from stewardship staff and dedicated community volunteers, negotiated recreational flows from hydropower projects abound in water years like 2025. It definitely can fill up your paddling calendar! Here are date reminders and updates for the California Wild & Scenic Mokelumne River, South Fork Silver Creek, North Fork Feather, and the Pit River. Mokelumne River The final May B120 Water Supply

Volunteers needed: Help keep Mokelumne Big Bar Launch open! (CA)

May 14, 2025

The Bureau of Land Management’s Big Bar Launch facility off of Highway 49 is the only legal boating takeout for the Electra Run on the California Wild & Scenic Mokelumne River. Due to circumstances beyond the BLM Mother Lode Field Office’s control, BLM recently announced the closure of Big Bar to vehicles through October 15 of this year (you can still walk in, but parking nearby is very limited). See the closure notice here. In order to reopen the facility for

Defending the Clean Water Act in the Northeast

May 13, 2025

With ongoing efforts to weaken federal environmental safeguards, American Whitewater and its partners from throughout the Northeast are defending the Clean Water Act in state legal challenges to hydropower dam permits. American Whitewater, represented by the Environmental Litigation Clinic at Pace University law school, filed an appeal of the DEC water quality certification of the West Canada Creek Hydroelectric Project. State certification that hydropower dams meet water quality standards is required before the dams are licensed by the Federal Energy

Senator Murray & Representative Randall Reintroduce Wild Olympics Bill (WA)

May 13, 2025

Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) and U.S. Representative Emily Randall (D-WA-06) reintroduced the Wild Olympics Wilderness & Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, legislation that would permanently protect more than 126,500 acres of Olympic National Forest as wilderness and 19 rivers and their major tributaries—a total of 464 river miles—as Wild and Scenic Rivers. Designed through extensive community input to conserve ancient forests and pristine rivers, protect clean water and salmon habitat, and enhance outdoor recreation, the legislation would set

San Joaquin Horseshoe Bend Recreational Flow Forecast for 2025 (CA)

May 9, 2025

American Whitewater is excited to announce the 2025 forecast for recreational flows on the San Joaquin Horseshoe Bend reach. Southern California Edison (SCE) is providing boatable flows for a spill year and these flows are forecasted to begin on Friday, 5/16/2025 and last through Sunday, 5/18/2025. These flows are provided under the Big Creek 4 Hydropower Project Long-Term Operating Rules (LTOR). These rules were informed by nearly a decade of post-license studies and consultation with stakeholders, including American Whitewater and

New Mexico’s Rivers get Another Chance in Congress!

April 25, 2025

On April 18th, bill champions Senator Heinrich and Representative Vasquez reintroduced the M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic River Act. The bill, reintroduced for the 4th time since 2020, is set to protect nearly 450 miles in the Gila and San Francisco watersheds in southwest New Mexico. The reintroduced bill in the 119th Congress is identical to the bill introduced in the last congress where it made significant progress through the capitol’s numerous hurdles. After being introduced

Lawmakers Pull Back Bad Bridge Access Legislation in NC

April 22, 2025

Earlier this year, North Carolina legislators introduced a bill that would have made using public bridges over rivers as put-ins and take-outs illegal. Thankfully, the language criminalizing river access was recently removed from the bill, SB 220, and is no longer a threat. We’d like to thank the many boaters that reached out to your state legislators on this issue, and the legislators that changed course. Boater outreach helped inform the legislature to step back from a bill that would

Accident Summary for July–December 2024: Available online now

April 15, 2025

The American Whitewater Accident Summary for July–December 2024 is now available online. Since our inception, American Whitewater been a vigorous promoter of river safety information, and accident reporting has become integral to this task. Charlie Walbridge has used reports submitted by our membership to compile regular summaries of fatalities and close calls for our Journal since 1986. American Whitewater has catalogued over 2400 incidents on whitewater rivers dating back to 1972, which you can find and analyze for yourself in

Extended South Yuba (CA) Flows Continue

April 15, 2025

Flows on the South Yuba River (CA) will continue to be closer to natural flows for a second year as Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) works to repair diversion and hydropower infrastructure connected to Lake Spaulding. Although PG&E typically makes deliveries to water users below Lake Spaulding through its powerhouses and low-level outlets, repair delays continue to prevent them from diverting water. While there are clear negative impacts to irrigators and other downstream water users, domestic water supply should not

Limited Edition River Inspired AW Gear–Only Available Until April 20!

April 15, 2025

Show your support for American Whitewater with limited edition river inspired gear! American Whitewater has partnered again with FLOAT to bring you these tees, tanks, and hoodies, but only for a limited time! Celebrate the beauty of rivers and that ever important ingredient–flowing water! Purchasing these items directly supports American Whitewater’s stewardship efforts! We have several t-shirt and hoodie styles available and for every item sold FLOAT donates $8 to our program protecting, restoring and ensuring safe access and enjoyment

Boat passage at Poudre River Diversion Dam (CO) Moves Forward

April 10, 2025

After multiple years of advocacy by American Whitewater, the local outfitting community led by Rocky Mountain Adventures, and our nonprofit partners, the City of Fort Collins has agreed to improvements that will allow for boat and fish passage at the Gateway Diversion Dam in the lower Cache la Poudre River canyon. These dam modifications will restore aquatic connectivity and nearly double the length of the Filter Plant run, one of the river’s most popular reaches and one of the few

Southeast Rivers 6 Months After Hurricane Helene

April 10, 2025

It’s been a busy and often hard time in Western North Carolina in the six months since Hurricane Helene. While many rivers in the region were unaffected by the storm, American Whitewater and many other groups and individuals have been working hard on the more impacted rivers. Here is a quick run-down of some of what we’ve been up to and where things stand. Pigeon Dries American Whitewater is going to work hard to secure releases in the

Support the West Virginia Bridge Access Bill

April 10, 2025

The West Virginia Public Waterway Access Act would require that significant bridge construction projects include river access if it is safe and practical to do so. This common-sense bill would efficiently protect and improve river access across the state over time, and would benefit countless communities by providing simple close-to home paddling and fishing opportunities. In a state where boating is big business, this proposed law makes a ton of sense. Paddlers know the story too well: a bridge

Klickitat River Hatchery River Access Closure (WA)

April 10, 2025

Major upgrades are currently underway to modernize the 75-year-old Klickitat Hatchery in southern Washington state, funded by a $35 million project from the Bonneville Power Administration. The hatchery is closed to the public during this time, including parking, all river access, and portage around the low-head dam at the hatchery. Due to the closure, boating from Parrots Crossing to Summit Creek or Leidl is not recommended, particularly due to hazards associated with the low-head dam. Experienced boaters familiar with the

Opportunity to Comment on Need for Improved Access to Row River (OR)

April 4, 2025

The Army Corps of Engineers is currently updating their Master Plan for Cottage Grove and Dorena Lakes in the Willamette River Basin, Lane County, Oregon, and American Whitewater is encouraging the local paddling community to provide comments on the need for parking for day use and a trail to the river that is accessible to the public for hand-carry craft during the winter paddling season. This Master Plan identifies Future Management Needs for Recreation and references a need to “improve

Image of Recreational Flows provided by Sacramento Municipal Utility District for Slab Creek (CA)

2025 Recreational Flows for Slab Creek & Ice House (CA)

March 11, 2025

American Whitewater has negotiated 2025 recreational flow dates for the Upper American River Hydroelectric Project operated by the Sacramento Municipal Utility District, including the Slab Creek and Ice House runs. Thus far, California’s snowpack and rainfall sets up excellent whitewater opportunities for the South Fork American River below Slab Creek Dam and South Fork Silver Creek below Ice House Dam. The forecasted water year for the watershed will give us six days of scheduled flows for Slab Creek and four days

Help Stop New Access Fee and Bridge Access Ban in NC

March 10, 2025

The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission (NCWRC) is proposing an annual $30 license to use the river access sites they manage, and at the same time legislators are proposing legislation that would make it illegal to put in or take out almost anywhere else, namely at public bridges and right-of-ways. Together these proposals squeeze boaters onto relatively few rivers where they must pay a fee. Together these proposals squeeze boaters onto relatively few rivers where they must pay a fee.

NF American River’s (CA) Yankee Jim’s Bridge Closing on March 24th

March 5, 2025

Placer County Public Works is moving forward with the replacement of Yankee Jim’s Bridge over the North Fork American River after several delays. Hard closure of the board on both sides is likely to begin March 24th although perhaps a week or two later. This closure will impact folks that want to paddle the Class 2 section of the North Fork American between Yankee Jim’s and Ponderosa/Upper Clementine most significantly. Chamberlain Falls paddlers will need to paddle down through that