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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

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

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

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