Articles

At the recent American Whitewater Board meeting in North Bend (WA), the Directors appointed Courtney Wilton, of Portland (OR), to a special two-year term to fill the seat vacated by Eric Nies. Courtney is currently the CFO for Clackamas Community College in Oregon and brings to the AW Board a high level of financial expertise. When asked his interest in being an American Whitewater Director, Courtney responds; "I admire AW for a number of reasons. One, I strongly support its

The River Management Society awarded American Whitewater and Executive Director, Mark Singleton, with the Outstanding Contribution to River Management Award at recent meetings in Gridwood, Alaska. A key mission of RMS is to develop and promote professional river management and encourage professional development. One of the best ways to promote professional river management is to recognize those members and others who have made significant contributions to the art and science of river management, and those who best exemplify the spirit

Last week American Whitewater and AW lead volunteers that assist with Tallulah releases met with GA Power and the Tallulah Gorge State Park to discuss repairs that are taking place on the dam to repair gates damaged in a heavy rain event back in August of 2010.First a Little BackgroundThe Tallulah River was one of the first major hydro relicensing successes AW fought very hard for back in the early 1990’s. Since then it has become a staple of the

Grand Junction, Colo. — The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) is offering a final opportunity for the public to comment on a proposed permit and fee system for the Ruby-Horsethief section of the Colorado River. The BLM will consider comments received during this public comment period prior to making a final decision. The public comment period begins on June 6, 2011, and will close at 5 p.m. on July 6, 2011. Public comments can be sent to Ruby-Horsethief Management Plan,

The Northeast’s most popular whitewater festival, Deerfield Fest, is happening this July 30th in the town of Charlemont, MA. It’s American Whitewater’s biggest event and fundraiser in the Northeast. Boater’s from all over the Northeast and beyond flock to Deerfield Fest to see the latest gear from vendors, paddle the Deerfield River and see friends old and new. Make sure your company doesn’t miss out on this major outreach opportunity! If you’re a vendor interested in being a part of Deerfield Fest head over

Only twice each year, American Whitewater appeals for financial support for our river stewardship work. To this end, we’ve put together the 2011 American Whitewater Summer Appeal (pdf). It details just how our supporter’s money is spent and features a national listing of some of our major projects we’re currently involved with. We sincerely hope you’ll take the time to peruse this document and consider donating or joining/renewing with American Whitewater. Please, download and read the 2011 American Whitewater Summer

American Whitewater is excited to announce our 2011 partnership with Dagger ($10,000), Wavesport ($10,000) and AT Paddles ($2,500)! These brands are all part of the Confluence Watersports family and each with a long history in whitewater. However, these folks do more than just sell gear, they’re trying to save rivers too! They’re doing this by lending their support to American Whitewater and our river stewardship projects. We’re incredibly happy to have them on board and we’re sure our members will be too. Thanks to Dagger,

American Whitewater is pleased to announce Peter Stekel, of Seattle, Washington, as our June Volunteer of the Month! Peter is a long-time AW member with equally long ties to the boating community. In addition to being an avid paddler, Peter is an accomplished author, most recently with a book about hiking near Seattle, WA and a non-fiction book about WWII. Peter was instrumental in helping American Whitewater put on our most recent board meeting in Seattle, no small task to

The Bureau of Reclamation began releasing water from McPhee Reservoir into the lower Dolores River last month, following their ramping criteria.  As predicted, flows reached 1,000 cfs throughout the Memorial Day weekend.  Water managers planned on cutting back to 800 cfs for the remainder of this week, but warmer weather is driving a more rapid run-off than expected. Flows have stayed at boatable levels since May 27th.  We expect flows to continue below McPhee at the following levels: June  8-10,

American Whitewater regularly accepts donations for specific projects, and we would like to invite paddlers to donate to support our stream access work in Virginia. As many paddlers are aware, Virginia has some of the most antiquated and harsh stream access laws in the nation. American Whitewater is working with a team of volunteers, pro-bono attorneys, and regional river enthusiasts to reduce threats of prosecution for the simple act of floating down a river or stream. Donations will be used

Please consider taking our brief survey (9 questions) about the American Whitewater website. It should take less than 5 minutes (really!) to complete. We value your time very highly and wouldn’t ask you to take this survey if it wasn’t very important for American Whitewater. Also, please consider sharing this survey link amongst your boating friends via email, facebook or any other method: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AW_Website_Survey_2011 Thanks!

The Higgins and Langley Memorial Awards honor outstanding achievements in the technical rescue discipline of swiftwater and flood rescue. These are not heroism awards, but rather recognize preparedness, teamwork, and a job well done, often under extreme conditions. The awards were established in 1993 by members of the Swiftwater Rescue Committee of the National Association for Search and Rescue (NASAR) in honor of Earl Higgins, a writer and filmmaker who lost his life in 1980 while rescuing a child who

Please consider taking our brief survey (10 questions) about the American Whitewater website. It should take less than 5 minutes (really!) to complete. We value your time very highly and wouldn’t ask you to take this survey if it wasn’t very important for American Whitewater. Also, we hope you’ll consider sharing this survey link with all your paddling and river-loving friends via facebook, email or other means: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/AW_Website_Survey_2011 Thanks!

American Whitewater and Clif Bar are proud to announce the recipient of the 2011 Clif Bar Flowing Rivers Campaign: the Mount Washington Valley Paddlers! MWVP will receive a $1,250 grant to go towards their project as outlined below. The Mount Washington Valley Paddlers project is for the improvement of two access points along the Androscoggin River in New Hampshire as well as a river cleanup along the same stretch of river. MWVP will be improving the river access point at Errol Rips

Earlier today Congressman Rick Larsen (WA-2) and Senator Patty Murray (WA) reintroduced legislation to designate Illabot Creek as a Wild and Scenic River. The legislation will protect the free-flowing character of Illabot Creek, an important habitat for threatened wild Chinook salmon, steelhead, bull trout and other wildlife, while maintaining recreational opportunities to explore this remote river gorge. Larsen and Murray’s legislation has broad local support from elected officials, environmentalists, fishermen, agriculture, and other stakeholders. "Illabot Creek is a critical habitat

Pacificorp and American Whitewater have decided to cancel the Bear River (ID) releases this coming weekend (May 7-8, 2011) for a variety of hydrological, recreational and administrative reasons.  Following this weekend in-flow triggered releases will resume.  We apologize for any inconvenience. Bear River snowpack currently exceeds 200% of normal, and it is highly likely that numerous additional releases will occur this spring. 

Cullowhee, NC – American Whitewater, the nation’s leading voice for headwater rivers, today applauded the release of separate reports by the U.S Interior Department and the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association for elevating attention to threats to the Colorado River. “These reports are a wake-up call to all of us who depend on the Colorado River,” said Nathan Fey, Director of American Whitewater’s Colorado Stewardship Program. “If we fail to protect the river, we fail to protect our environment, recreational

The Upper Youghiogheny River is one of the country’s finest summer venues for expert whitewater paddlers. Many old-time boaters remember when this classic river only ran on weekdays, creating a problem for working paddlers. Today’s weekend release schedule was the work of many paddler-activists beginning in the late 70’s. The current state permit was negotiated in 2007 between the dam owner, Brookfield Power, and lake users, fishermen, and whitewater paddlers. It was meticulously crafted to be fair to all stakeholders.

American Whitewater is excited to announce the availability of a patch for AW Members! This patch is only available to AW members who sign up for our auto-renewal program. If you're an AW Member who has signed up for the auto-renewal program, you should have already received this patch in the mail. We hope to see everyone wearing these patches proudly! The patch is suitable for stitching to a PFD or similar article.  To get your hands on one of

Cullowhee, NC – American Whitewater, the nation’s leading voice for headwater rivers, is rallying river recreationists across the country to actively support President Barack Obama’s newly released national clean water framework. Guidance within the framework showcases the Administration’s comprehensive commitment to protecting the health of America’s waters. American Whitewater’s National Stewardship Director Kevin Colburn explained that perhaps the most important component of the framework is draft guidance confirming that the Clean Water Act applies to headwater streams and related wetlands.The

Update – 4/27/11: SB 297 has been pulled from consideration for the 2011 term!  Thank you to everyone who sent in your comments and made phone calls! Amendments to California’s Renewable Energy Legislation could destroy the undammed steep creeks of the Sierra Nevada and Cascades.  Places like Brush Creek, Big Kimshew, South Silver, Deer and Mill Creeks could be at risk if these amendments to California’s Renewable Portfolio Standards are signed into law.  If you want to keep hydro projects