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6th Annual Paddle to the Sea: From Yosemite to San Francisco this May and June! The Tuolumne River Trust’s annual Paddle to the Sea is a six-week long paddle-a-thon on the Tuolumne River from Yosemite, through the Central Valley, to San Francisco Bay. This year’s event will start on Friday, May 2nd with two days of whitewater rafting run by ARTA River Trips, where paddlers are invited to raft through the area hit hardest by the 2013 Rim Fire, as

American Whitewater is proud to announce our April 2014 Volunteer of the Month: Jess Whittemore! Jess Whittemore is a known face in the Upper Yough (MD) paddling community. First chiseling a name and reputation as a squirt boat innovator in the early 80’s and more recently as member of the Friendsville, MD Town Council where he has been representing the interests of the paddling community to local leaders while forging a sense of unity between local residents and boating community.

A healthy, vibrant, participatory and functional Board of Directors is critical to the long term stability and effective governance of American Whitewater. This requires Directors with a passion for our mission and a mix of appropriate skills to help guide AW and meet the challenges we face, both now and in the future.   While we will consider all qualified candidates, we are specifically searching for candidates that represent all parts of the country, have the ability to show up for meetings

Scheduled releases occur the first two weekends in April and the first three weekends in November. On Saturday 500 cfs is released and on Sunday 700 cfs. Boaters are allowed on the water once the level stabilizes, which is about 9:30 am; the water is turned off at 4 pm. All boaters must start down the stairs by 2:45 pm (we are requesting that first timers try put on the river before 1.30pm) to beat the flow down to the lake.

  Scheduled releases occur the first two weekends in April and the first three weekends in November. On Saturday 500 cfs is released and on Sunday 700 cfs. Boaters are allowed on the water once the level stabilizes, which is about 9:30 am; the water is turned off at 4 pm. All boaters must start down the stairs by 2.45 pm to beat the flow down to the lake. You will need to sign a waiver at the top of

The Environmental Protection Agency and Army Corp of Engineers released a proposed rule today that will clarify protections under the Clean Water Act for headwater streams and wetlands. Many of the rivers and streams we recreate on are safe to paddle today because of the Clean Water Act, which regulates pollution discharges. The Clean Water Act protects recreation, the stream environment, riparian property owners, drinking water sources, and significant economic activity from the impacts of unregulated pollution.  Over a decade

Yosemite National Park has announced that they will open opportunities to enjoy the Grand Canyon of the Tuolumne by kayak. On Friday, March 14th, Yosemite National Park released their Final Tuolumne Wild and Scenic River Final Comprehensive Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, stating that boaters on this reach will be managed under the established overnight wilderness permit system. The run will start at Pothole Dome below Tuolumne Meadows and end at Pate Valley. Exact details about put-in, take-out, portage

On Thursday, March 13th, the House will vote on a bill that would prohibit federal agencies from protecting instream flows on rivers across the country. H.R. 3189, known as the “Water Rights Protection Act,” undermines the authority of agencies like the U.S. Forest Service, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Park Service to keep water in rivers for fish, wildlife, recreation and aesthetics. Although the bill is being presented as a fix for a narrow water rights

Colorado – The first of its kind State Water Plan is an important step in deciding if Colorado preserves free-flowing rivers, fish and wildlife, and strong tourism and recreation economies. AW and our partners have proposed common-sense conservation actions to be included in the Plan. You can help support this effort by submitting comments to the State, and help shape a positive course for river health. Background Last year, Governor Hickenlooper directed the state to draft the Colorado Water Plan.

American Whitewater is excited to attend the 17th Annual French Broad River Fest in Hot Springs, NC this May 2-4, 2014. Pick up your tickets today and come join us! French Broad River Fest (FBRF) is a fun, family friendly outdoor festival that has been a supporter of American Whitewater for nearly two decades! Each year the festival features a host of awesome musical acts, art, food, vendors – even a raft race(!) – right alongside the beautiful French Broad River.

The March/April issue of the AW Journal features “California Rejects B.C. Hydro as "Green" Energy Source". This issue includes. . . Wild Olympics Legislation Reintroduced The Ebb and Flow of American Whitewater Little Luck and a Lot of Preparedness What's Wrong with This Picture? Unknown Alabama: Yellow Creek much more… Want to read the AW Journal online: You need a current membership and you must be registered with the AW website and have your membership associated with your website user

In July of last year a natural high flow event occurred on the West Fork of the Tuckasegee, which had significant effects on wood in the river.  These effects were overwhelmingly positive for paddlers, as high flow events tend to move pieces of wood to channel margins and into large accumulations.  With this said, the new patterns may pose isolated navigational hurdles or hazards, and have negatively affected some landowners.  On March 29, 2014 paddlers will be gathering to conduct

American Whitewater is proud to announce our March 2014 Volunteer of the Month: Don Perkins! Don was part of the rockstar crew that recently put on the National Paddling Film Fesitval (NPFF) in Kentucky. As many folks may know, NPFF is a great supporter of American Whitewater, raising several thousands dollars for our river stewardship work each year. NPFF Director, Bethany Overfield (past Volunteer of the Month herself), had this to say about Don: I would like to nominate Don

American Whitewater would like to commend the Shoshone National Forest for expanding their roster of rivers considered “eligible” for Wild and Scenic designation under their new Forest Plan.  American Whitewater participated in their forest planning process and offered evidence and recommendations for several new eligible streams in our scoping comments and comments on the draft plan.  The plan considered our information, and adopted several of our recommendations.  We would like to thank Aaron Pruzan for providing first-hand accounts of many

Earlier today, Yosemite National Park released their Merced Wild and Scenic Final Comprehensive Management Plan and Environmental Impact Statement, and we're very pleased to announce that the Park Service has improved and enhanced opportunities to enjoy Yosemite via kayak, canoe and raft. The new plan places paddling on equal footing with other activities in the Park by managing visitor numbers similar to hiking and other backcountry uses. The plan considers river segments as "water trails" or backcountry routes. Because many

Earlier this week we posted a quick article informing our community that American Whitewater would not pursue the Senate version of the River Paddling Protection Act, ending our exploration of a legislative solution to the management of paddling in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.  We’ve obviously gotten some questions about this decision and would like to offer a more robust explanation.  How We Engaged in Park Management As an organization we support science-based management decisions that are generated through

American Whitewater has decided not to advocate for a Senate version of the River Paddling Protection Act, ending our exploration of a legislative solution to the management of paddling in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.  Congressional leaders, lead by the sponsor Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis, passed a revised version of the bill with bi-partisan support in the House Natural Resources Committee in late January. It then passed the House of Representatives last week as part of a highly controversial package

The River Paddling Protection Act, introduced by Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), passed the US House of Representatives on Thursday and now moves to the Senate for consideration.  The bill grants the National Park Service three years to replace 60 year-old paddling prohibitions in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks with modern science-based management.  Doing so would allow Americans to experience these iconic landscapes through non-commercial paddling in a low impact, sustainable, and carefully managed manner.  The original version of the

American Whitewater is proud to announce that we've built a new web store: http://store.americanwhitewater.org! It comes complete with a great selection of American Whitewater t-shirts, hoodies, hats, books and miscellaneous gear. We think our Members and fans will find the new store interface much improved and the checkout process quick and painless. Also, you can shop secure in the knowledge that all the products you purchase help support American Whitewater's river stewardship programs, too. We hope you'll check out our