Articles

  Paddlers from throughout New England converged on Jamaica State Park in southern Vermont last weekend for the annual release on the West River. The annual one day release, held the last weekend in September, is the only remaining scheduled release by the Army Corps of Engineers from the Ball Mountain Dam. Over the past two decades, the Corps has eliminated 5 of 6 scheduled releases from the dam, depriving the paddlers of opportunities to paddle this treasured river and

The impacts of the government shutdown are being felt far and wide, and river runners are no exception. Congress failed to come to an agreement on funding the government, and as a result access to rivers on federal lands is being denied across the country. From rivers in the National Park System to those managed by the Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management, the public is being turned away from their rivers. People from all over the world have

Releases into Piru Creek below Santa Felicia Dam in California have been cancelled this year due to low rainfall last winter. The United Water Conservation District typically releases water each autumn from the dam to recharge groundwater supplies and provide opportunities for whitewater recreation. Unfortunately, this year Piru Reservoir did not fill because it did not receive enough runoff, and is currently 70 feet below normal levels.  The District provides access to their property only when releases exceed 200 cfs. As

American Whitewater is proud to announce another successful Gauley Fest, this one the 30th anniversary! First, a huge thanks goes out to Subaru for being Gauley Fest’s title sponsor. Paddlers certainly see Subarus at nearly every takeout and we're glad to have them at Gauley Fest, too. Subaru's support of Gauley Fest (American Whitewater's biggest fundraiser) helps us raise funds for our river stewardship work. Thanks Subaru! We’d also like to thank the many companies that support American Whitewater and Gauley

Eighteen months ago whitewater paddlers raised over $20,000 for off-road parking in Friendsville, Maryland. This small riverside town sees a large influx of paddlers running the Upper Youghiogheny every summer weekend. Work continues despite unexpected challenges that have greatly increased costs.   There’s good news and bad news in this update. The entry culvert and fences have been installed. This, along with the change house, was paid for entirely with boater money. But surfacing the parking lot has proven to

Today, American Whitewater submitted recommendations for amendments for the Northwest Power and Conservation Council's Fish and Wildlife Program. The Program has significant influence over rivers in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana. The Council, which develops the Northwest Power Plan, is responsible for ensuring an affordable and reliable energy system while enhancing fish and wildlife in the Columbia River Basin.  American Whitewater focused our comments on strengthening the Protected Area program. Rivers and streams that are Protected make up about 20%

If you're coming out to Gauley Fest, make sure you check out the Ladies on the Lower G fundraiser put on by Anna Levesque and Girls at Play. It's a fun paddle down, you guessed it, the Lower Gauley and all the funds raised are graciously donated to American Whitewater. It should be an awesome trip and we hope you'll check it out. But, there is a catch, you have to sign up in advance! Check out the link above

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

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

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

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