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This year, American Whitewater has teamed up with the Community First Foundation to help raise support for our Colorado River Program through ColoradoGives Day. Your participation in this great opportunity will help us reach our goal of at least 30 donations to our River Access and Conservation work across Colorado, and FirstBank of Colorado will increase the size of your donations! On Tuesday Deceber 10th, ColoradoGives Day will take place, and for 24-hours you can donate to American Whitewater's Colorado

Last week the River Paddling Protection Act, HR 3492, was discussed in a hearing in the House of Representative's Natural Resources Committee.  This bill aims to lift a 60-year-old federal-level ban on paddling rivers in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks in favor of typical and more flexible Superintendent-level management decisions.  The hearing addressed several unrelated bills, with the discussion of HR 3492 coming near the end.   Aaron Pruzan testified on behalf of conservation-oriented paddlers.  Aaron is a past

If you're a member of a local boating group and you're seeking funding for an innovative project that will promote safe and clean boating on local waterways, the BoatUS Foundation's Grassroots Grant Program might be able to help. The BoatUS Foundation is currently accepting applications for projects developed for boaters, by boaters that have an impact on the boating community and fit within the larger goal of reducing accidents and fatalities, increasing stewardship of the nation’s waterways, and keeping boating

The Northwest Power and Conservation Council's Protected Areas Program protects about 20% of rivers in the Pacific Northwest from future hydropower development. Hydropower developers are working to weaken the Protected Areas Program, and paddlers' voices can help maintain this important river protection program. Through their Fish and Wildlife Program, the Northwest Power and Conservation Council ("Council") works to protect, mitigate and enhance fish and wildlife of the Columbia River Basin that are affected by the impacts of the Columbia River

  Yesterday, Congresswoman Cynthia Lummis (R-WY) introduced the River Paddling Protection Act, H.R.3492 , in the US House of Representatives.  The bill would eliminate federal prohibitions on paddling small human-powered boats like canoes and kayaks on rivers within Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks.     The rivers in question were closed to paddling over 60 years ago to prevent overfishing.  The paddling ban is no longer needed to serve this purpose.  Park managers refused to analyze the potential for allowing paddling

California is currently accepting comments on whether or not it makes sense to import dirty hydropower from Canada to meet renewable energy standards. Comments are specifically being called for on the draft report entitled "Including British Columbia run-of-river facilities in the California Renewables Portfolio Standards," that included a March 2013 Consultant Report entitled "Analysis of regulatory requirements for including British Columbia run-of-river facilities in the California Renewables Portfolio Standards." The prospects of importing British Columbia's dirtiest hydropower to California are

Colorado – In Late September, Representatives Scott Tipton and Jared Polis introduced H.R. 3189 with the intent of resolving the conflicts between the US Forest Service and the Ski Industry over proposed water rights conditions being applied to ski area permits. A related bill has been intriduced into the Senate (S. 1630), by Sen. Barasso of Wyoming. The bills are written broadly and in our view have serious implications for water management across the country, and undermine all efforts to

American Whitewater is asking all paddlers and river lovers to take 5 minutes and read our 2013 Winter Appeal (pdf). In this appeal, you can learn more about the hard work we will be doing in the coming year on behalf of river lovers everywhere. We won’t sugar coat it, this Winter Appeal is our direct request to all whitewater enthusiasts to make a year end tax-deductible donation to American Whitewater. Your financial support helps fund our river stewardship program.

For 2013, we've put together a great Membership deal: An American Whitewater Membership plus your choice of one of four different t-shirts(!) all for just $45. It’s not too early to be thinking about the Holiday gifts you’ll need for all the river enthusiasts on your list. No matter if they’re at home on the water, or just enjoy supporting river stewardship, an AW Membership is the perfect gift! For someone else Go to our Gift Membership page Fill out fields as appropriate

Advertising in the American Whitewater Journal is a great way to reach your customers in the paddling and outdoor community. What's more, your advertising dollars help support American Whitewater's river stewardship work! For complete details on advertising in the American Whitewater Journal, see our 2014 Media Kit. Thanks!

American Whitewater has received a fourth 4-star rating from Charity Navigator, America's largest and most utilized independent evaluator of charities.   Nov 1, 2013, Charity Navigator announced that American Whitewater has earned its fourth 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.    A letter from Charity Navigator

The November/December issue of the AW Journal features "Reminiscing About the Early Years of American Whitewater". This issue also includes. . . ·        Experiencing the Elwha ·        Paddling as an Analogy ·        American Whitewater From the Top ·        Adventures on the Cumberland Plateau ·        and 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

Each year American Whitewater’s membership elects Board members to serve three-year terms. These candidates are volunteering to serve three-year terms on the American Whitewater Board of Directors. Current AW members can cast their votes through Midnight Pacific Time, December 15th. There are currently four seats open 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. Thank you for your participation in this important election

Todd Schindler:   Louisville Ironman Swim Safety Coordinator   As an avid boater and active member of the Viking Canoe Club in Louisville, KY, Todd Schindler's largest contribution to the whitewater community is his volunteer work with Louisville Ironman.  Every August, since 2007, Todd directs over 130 volunteers in kayaks and other watercraft to provide safety support for typically 2800 athletes during the first leg of the Ironman triathlon, a 2.4 mile swim on the Ohio River in Louisville.  This

On Arch 9, 2013 Dr. Jim McComb died after his kayak pinned vertically on a small ledge on Arizona's East Verde River. His friend Dr. Bill Langhoffer recently forwarded a detailed description of the pin along with several photos. This may be useful to any paddler running difficult whitewater. His detailed accident report can be found in the accident database. The Anatomy of a Fatal Pin by Dr. Bill Langhofer River: The East Verde River Wilderness Section through Mazatzal Wilderness.

As the US Government shutdown drags into a second week many of our members have reached out to us for assistance on river access issues. The closure of the boat launch at Lee's Ferry on the Grand Canyon has been among the highest profile impacts of the government shutdown, but there have been others that have directly touched the whitewater community. This past weekend the Forest Service pulled the special use permit for annual Nooksack Slalom Races resulting in cancellation

American Whitewater is proud to announce two Volunteers of the Month for October: Brian Aubin and Elizabeth Fet! Gauley Fest's awesome Volunteer Coordinator, Natalie Price, had the following to say about Brian and Elizabeth. Brian Aubin In addition to helping set up, Brian pulled through in the most hellacious cold rain when nobody else would, recruited friends to pitch in on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights and had the most infectious positive attitude in which was a huge motivation to