The September/October issue of the AW Journal features the Mountain to Sound Greenway. This issue includes. . . · White Salmon River – The Work Doesn't Stop After the River Runs Free · Slate Creek in May · Feather River ORL · Confident Woman in a Canoe · and much more. . . Want to read the AW Journal online: You need a current membership and you must be registered
The American Canoe Association and the Steering Committee of the Whitewater Symposium will be co-hosting the Whitewater Symposium this year in Bend, Oregon. The event will take place September 27 through 29th at the Mt. Bachelor Village Resort and Tumalo Creek Outfitters. For more information, visit www.americancanoe.org/wwsymposium or www.wwsymposium.com. The Whitewater Symposium is a three-day annual event promoting whitewater paddlesports by bringing together a diverse cross section of industry and program advocates. The event affords a unique meeting of minds
This September 20-21, come join American Whitewater at the world's largest paddling festival (and our biggest fundraiser): Gauley Fest Presented by Subaru! American Whitewater is proud to join all our paddling friends in Summersville, WV for a weekend of great paddling, camping, music, vending and comraderie. What's more, this year is the 30th year of Gauley Fest, which means we have three decades of excellent whitewater paddling to celebrate after paddlers prevented a dam project and secured releases on this
American Whitewater is pleased to announce the August 2013 Volunteer of the Month: Katrina O'Brien! Katrina is a core volunteer helping with American Whitewater's Deerfield Fest in Massacussetts each year. Deerfield Fest is AW's largest event and fundraiser in the Northeast and it takes a ton of work to put on. Katrina helps AW with all parts of the event from several months in advance all the way through clean up afterwards. An event this size takes quite a bit of
Just a friendly reminder to all our wonderful vendors that plan to attend Gauley Fest: booth prices increase 15% September 1st! Make sure you reserve your booth space now! If you have any questions, check out our Gauley Fest vendor FAQ. See you there!
The 22nd annual Feather River Festival (CA) will be held during scheduled releases on the Feather River September 27-29, 2013. The fund-raiser event for American Whitewater will be hosted once again by local paddling club Chico Paddleheads. 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
While paddling the Elwha River is a fascinating way to experience restoration and recovery of a free-flowing river in action, it’s not the only way to get a first-hand look at one of the nation’s most ambitious and fascinating restoration projects. There are a number of sites where you can scout the river or just explore the emerging landscape with friends and family. River Mouth The river mouth is quickly transforming as the cobble beach transitions to sand as predicted.
American Whitewater received the following letter from the rangers and staff of the Gauley River National Recreation Area. Also, note that release information for the 2013 Gauley season is posted to: http://www.lrh-wc.usace.army.mil/wc/wwsched.html August 17, 2013 An Open Letter to Gauley River Boaters Dear Boaters, The rangers and staff of the Gauley River National Recreation Area welcome you to the 2013 boating season. National Park Service (NPS) employees have been working, and are continuing to work, on preparing the put-ins and
With more than 2,500 miles of roads, the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest has an extensive road system that supports a variety of public needs, from recreation to resource extraction. Although the road network is extensive and provides access to far reaches of the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest, it is simply too big for the Forest Service to maintain under current budget resources. Roads are important for whitewater paddlers because they provide critical access to the rivers we all enjoy but
American Whitewater is working with several partners through the National Park Service Rivers and Trails Conservation Assistance Program to develop an updated recreation plan for the upper Nooksack River basin. Paddlers are well aware of the high quality recreational resources found on the forks for the Nooksack and their major tributaries. The goal of this planning project is to develop a strategy for managing recreation use while maintaining the integrity of the natural resources in the area and minimizing potential conflicts.
American Whitewater is a stakeholder engaged in the proposed Susitna-Watana Hydroelectric Project that would dam the Susitna River upstream of Devil's Canyon. The project would impact instream flows through Devil's Canyon and inundate a significant stretch of river upstream of the canyon. Currently the State of Alaska, the proponent of the hydropower project, is undertaking the a series of studies to examine the feasibility of constructing the project and the associated impacts. In an effort to better understand the
The Northwest Power and Conservation Council is currently amending its Fish and Wildlife Program. This program includes an important "Protected Areas" designation, which keeps about 20% of Northwestern Rivers flowing freely by protecting them from future hydropower development. Protected Areas in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana mitigate the impacts on fish and wildlife of the Columbia River hydropower system and provide refuge as our climate changes and in the face of toxic loads. Threat: Northwest hydropower developers and utilities currently
If you have ever run Uncompahgre (upper, lower, playpark), Cimarron or North Fork of Gunnison please help us protect flows there by answering this very brief survey: Cimarron, Uncompahgre, North Fork Survey If you already answered the longer Gunnison River Flow Survey, there is no need to answer this one! Out of the 20 sections we surveyed for on the bigger Gunnison Survey, we got plenty of responses (thank you boaters) to all of the other sections. But we need more data
The first of a series of flow study dates have been rescheduled for 28 and 29, 2013 due to excessive flows predicted this week. The study aims to assess the recreational flow needs for whitewater paddling on the New River Dries in West Virginia. This flow study was requested by American Whitewater and other stakeholders, as part of the relicensing of the Hawks Nest Hydroelectric Project. Paddlers with suitable skills are encouraged to sign up to participate. Participants will test 500cfs
The Pit River experienced the first whitewater release this past weekend as part of the new license for PG&E’s Pit 3, 4, 5 hydroelectric project. This section of the Pit River, which is below the Pit 5 dam, is located about an hour East of Redding in the small town of Big Bend in Northern California. “This is one of the best Class IV runs in California”, stated Jim Pepin, long time Redding resident and mainstay of the Northern California
The University of Connecticut announced selection of Connecticut Water Co. as the preferred option to provide additional water needed for the Storrs campus. On August 7, 2013, the Board of Trustees voted formally to endorse this top option. On importance to the paddling community and other groups, the diversion of water from the Farmington River had been one proposed options considered. This option had been opposed by river watershed organizations at the local, regional, and national levels including American Whitewater.
Idaho Rivers United and the Nez Perce Tribe filed a joint lawsuit in federal court in Boise late this afternoon in order to stop the movement of megaloads along U.S. Highway 12 through tribal lands and the Clearwater-Lochsa Wild and Scenic River corridor. The lawsuit charges that the U.S. Forest Service’s failure to stop a megaload from entering the river corridor was “arbitrary, capricious, (and) an abuse of discretion.” The Tribe and IRU are also seeking an injunction that would
The University of Connecticut announced selection of Connecticut Water Co. as the preferred option to provide additional water needed for the Storrs campus. On August 7, 2013, the Board of Trustees voted formally to endorse this top option. On importance to the paddling community and other groups, the diversion of water from the Farmington River had been one proposed options considered. This option had been opposed by river watershed organizations at the local, regional, and national levels including American Whitewater.
Western North Carolina River Rescue Rodeo September 29th, 2013 There is still time to registor for 10 Teams of 5 members with either canoes or decked boats compete in river rescue events for over $1000 worth of prizes on the Tuckasegee River in Dillsboro, NC. Teams compete in all events for 1st, 2nd and 3rd place as well as overall prizes. The event will be based out of Dillsboro River Company at the put-in to the Tuckasegee Gorge –
Submit your best photos for American Whitewater's annual calendar. When The deadline is August 31st, 2013. How Via our online submission form. Images must be submitted as high-resolution files (suitable for printing up to 10") for inclusion in the calendar, without monetary compensation. Maximum 10 photo entries per person. Who Any and all photographers, from professionals to complete novices. Have you taken a photo before? Then you're ready. Why First, you'll get a free copy of the calendar if your
Gauley Fest is the world's biggest paddling festival and American Whitewater's biggest fundraiser – but we need your help! Please sign up to volunteer and become a part of the Gauley Fest Volunteer Team! It's a fun and easy way for you to be a critical part of an amazing festival. Volunteer Rewards Volunteers-only Gauley Fest T-shirt tickets for a “volunteer only” raffle The feeling of knowing that you help AW put on a critical fundraiser! We've even got a few
Bailey, Colorado – American Whitewater is pleased to recognize Ian Foley as this months Volunteer of the Month. Ian is well known as the lead organizer for Bailey Fest, and this year he accomplished a major milestone in improving public safety and access along the the North Fork of the South Platte River. Thanks to Ian's efforts, all the major rapids and the main canyon of Bailey are safe from the threat of private landowners shutting down river access or
A team of experts assembled with U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) grant funding seeks national content validation of a set of entry level, skill-based Human (manually propelled) boat operation standards. This is your opportunity to impact the development of recreational paddling and rowing (canoes, kayaks, rowboats, paddleboards, etc.) standards across the country by completing this on-line survey. WHAT: The National On-Water Standards Team, funded by USCG grants, is seeking input from recreational paddling and rowing educators across the nation on a
The BLM has implemented a river closure for the Wild and Scenic Rogue River between Grave Creek and Mule Creek due to extreme fire conditions and public health and safety. In addition the Bear Camp shuttle road and Rogue River trail are closed. The fire, known as the Windy Complex, began on July 26th and continues to have high growth potentially in extreme terrain. No timetable has been presented for opening the river. Local businesses that serve
Legislative momentum continues to build for the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act (S. 112, H. R. 361). Following passage of the bill by unanimous consent in the Senate, the House formally took up the legislation with a hearing before the House Natural Resources Committee. "The Middle Fork Snoqualmie is one of the nation's most spectacular whitewater rivers in close proximity to a major metropolitan area, and we are thrilled that support for
