Articles

Keeping Wild Rivers Wild: Opportunities for Conservation through Wild and Scenic River Designation in Washington State Despite the tremendous abundance of free-flowing rivers in Washington State, segments of only six rivers are protected under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act: the White Salmon, Klickitat, and Skagit and its major tributaries, the Cascade, Sauk, and Suiattle rivers. In contrast, our sister state of Oregon has protected reaches of sixty of the state’s rivers as Wild and Scenic. With legislation currently in

Eastern Washington University’s Epic Adventures, Post Falls Parks and Recreation, NWA, and the local Clubs/Shops of Spokane are enthused to announce the Fourth Annual Spokane River Kickoff. This event received so much positive feed back in previous years, that a group of kayakers from the community just had to get together to make things happen again this year. We are looking forward to this year’s event, as the event and participation continue to grow. The Spokane River Kickoff will take

Over the last three events nearly 600 rafters, kayakers, cyclists and pedestrians have successfully removed over 6 TONS of garbage from Denver’s South Platte River and bike path. The event garnered local and regional media coverage as the lead story on several news channels, as well as appearing in the local papers. When: 4/25/10 Registration starts at 9 am Clean Up: 11 am – 3 pm After Party: 3 pm – 5 pm Raffle & Product Giveaways start at 4

Administration officials announced that they will host a White House Conference on America’s Great Outdoors on Friday, April 16, and American Whitewater has received an invitation to attend. Conference organizers are still shaping the agenda, a press release issued late last month says “The discussion will center on the conservation opportunities in communities, the challenges facing them, and the innovative solutions they are crafting from the bottom up.” The conference seeks to "start a new dialogue about conservation in America

American Whitewater would like to recognize Brian Jacobson as our April Volunteer of the Month.   Brian Jacobson has been an integral part of the AW volunteer team working towards resolving the mismanagement of the Upper Chattooga River in the Southeast. Brian is an environmental engineer by profession and has brought an important technical skill-set to the team, assisting with complex data analysis and presentation as well as a rich understanding of the NEPA administrative process. Brian is also extremely

This April, come check out the annual French Broad River Fest April 30th – May 2nd in Hot Springs, NC. All the proceeds from ticket sales for the event get donated to American Whitewater and the local Hot Springs Learning Center! In 2009 French Broad River Fest donated over $5,000 to American Whitewater alone! What’s more, you can do your part to help cleanup the nearby French Broad River by participating in a river cleanup the Friday of the festival

Each year, past American Whitewater Volunteer of the Month Bob Focht rounds up volunteers to assist at the whitewater releases on the Tallulah River (GA). This year, he needs your help. Please considering signing up to help out! Spring releases are on the following dates: April 3-4 and 10-11. Approximately thirty volunteers are needed each weekend. Volunteers can also sign up online at http://sites.google.com/site/fallstallulah. You can also contact Bob Focht directly at 404-323-8181 or bobfocht@yahoo.com. If possible, please volunteer April

American Whitewater is excited to announce the return of our Story and Photo Contest for 2010.   The premise is simple, submit your best story and/or photos to American Whitewater. We’ll print the top choices in the final Journal edition of 2010 (the November-December) version. The deadline for submissions to be considered is August 11, 2010.   To submit something, just head on over to our online Submissions Page and fill in the appropriate info and check the "Story and

American Whitewater is again partnering with Riverlink and the Nantahala Outdoor Center (NOC) for a river cleanup on the French Broad River. Each May lovers of rivers and music gather on the banks of the French Broad River to enjoy the French Broad River Festival. The festival gives back to the community by raising funds for the river stewardship work of American Whitewater and various local charities. This year, on Friday April 30th, 2010 (the first day of the festival)

Back in 2001, American Whitewater was part of a diverse group of local, regional, and national interests that began meeting with Duke Energy to collaborate on a new plan for operating their dams in the Tuckasegee and Nantahala watersheds. The outcome of those negotiations was a comprehensive settlement agreement that Duke submitted as their application for new operating licenses. The agreement called for the removal of Dillsboro Dam and subsequent watershed enhancements like enhanced flow releases, new public river access

ALPINE LAKES PROTECTION SOCIETY * AMERICAN RIVERS * AMERICAN WHITEWATER * CASCADE CHAPTER SIERRA CLUB * MIDDLE FORK COALITION * NORTH CASCADES CONSERVATION COUNCIL *THE MOUNTAINEERS * THE WILDERNESS SOCIETY * WASHINGTON TRAILS ASSOCIATION * WASHINGTON WILDERNESS COALITION   Supporters of the Alpine Lakes Wilderness Additions and the Pratt and Middle Fork Snoqualmie Rivers Protection Act (H.R. 1769 / S. 721) celebrated as the legislation moved closer to final passage. The measure, which passed out of the House of Representatives

Your help is critical to passing Colorado’s House Bill 1188 and protecting the general publics right to float. The last time the Colorado General Assembly considered a river access bill was 1996. The bill didn’t even make it to the House floor. Please make sure this precious opportunity to clarify and codify the right to float in Colorado is not squandered.   First, thank Representative Curry and Senator Hodges for sponsoring the bill. The opposition has really turned up the

A research program initiated by the MIT Sloan School of Management (USA) and Copenhagen Business School (Denmark) seeks to study open innovation in sport communities. They want to better understand how whitewater paddlers contribute to the development of the sport and to the development of the whole industry by their innovative ideas and contributions.  Please help by completing their ten minute survey. This survey is about your innovative activities and efforts within the field of whitewater paddling. Researchers want to

Interested in serving on the board of American Whitewater? 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 functional board of Directors is critical to the long term stability

 On Monday, March 15, 2010, the Senate Judiciary Committee heard testimony on House Bill 1188. AW staff and Colorado Whitewater Board Members Dede de Percin, Mark Robbins, and Patrick Tooley testified in support of the bill.  CW President Leslie Tyson and Board Member Ted Dietrich also attended the hearing on behalf of CW and helped coordinate AW and CW’s efforts to support and improve House Bill 1188.  By a 4-3 vote, the Senate Judiciary Committee passed House Bill 1188.  Equally

Last week American Whitewater sent a letter to the Utah legislature opposing HB 141, a bad stream access bill that is currently under consideration by the Rules Committee.  We are hopeful that the Executive Appropriations Committee will chose not to fund this bill because it is a waste of money in economically tight times.  This action would stop the bill from passing this session.  Calls from paddlers to the Executive Appropriations Committee highlighting the potential impacts of this bill would

Release Dates for April: 3 & 4, 10 & 11     Scheduled releases occur the first two weekends in April and the first three weekends in November. On Saturday 500 cfs is released and on Sunday 700 cfs. Boaters are allowed on the water once the level stabilizes, which is about 9:30 am; the water is turned off at 4 pm. All boaters must start down the stairs by 3:00 pm to beat the flow down to the lake.