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Are you interested in serving on the Board of American Whitewater? Nominations are being accepted through the month of June. Please read the call for nominations below: Date: Spring 2010From: Norwood Scott, Vice PresidentTo: All interested and qualified AW members Dear AW Member, American Whitewater is seeking nominations of interested and qualified candidates to serve as a Director beginning next January 1, 2011. We have two open board seats to fill during this nomination cycle. A healthy, vibrant, participatory and

    A little something for Everyone at the Wenatchee River Festival 2010! www.wenatcheeriver.com   Between the current economic environment and a transition with key organizers, this year’s festival was in danger of being cancelled.   The initial announcement led to a wake-up call among the community where local volunteers joined together back in March to keep it alive for 2010.  The theme, not surprisingly is "Save the Wenatchee River Festival”.   One group, Riverbooty, had already begun to organize an

Wilderness Whitewater is the theme for our September/October issue of American Whitewater. If you have stories of adventures or reflections on wild, remote rivers, this is your chance to share them. Deadline is June 25th.   Don’t forget to use our new online submission form to upload your stories and photos.   Also, note that we are now accepting entries for our 2010 Story and Photo Contest. Deadline for all contest submissions is August 11th.

Mokelumne Releases for Spring 2012  2012 is a critically dry year so Tiger Creek section will get recreational release weekends but Devil's Nose will not see any releases.  PG&E is expecting the following recreational flows: Tiger Creek – at put-in (M59) minimum of 700 cfs on the following weekends: May 19 & 20 May 26, 27 & 28 June 2 & 3 June 9 & 10 Devil’s Nose – will not have recreational releases. Devil’s Nose does not get recreational

American Whitewater has scheduled a work party with Washington Trails Association for Saturday June 19 from 8:30-3:00 to work on the Sultan River trail into the gorge on the Upper Sultan. As part of the relicensing for the hydropower project on the Sultan River American Whitewater has worked to restore flows to the Sultan River for whitewater recreation and ecosystem processes. While the new agreement we have negotiated will not take effect until at least 2011, we have some important

Instant Information about Water Conditions: Ask the River to Text You a WaterAlertSign up at http://water.usgs.gov/wateralert. Now you can receive instant, customized updates about water conditions by subscribing to WaterAlert, a new service from the U.S. Geological Survey. Whether you are watching for floods, interested in recreational activities or concerned about the quality of water in your well, WaterAlert allows you to receive daily or hourly updates about current conditions in rivers, lakes and groundwater when they match conditions of

Canyon Creek 175 to 200 cfs will be released into Canyon Creek through Thursday, May 20.  On Friday, May 21 through Tuesday, May 25, and maybe beyond, NID will release 300 CFS into Canyon Creek.   Go to awetstate.com for a great video of Canyon Creek shot by Daniel Brasuell and Corey Tucker.  The description of the run is also good:  http://www.awetstate.com/   See Dreamflows “Canyon Creek Below Bowman Lake” for the release out of Bowman into Canyon Creek.  

Over the weekend of May 15 & 16 American Whitewater’s Watauga takeout neighbors hosted a music festival that caused some members of the paddling community to contact American Whitewater with questions regarding the management of the takeout on the Watauga. While no camping occurred at our takeout, there were additional vehicles parked as well as placement of port-a-jons. The recently completed roadwork held up and there was no road damage. American Whitewater is in dialog with our neighbors regarding management

The California State Water Resources Control Board (SWRCB) has issued a 21 day notice that they will respond to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) recommending that the releases on the Pit River, above the Pit 1 Powerhouse, should be canceled this summer. Last year the USFWS sent a letter to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) and the California State Water Resources Control Board recommending that the releases be canceled. In their letter the USFWS cite concerns of

American Whitewater is pleased to announce our May 2010 Volunteers of the Month: Chris Donochod, Justyn Thompson, Mark Mickey, Matt Kern, and Sid Border.   These five folks are the chief organizers behind French Broad River Fest in North Carolina each year. This event has been going on for over a decade and has grown from 300 people to 2,500. Each incarnation of FBRF since the first has had a focus on on the local French Broad river and also

In late March the Utah Governor passed legislation that allows landowners to prevent paddlers from traversing many of the state’s rivers and streams.  When the law becomes effective in May of 2011, Utah residents and visitors will likely have to leave the state to enjoy public waters.  The new law crafted was in response to a 2008 lawsuit that confirmed the legal right to paddle rivers in Utah.  Unhappy with the decision, powerful property rights interests convinced the legislature to

A proposal to ship massive pieces of oil extraction equipment from Korea across back roads in Idaho and Montana to Alberta is raising concerns from paddlers, conservation groups, businesses, public safety officials, and everyday citizens.    The project would move roughly 200 huge "modules" between the fall of 2010 and 2011 along the Wild and Scenic Lochsa River, the Blackfoot River, and through Missoula, Montana.  The Forest Service and Department of Transportation completed a road widening project along the Lochsa

The May/Jun issue of the AW Journal features Boating Beyond Youth and includes:  One Paddler Lives his Dream Paddle to Stay Fit, or Stay Fit to Paddle? Whitewater Boating Begins at Mid-life A Little Wiser  . . .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 Boating Beyond Youth

Join Mountain Whitewater Descents to help clean-up the banks of the Cache la Poudre River. The clean-up will take place all along the Poudre trail from Taft Hill Road to College Avenue. When: 5/22/10Clean Up: 9:00 amVolunteer Appreciation Party: 12:30 pm Where: Meet at Lee Martinez Park in the dirt parking lot on the northeast corner of Cherry Street and North Mason Street All you need is gloves, sunscreen and the desire to make a difference in our community. Bike

We’re excited to announce that the next version of the American Whitewater Journal, and all future editions, will be printed in full color!   After years of being only partially in color, we’re making the change in 2010 to full color. Plus, we’ve made a few, minor visual improvements to the appearance of the Journal that we hope folks will appreciate. The next edition of the Journal, the 2010 May-June edition, will be the first to feature this new look.

The folks over at Benchmark Outfitters made a recent donation of $400 to American Whitewater! In addition to this, they’re also offering up a coupon to help you save a few bucks off of Patagonia gear in their store, cool. Check out the coupon for full details. Enjoy!

The 16th Annual Cheat River Festival is coming on Saturday May 1st from noon to 11pm. The place is Albright, WV at the head of the Cheat Canyon. This year’s festival is dedicated to Keith Pitzer, who died this past winter after leading Friends of the Cheat for the 8 years. It’s the biggest little river festival in the country! Check out the gear and food vendors, conservation exhibits, climbing wall, kids area, and art market! Then sit back and