Like many paddlers, American Whitewater yesterday submitted comments on the Forest Service's environmental assessment (EA) of recreation on the Chattooga River.  We would like to thank all the paddlers that filed comments in support of responsible management on the Chattooga.  As a community we have daylighted a national treasure being mismanaged by a small group of people for a small group of people.  AW remains committed to bringing responsible river management to the Chattooga on behalf of all backcountry recreationists.  

The health of the Tuolumne River is at risk from a San Francisco proposal to take significantly more water from the River. The San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) is proposing to divert up to 25 million more gallons of water per day from the Tuolumne, enough to fill 1,000 swimming pools, every day.

The United States Forest Service (USFS) has recently issued a draft rule for Colorado’s National Forests that weakens and removes existing protections for backcountry roadless areas. Starting Monday, August 18th in Pueblo, the USFS is hosting a series of Open Houses to discuss the proposed Rule and to hear your comments. American Whitewater has been working with our colleagues in the Outdoor Alliance to analyze the rule and we believe that the draft rule inadequately protects those remote areas with rugged terrain that provide the highest quality opportunities for human-powered recreation.

Ever since first raising the issue of boating on the Upper Chattooga with the Forest Service in 1995 AW has repeatedly sought to establish a reasoned dialogue with the other stakeholder groups and reach a mutually acceptable agreement regarding boating on the upper Chattooga River.

This spring the Gauley River National Recreation Area acquired the Masons Branch and Woods Ferry access locations. Over the past few months American Whitewater has been working with the Gauley River National Recreation Area to insure that private boaters have continuing access at these critical take-out/put-in locations. Today the park issued an open letter to boaters outlining their plans to manage these access points.

Colorado- While the US Army Corps of Engineers is drafting the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the enlargement of Gross Reservoir in Boulder County, Colorado, Denver Water is taking comments on their proposed changes to the reservoir's FERC license, including tree removal, relocating recreation facilities, and hydropower generation.

Comments on the FERC License amendment associated with Gross Reservoir Enlargement Project are due September 29th, 2008.

West Rosebud Creek will get a bump in flows this weekend (August 2nd and 3rd) that will bring the Class III-IV+ (V) creek into its optimal paddling range.  These flows are designed to replace similar flows eliminated by the normal dam operations.  American Whitewater has been working with the Beartooth Paddlers, the power company, and agencies for the past several years to negotiate and test this program. 

The US Army Corps of Engineers has announced a 45-day extension of the comment period to the pending Section 404 Permit application and Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Northern Integrated Supply Project (NISP). The new expiration date for the comment period is September 13, 2008. 

Today the US Forest Service announced that they will grant the public another 2 weeks to submit comments on their "environmental assessment" of recreational use in the Wild and Scenic Chattooga River corridor.  The new comment period ends August 18th.

Removal of the Dillsboro Dam is one step closer. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has issued more approvals connected with Duke’s plans to remove the Dam on the Tuckaseegee River in western North Carolina.

American Whitewater recently submitted testimony to the Water and Power Subcommittee, Committee on Natural Resources, U.S. House of Representatives for their Oversight Hearing on Hydropower.

On June 23rd, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the The Raw Sewage Overflow Community Right-to-Know Act (H.R. 2452). We are now one step closer to getting the information we need when there’s a sewer spill that could affect public health, an issue of particular concern to whitewater paddlers who are in direct contact with the water every time we get on a river.

Today the United States Forest Service released their new proposal for management of the upper Chattooga River, and an environmental assessment of their alternatives.  There will be a 30 day public comment period.  The USFS proposes to essentially maintain their ban on boating while allowing other uses unlimited access - again without any basis whatsoever. 

Earlier this month, the Upper Delaware Council (UDC) sent a letter asking the New York Department of Environmental Conservation to prohibit boating on the Mongaup River, except on scheduled boating release days. It is extremely unlikely that the DEC would take such an action, but AW and KCCNY will be responding just in case. 

The USFS has announced another 6-month delay in deciding on a new plan for managing recreation on the Wild and Scenic upper Chattooga River.  The announcement came in a certified letter to AW, in response to a letter AW sent the Chief of the USFS requesting an update and swift equitable resolution of this protracted issue.

Oregon's Department of State Land issued a final ruling and determined that the Rogue River from RM 68.5 to 157.5 (Grave Creek to Lost Creek Dam) is indeed navigable. The finding confirms that the state is the owner of the river bed, and the public has the right to use the river.

The District Engineer from the US Army Corps of Engineers has scheduled an additional THIRD public hearing to be held in conjunction with the release of the Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the Northern Integrated Supply Project.The public hearing will be held MONDAY, JUNE 16th in Fort Collins, Colorado at 425 West Prospect Road. The open house will start at 4:00 pm, hearing to begin at 6:00 pm.

The paddling season is cranking up across the country, and AW would like to remind paddlers to respectfully share the road, the river, and public access areas.  We have received several reports of overly enthusiastic driving threatening river access.  Take it easy out there, and check out AW's recommendations for how to stay in the good graces of the folks living near the rivers we paddle.  

American Whitewater recently received a grant which provides an opportunity to explore the reintroduction of rivercane to the Cheoah River.  This grant was provided by Revitalization of Traditional Cherokee Artisan Resources which is a Cherokee Preservation Foundation program ultimately funded by the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indian.  Rivercane is on the decline in the southeast due to development and agriculture.

The National Park Service is purchasing property from two West Virginia landowners to improve public access to the Gauley River.  The sites, located at Woods Ferry and Mason Branch, are established put-in and take-out sites for boaters, kayakers, canoeists and rafters along the river between the public put-in at the Summersville Dam and the take-out at Swiss, almost 26 miles downstream.

American Whitewater has reached an aggreement with Sportsman's Paradise, granting paddlers access to Wildcat Canyon. Historically, the act of floating through club property to access Wildcat Canyon has resulted in harassment by landowners, physical assault on paddlers and criminal prosecution. The new agreement secures permission for paddlers to enter and cross club property via vehicle, in order to access public lands to the north of Sportsman's Paradise property. The agreement will undergo a trial run this season, with the goal of formalizing the arrangement for 2009; ensuring many years of fantastic paddling through Wildcat Canyon.

Today Congressmen Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) announced their plan for increasing Wild and Scenic Rivers in Oregon this year. Their vision includes adding 79.6 miles of Wild and Scenic Rivers on the Mt. Hood National Forest and 142.9 miles of tributaries to the Lower Rogue Wild and Scenic River.

On Friday, March 28th, hundreds of people gathered to watch the breaching of Milltown Dam just upstream of Missoula, MT. AW staff and friends were there to video the breach and celebrate the rebirth of a great river.  For the first time in a century the Clark Fork and Blackfoot rivers have a riverine confluence, and flow free.  Learn more about this historic event and watch the video.

AW is pleased to announce the schedule for new whitewater pulse flows on the Black Canyon of the Bear River in Southeastern Idaho.  At the same time we would like to recognize the volunteer largely responsible for these releases.  Sixteen whitewater pulse flows could begin as early as the first weekend in April.

Yesterday, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission overturned a previous decision they had made that would have allowed the owner of the dams, flumes, and powerhouse on Sullivan Creek to simply abandon the project.  The ruling came in response to rehearing challenges filed by American Whitewater, the United States Forest Service, and the State of Washington.  The decision will likely lead to the removal of at least one severely outdated dam. 

Using data from the USFS we have published a Google Earth layer of eligible Wild and Scenic Rivers. We encourage paddlers to use this map, which can be displayed with our whitewater database in Google Earth, to learn more about their local run and agency management priorities.

Construction of Elk Creek Dam in the Rogue River basin was halted in 1988. Since that time the dam has remained as a barrier to fish and navigation. This week the Army Corps of Engineers awarded a contract to notch the dam this year.

American Whitewater is pleased to announce a fun new interactive website focused on the impacts dams have on rivers, as well as river restoration opportunities.  The new interactive website, www.dameffects.org, was launched today by the Hydropower Reform Coalition.  HRC steering committee members have spent several months developing the content of the website and we are thrilled with the outcome. Take a tour!

For the third year in a row two groups of West Virginia University students and staff from Greg Corio's Adventure West Virginia program joined forces with Friends of Cheat to maintain vital river access points. At the Friends of Cheat Access in Albright, the job was to harden a badly eroded launch site. At Jenkinsburg, the focus was on trash collection. Both efforts will improve these places for local and visiting whitewater paddlers

Paddlers have been negotiating a new release schedule on Maryland's Upper Youghiogheny River with Brookfield Power and other stakeholders for over one year.  The results have just been released in a new permit for the operation of the Deep Creek Dam.  This year, and for the foreseeable future, paddlers will be treated to upper Yough releases on every Saturday from mid-June through mid-September!

The report on paddling access to the Ausable River has finally been issued: late, incomplete, biased, and erroneous.  All of the data in the study support year round paddling access, and the data is generally accurate and defensible.  The dam owner, New York State Electric and Gas, has maintained its position however that no access should be allowed to the beautiful Class IV river.  It is now up to FERC, and AW and KCCNY will be filing comments this week  requesting year round access.