Articles

In 2012 AW volunteers will  once again maintain the Sang Run river access on Maryland's Upper Yough. Our decade-long agreement with Maryland State Parks uses volunteer labor to keep your paddling costs down. An early spring required us to cut the grass several weeks before its usual time. Local kayaking legend John Regan used his tractor to grade and spread 36 tons of fresh gravel over the heavily used parking lot. John's activities at Sang Run actually predate AW's involvement. After the

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Jul/Aug 2012 (Apr. 25 Deadline) See Your Name in Print! Reading the American Whitewater Journal is good … getting published in it is great! Be the envy of your boating friends by getting a story published in American Whitewater. Deadline for stories on the topics listed below is April 25. At this time, we're looking for stories on any and all of the following:   Family paddling How does the phrase go? “The family that paddles together…” Well, never mind the

Blackwater Falls State Park has asked AW to remind paddlers running West Virginia’s Upper Blackwater River to sign in at Blackwater Lodge before putting on. Park Manager Rob Gilligan says that although many kayakers are complying, a significant number are not. American Whitewater believes that registration is our best interest. In addition to helping emergency responders, registration demonstrates to political leaders  that we are a responsible, law abiding group. It’s also helpful for both AW and the park to know

Dartmouth College's Ledyard Canoe Club, a sub club of the Dartmouth Outing Club, will be hosting it's 4th annual River Festival April 12th-15th. The festival will include a screening of a film on conservation Thursday the 12th, a triathlon on Friday the 13th, a downriver mass start race on the Wells River in Vermont on the 14th, a festival party with music, food and free Smuttynose beer (for participants 21+) the evening of the 14th, and the festival will finish

American Whitewater is pleased to announce the recipient of our April 2012 Volunteer of the Month award: Francheska Thompson! Francheska was one of the rockstar volunteers at Gauley Fest, donating an incredible amount of time and positive energy to American Whitewater's biggest fundraiser. We were honored to have her help! Gauley Fest's Volunteer Coordinator, Natalie Price, had this to say about her: "Francheska contributed over 50 hours of her time over four days assisting AW management at our Gauley Fest

The Difference Between a Website and Membership Account A website account is simply a user account you make at americanwhitewater.org. It contains information like your name, email address and a password. A Membership account is a record of your official paid membership with American Whitewater. It contains information like your mailing address, expiration date, mailing preferences, history of contributions and so on. A Membership account can be linked to a website account, but it is not done automatically by American

  The National Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation are currently seeking the public's ideas for the action alternatives that will be considered for the Glen Canyon Dam LTEMP EIS (Long Term Experimental and Management Plan Environmental Impact Statement). The operations of Glen Canyon Dam have a direct impact on the Colorado River as it flows through the Grand Canyon, and this is the first time they've been considered since 1996.    Earlier this year, the agencies collected scoping comments

The National Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation are currently seeking the public's ideas for the action alternatives that will be considered for the Glen Canyon Dam LTEMP EIS (Long Term Experimental and Management Plan Environmental Impact Statement). The operations of Glen Canyon Dam have a direct impact on the Colorado River as it flows through the Grand Canyon, and this is the first time it's been considered since 1996.    Earlier this year, the agencies collected scoping comments. On

American Whitewater received the following press release from the US Forest Service. It's another in a long list of challenges over the fight to lift the 35 year ban on human powered non commercial whitewater boating on the Wild and Scenic Upper Chattooga river. ——————————————————————————————————– USDA Forest Service Southern Region 1720 Peachtree Road, NW Atlanta, GA 30309   Contact: Linda Brett (404) 347-7226 USDA Forest Service Southern Region Grants Request to Stay the Permitting of Boating on Upper Chattooga River

  Earlier today, the Forest Service released a Final Rule for National Forest System Land Management Planning. The Planning Rule guides the development of management plans for our National Forests and the rivers that flow through them. These planning efforts are important because they provide guidance for recreational use of rivers, outline goals for watershed restoration and conservation, and evaluate rivers for designation under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act.   American Whitewater's National Stewardship Director Kevin Colburn issued the

American Whitewater is pleased to announce that we are launching a new Northeast Regional Stewardship Program. The creation of the new program is made possible by a generous $50,000 gift, given in memory of Boyce Greer. The contribution will be used as seed-money and paired with additional support from the regional paddling community to hire a part-time Northeast Stewardship Director position. The new regional director will work closely with paddlers and partner organizations to carry out American Whitewater’s stewardship mission

Utah – The Obama administration has decided to authorize nearly 1,300 new natural gas wells in Utah’s Desolation Canyon wilderness and other remote areas of the Green River basin. It is anticipated that these new leases will degrade the pristine region’s air quality and hurt the state’s tourism industry, according to a coalition of environmental groups.   In approving the so-called Gasco development project, the Department of the Interior also rejected calls by the Environmental Protection Agency and tens of

  American Whitewater recently learned that O.K. Goodwin, founder of The Coastal Canoeists (1965) and AW safety chair from 1970 to 1987, died on December 3, 2011. He was 90 years old. A lifelong resident of Newport News, VA, he was a designer of merchant ships (and the occasional canoe) for almost four decades. A canoe instructor and Boy Scout leader, he was also a serious whitewater competitor, both in C-1 and in C-2 with his wife, Glenna. They were

  American Whitewater is seeking nominations of interested and qualified candidates to serve as a Director. We are seeking Directors to begin a three-year term starting January 1, 2013.   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

Chris Gragtmans, of TerraVida Threads, recently approached us with a cool challenge he's participating in to raise money for American Whitewater and other great non-profits. Chris's description: Thanks so much for your interest in supporting American Whitewater as part of the French Broad Distance Paddle! This organization was an obvious choice during the planning of the challenge, and has been doing great things for paddlers and other river-goers for nearly 60 years. AW represents the front line of whitewater river

The March/April issue of the AW Journal features River Stewardship in Perfect Clarity . Our index now provides direct links to each article. this issue includes. . . Chetco Obsession From Chlorine to Class V Quality Hanging Out Time Risk. . .and Reward . . .plus 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 account.

  Spring 2012 Tallulah Release Reminders   Tallulah releases for spring 2012 are going to be held on April 7, 8 and 14, 15. Releases begin at 9:30 am and all boaters must start down the stairs by 3:00 pm to beat the flow down to the lake. Releases on Saturday are 500 cfs and Sunday releases are 700 cfs. You will need to sign a waiver at the top of the stairs to be permitted to paddle the river. Please continue to