Articles

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

The May/June issue of the AW Journal features Road Trips and includes: Pacific Northwest Huckfest The Southern Sierra Whitewater Road Trip The American Road Trip . . .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. Current members – Read the Road Trip issue now! Not a current member? Renew or Join today!

American Whitewater is celebrating a recent court victory from the Sacramento Superior Court that protects the recreational, cultural and historic values of the Mokelumne River.  The April 11, 2011 decision by Sacramento Superior Court Judge Timothy Frawley held that the East Bay Municipal Utility District’s ("EBMUD") 2040 Water Plan violated California’s Environmental Quality Act ("CEQA"). The suit was filed by AW partners Friends of the River, Foothill Conservancy, and the California Sportfishing Protection Alliance in an effort to halt EBMUD’s

For over 30 years Glen and Donna Miller of Mount Nebo, West Virginia drove shuttles for Cheat and Big Sandy River paddlers in their big stake-bed truck. Thousands of us have looked forward to their friendly greeting, a beer from the cooler, and a memorable ride home. Glen, a logger by trade, is known as one of the hardest-working men in the area. What other kind of man would decide to run boater shuttles in his spare time? Glen began

American Whitewater is excited to announce our new patch for Lifetime Members. This patch is only available to our Lifetime ($750) and above members. If you’re a lifetime member, you should have already received this patch in the mail. We hope to see all our Lifetime members proudly wearing this patch! All individuals that sign up for a Lifetime membership in the future will receive this patch too. If you’re interested in becoming a Lifetime, or above member, you can

This April 29 – May 1, 2011, American Whitewater will be at the French Broad River Fest in Hot Springs, NC. Proceeds for the event get donated to American Whitewater and two other non-profits. In 2010 French Broad River Fest donated over $5,000 to American Whitewater alone! Purchase your tickets now for $65 or they can be purchased for $75 at the gate. Past festivals have featured multiple stages w/ over 20 bands, a whitewater raft race, a mountain bike

              Date:                        Spring 2012 From:                         Norwood Scott, Vice President To:                        All interested and qualified AW members     Dear AW Member,   American Whitewater is seeking nominations of interested and qualified candidates to serve as a Director. We are seeking candidates to fill 4 board seats to begin a three-year term starting January 1, 2012.   A healthy, vibrant, participatory and functional board of Directors is critical to the long

Tallulah Fest May 13-15 presented by BBB paddling Even with Tallulah releases being cancelled, the Tallulah Fest is still going to happen! Come out and paddle other close-by southeastern classic rivers; Chattooga, Cheoah, Nantahala and Ocoee. Get ready for an outdoor festival thrown by a bunch of kayakers.  Tallulah Fest will feature games, camping, live entertainment Friday and Saturday night, kayaking videos presented by John Grace, over $1,000 worth of gear to be raffled away, giveaways, some friendly competition and

American Whitewater received notice yesterday that GA Power is canceling May Tallulah boating releases. GA Power first delayed the usual April flows and tentatively moved releases to May due to ongoing repairs of dam gates damaged in August 2010. Below is an excerpt of a letter that GA Power sent to Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) to inform the commission that the repairs to the dam have not been completed. In the letter GA Power states, "Due to the uncertainty

AW is pleased to share the following fellowship opportunity within the Outdoor Alliance. The Outdoor Alliance, a coalition of human-powered recreation organizations, seeks a highly motivated individual to fill a two-year Grass-top Advocacy Fellow position. The Fellow will build coalitions of climbers, paddlers, hikers, backcountry skiers and mountain bikers to positively impact conservation policy at the state, regional and national level. The Fellow will be based in Boise, Idaho, but will spend time in Washington, DC on a regular and

Several paddlers have sent us photos of accident and rescue sites. One picture is worth a thousand words, and there’s a lot to learn here. Although the photos do not meet the publication requirements of the AW Journal they look fine on the web and can be used to suppliment our regular accident reports.Photos of four accident sites from last year covering the Blackwater, Gauley, Arkansas, and North Fork of the Feather now published as articles on the Safety Page.