American Whitewater is looking for a vendor to perform an audit of our website to assess it for future improvements. We’ve put together a Request for Proposal (RFP) outlining this project more fully and to help us select an appropriate vendor. All qualified vendors are encouraged to participate. Download the RFP. Submissions are due by midnight ET on Sunday December 19th, 2010.
American Whitewater has put together a short flow study on the Wild and Scenic St. Joe River. The goal is to characterize the optimal and acceptable flow ranges for boating and fishing on various reaches of the St. Joe. This information will aid in long term protection of flows in the river. If you have experience paddling or fishing on the St. Joe, please take a few minutes to fill out this survey. Also, please share this survey widely among
Every 15 years or so each National Forest is required to update their management plan. Part of this effort is to consider which rivers and streams on the Forest are "eligible" for Wild and Scenic designation. Over the past few weeks American Whitewater has worked with regional paddlers to review the Forest’s draft analysis. Today we filed comments offering additional support for several rivers that the Forest found eligible, and recommending that several additional streams be found eligible. Eligible rivers
Earlier this fall Idaho Power Company and Milner Dam, Inc., the licensees who operate the Milner Hydro Project, submitted a proposal to amend the requirements of their license to include April as a month when whitewater recreation can be provided on the Milner Mile. Local paddlers and AW were consulted in the development of this proposal. While the total number of available releases on this challenging class V run will remain capped at 4, they can now be provided over
The USDA Forest Service recently recognized the outstanding contributions and accomplishments of six individuals and four groups regarding their stewardship of National Forest System wilderness and wild and scenic rivers. Several of these people are well known partners in American Whitewater’s river stewardship work. "The exceptional efforts and leadership of these dedicated employees and colleagues will allow us to continue our legacy of quality wilderness management and the protection of wild and scenic rivers," said Tom Tidwell, the
We have witnessed some positive developments regarding the plan to remove Condit Dam and restore the White Salmon River over the last few weeks, and there are several details that we thought would be of interest to the whitewater boating community. After years of delay many may have wondered if this project would really ever move forward but while some key steps remain, major regulatory and political hurdles have been cleared that should result in some significant movement on this
Tell the Senate to pass legislation that fully and permanently funds the Land and Water Conservation Fund. Use the Comment Tool on the Outdoor Alliance website Congress is back in session but looking to wrap things up. One of the precious few things embraced by both Democrats and Republicans is legislation to fully and automatically fund Land and Water Conservation Fund at $900 million per year. Every year. The idea behind LWCF is simple–some of the wealth from offshore drilling
The annual American Whitewater Calendar is now ready for purchase online! The calendar is more than just a cool piece of river inspiration to hang on your wall, but also a neat AW fundraiser. All the photos are submitted by AW members and supporters. We then take the best of these photos and craft a cool calendar out of them and sell them online. Thanks to all the photographers who lent us their work this year!
The Shoshone National Forest is in the process of revising their Forest Plan. The Forest covers much of the rugged Wind River Range and portions of the Clarks Fork of the Yellowstone watershed. As part of that process USFS staff are selecting which rivers they deem to be eligible for Wild and Scenic River designation. A finding that a river is eligible offers some interim protection from new dams and other potential impacts. To be eligible for designation a river
As you determine your charitable gifts for the end of the year, consider the value of an investment in American Whitewater. The proven track record of our river stewardship staff, combined with a lean administration, means that more of your donation goes to on-the-ground results. Anyone who rafts, canoes, kayaks or floats a whitewater river has American Whitewater to thank for providing important leadership on river stewardship efforts around the country. American Whitewater has demonstrated tremendous success in building coalitions
American Whitewater is incredibly excited to announce the availability of membership auto-renewals! It’s simple, you want to keep your AW membership up to date, but don’t want to have to work at it. Plus, who really wants more junk in the mail? We’ve got your solution, sign up for Auto-Renewals via one of the methods below and we’ll automatically renew your membership each year by charging your credit card. You won’t receive any renewal notices and your membership never lapses.
Save rivers, get cool stuff! For 2010, we have a great Holiday Membership offer: for just $45 you get a regular one year membership with American Whitewater and our popular American Whitewater Logo t-shirt. We think it’s a great gift to give to a new boater, or heck, a great gift to give yourself! For someone else: Go to our Gift Membership page and fill out the fields as appropriate. Under “Membership Level” select “Holiday Membership – $45”. For yourself:
American Whitewater is excited to announce that we have a new Join or Renew and a new Donate form on our website! These updated forms are much easier to use than our previous ones. We hope folks will find them attractive and easy to use. If you’ve ever had a problem Joining via the website or making a donation before, we hope you’ll try now. Thanks! If you have any feedback or questions on Joining, Renewing or Donating, please
As an organization, American Whitewater has been quite fortunate to have a committed group of volunteer Board of Directors that provides the organization with high-level oversight and strategic direction. To sustain this healthy and vibrant board an effective process is in place to insure an appropriate transition of Directors over time. This transition process balances the need for fresh ideas with appropriate leadership continuity. Current American Whitewater members have the opportunity to elect Directors and approve changes to the AW
American Whitewater is pleased to announce that you can now purchase a Gift Membership on the AW website. With this new functionality, people can easily and clearly purchase a gift membership for a friend or loved one. We hope lots of river lovers out there will be inspired to get an AW membership for someone else. Share your love of rivers, and help us save them. Everyone wins.
Got a cool whitewater-related love story? Meet that special someone on the river? Nearly breakup teaching your significant other to boat (yikes!)? Whether it’s a cautionary tale of what not to do, or how you met your soulmate, we want you to submit your story and photos for our next edition of the American Whitewater Journal by Nov. 5th. Something tells us this could be a really cool issue!
Come celebrate and defend the Yough! YOU are invited to the Youghiogheny Defense Party! This event benefits the Yough Defense Fund of the Mountain Watershed Association. Proceeds will help cover legal expenses incurred in challenging the proposed Curry Mine. Date: Thursday November 18, 2010Place: Falls City Pub (Wilderness Voyageurs) in OhiopyleTime: 5pm Doors Open (drinks available) 6pm Food starts (heavy Hors d’oeuvres) 7pm Music (short sets) and events start Party is open to the public ! It is not necessary to RSVP, but
All things must come to an end at some point. Such is the case with the well-known LVM DVD series (announcement). LVM has been a long time supporter of American Whitewater’s river stewardship work and has offered subscriptions at special rates to our members. As such, these AW member-only LVM subscriptions will only be available until Oct. 31st. LVM even donates $8 to AW for each subscription sold! However, you can only take advantage of this deal when you are
We are pleased to announce that Duke Energy recently received their new state water quality certificates for their dams on the Tuckasegee and Nantahala rivers. These certificates were the final remaining documents that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission needs to issue new federal licenses for the dams. The dams are expected to be licensed before the end of 2010. American Whitewater signed robust settlement agreements in 2003 calling for guaranteed and enhanced releases on the lower reaches of the
Now that the last Upper Yough releases are over its time to recognize a number of people who helped make access to the river work. Friendsville city councilman Jess Whittemore alerted us to various parking problems and the paddling community responded by doing the right thing. People in town noticed! Upstream, this is AW’s 10th year maintaining the Sang Run access, and many people helped out. Kurt Knuth and Bob Spangler each mowed the grass one for month. Paddling tree
Yesterday, conservation-oriented paddlers presented their case against the US Forest Service regarding the agency’s illegal paddling ban on 21 miles of the Wild and Scenic Chattooga River in a federal district court hearing. The full line-up of regional paddling clubs and national organizations (ACA and AW) were present and were represented by superb pro-bono legal council. Life-long Chattooga River paddler Bruce Hare offered moving testimony on the value of the Chattooga River and the irreparable impacts of the
Earlier today the Washington Department of Ecology issued the water quality permit under Section 401 of the Clean Water Act. Issuance of the permit is a major milestone and is the final step before issuance of a dam removal order by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which is expected later this year. In partnership with several organizations including the locally-based Friends of the White Salmon River, American Whitewater has advocated for the removal of Condit Dam for more than a
Utah – The National Park Service and the Bureau of Land Management are developing a Comprehensive River Management Plan for the Virgin Wild and Scenic River. As paddlers, our input on what makes the Virgin River and its tributaries outstandingly remarkable will help protect this river system for the benefit and enjoyment of future generations. This is the key opportunity for you to share your ideas with NPS/BLM and provide input to guide the agencies in the planning effort.
This week Western Rivers Conservancy announced plans to purchase the Minam Store, a critical parcel at the confluence of the Minam and Wallowa Rivers that provides access to the Wild and Scenic Grande Ronde River. The Grande Ronde is well known to paddlers as one of the most spectacular family-friendly multi-day river trips in the region. Those who float the river have long used the access at the Minam Store as a put-in to begin their journey down the river,
Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) will increase and vary water flows in the Pit River in October to test and calibrate newly installed flow gates on the Pit 4 and Pit 5 dams in eastern Shasta County. Recreationists, anglers, boaters and others in the area are advised that river levels will vary between Monday, Oct. 4 and Tuesday, Oct. 26 in the reaches below the Pit 4 and Pit 5 dams. PG&E will increase the flows to a maximum
