Articles

PG&E has been forced to postpone the August 9th & 10th whitewater releases on PIT 5 due to the proximity of the Eiler Fire that is burning in the Burney-Cassel area.  The rescheduled dates for PIT 5 will be September 20th & 21st.   All dates, including the next scheduled releases for September 6th & 7th are subject to the conditions on the ground. Whitewater releases will be based on the conditions present in the area during the preceding week.

On Monday, August 4th American Whitewater submitted testimony to the Senate Subcommittee on National Parks in support of three bills that, if passed, will protect important whitewater rivers in Colorado, Montana and Washington. Our testimony follows the committee hearing held on July 23, 2014 that we called on the public to speak out on. You can read our full testimony here. American Whitewater supports the following bills… Browns Canyon National Monument and Wilderness Act (S. 1794) (Colorado) People from across

American Whitewater's August 2014 Volunteer of the Month is Joel McCune!   It is really fun to watch the careers that AW interns eventually grow into, and Joel McCune is certainly no exception. It's been over a decade since his likely unpaid and overwhelming stint working with AW's then Conservation Director John Gangemi. Joel is now working with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) at ESRI, the nation's leader in developing GIS software, based in Charlotte, NC. This is all to say

On Friday, July 25 American Whitewater submitted comments to the Northwest Power and Conservation Council on its Draft Amended Fish and Wildlife Program. The Council's Fish and Wildlife Program is the largest fish and wildlife recovery program in the U.S., designed to protect and enhance fish and wildlife in the Columbia Basin, and mitigate the impacts of the Columbia River hydropower system. The Program covers a wide range of topics that apply to the Columbia River Basin and other areas

In follow up to an article published in the Mar/Apr 2014 American Whitewater Journal (Page 10), the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has finally issued the License for the Upper American River Project (UARP) #2101. This is great news for paddlers in Central California who have been working and waiting for this moment for over a decade.   This license restores ecological, pulse and recreational streamflows for the High Sierra Class IV South Fork Silver Creek below Ice House Dam Run

The 23rd Annual Feather River Festival (CA) will be held during scheduled releases on the Feather River September 26-28, 2014. The Feather River Festival is the second largest American Whitewater fund-raising event in the country! The benefit event will be held at "Indian Jim School" campground located two miles upstream from the small town of Tobin and one mile upstream from Tobin Vista. Free camping and ample parking will be available.   This year's Feather Fest will continue the tradition

Produced by Patagonia, DamNation is a documentary film that addresses America’s changing philosophies around dam construction and removal in relation to the life and health of our nation’s rivers. American Whitewater and Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) partner to present the film at NOC’s main campus in Bryson City, NC, on Saturday, August 16, at 8:30 p.m.   “DamNation’s majestic cinematography and unexpected discoveries move through rivers and landscapes altered by dams, but also through a metamorphosis in values, from conquest

On Wednesday, July 23 at 2:30 ET, Colorado Senator Mark Udall will lead a hearing of the U.S. Senate National Parks Subcommittee on a suite of land and river conservation bills.  The hearing will focus on several bills that are near and dear to the paddling community, and your calls to the Senators on the Subcommittee would help secure permanent protection for several rivers and landscapes important to paddlers.  The most exciting bills on the roster in our opinion include:

Many of you have probably heard about the water level in Lake Mead, the nation’s largest reservoir, has dropped to its lowest level ever (read more about it in EcoWatch, Grist, and Slate). And, it continues to drop every day, as the drought that’s gripping much of the American West marches on. That isn’t great news for water users who are dependent on it. But what does it mean for the Colorado River, river recreation, and the use of water across our

This weekend marks the 20th anniversary of the Deerfield Fest, an annual celebration of boating on the Deerfield River in western Massachusetts. The festival is an opportunity to come together with your paddling friends and listen to live music, check out the festival vendors, and maybe win a boat and other gear at the silent auction. American Whitewater and New England FLOW created the Deerfield Fest to celebrate what was the first significant victory in bringing scheduled whitewater boating releases

Help protect rivers in Western North Carolina!  On Thursday, July 10, 2014, the Nantahala and Pisgah national forests will be hosting a meeting at the Crowne Plaza Resort in Asheville to solicit public input on their current Forest Planning effort.  From 11:30am to 1pm there will be an opportunity to visit a Wild and Scenic Rivers information station and share your comments.  During Forest Planning the agency will update their list of rivers on the National Forests they deem "eligible"

This year is IRIE Rafting Company's 20th Anniversary and July 9th is also Frank, the founders, 50th Birthday. Frank has always felt IRIE needed to give back to the community and the environment. Over the past 20 years IRIE has done just that through their benefit days and by offering very discounted rafting trips for under privileged guests.  This time around on Wednesday July 9th, IRIE will give all proceeds from their half day Truckee River trips and proceeds from