UPDATE - On Thursday evening after this story aired, this weekends whitewater release got rescheduled because of winter weather.
Weekend lows in the single digits, ice in the river and snow in the area bring concerns, it wouldn't be safe for dam operators or kayakers plus ice build up could prevent PacifCorp from closing the spillway.
Thanks for your understanding," wrote Devin Pharis, the director of Hydro East Operations. "We can reschedule for later date and more then likely have boaters to enjoy it."
ORIGINAL STORY
American Whitewater is a non-profit organization that fights for river conservation, promotes safety and responsible river use, features a whitewater river database, and advocates to provide dam releases for paddlers.
In 2003, American Whitewater secured an agreement with PacifiCorp to have four whitewater releases every year on the Black Canyon of the Bear River in southeastern Idaho near Grace.
This weekend will be the first release, as the energy company will turn on the water from 10:00am to 4:00pm on Saturday and Sunday, making it is a class four stretch with a pair of class five rapids.
"It’s really challenging and it’s really beautiful," said Kevin Colburn, the National Stewardship Director for American Whitewater. "It was a really fun experience to get there and this project predated me, I think it started in the late 90s."
According to Colburn, every 30 to 50 years hydro-powered dams have to file for a new license and that is when American Whitewater steps in to negotiate. They do it all over the country and it takes years of work to secure whitewater releases.
"They move sediment out and the releases have greatly improved habitat in the river, even down to the insects," said Colburn. "I think it has been a really good thing, not just for the paddling community, but for the ecology of the river."
American Whitewater focuses on river conservation and protection. They also feature a database of rivers that has information on flows, difficulty, descriptions of rapids, where to put-in, where to take-out, and people can add information and pictures.
In 2019, river runners alerted each other to a dangerous log jam on the South Fork of the Payette River that was blocking the left channel. There was a kayak stuck in the debris, though no one got injured.
“We are like the Wikipedia of whitewater. It's all crowdsourced and there is nothing like it out there," said Coburn. "It is the largest whitewater guide online. There is a database of more than 6,000 whitewater runs all across the country."
It's an invaluable resource for paddlers who can give back by becoming members of American Whitewater for just $35 a year. This non-profit runs off these donations and consistently makes impactful changes, even though they only have a full-time staff of 12 people.
The Black Canyon of the Bear is just one example. People need to use caution on the Bear because it is a very difficult river with a really intense class five rapid called Boo Boo.
"The same places that make good sense to build a dam, make excellent whitewater," said Colburn. "You need gradient, constriction, and flow, that makes for really strong hydro-power and really great water for paddling."
Kayaking is a strange sport where it's important to get on the water before the rivers rise. I, personally, don't have enough seat time to risk running Bear when the water is cold. Thankfully, American Whitewater negotiated a September release that coincides with maintenance that PacifiCorp will perform in the fall.
"We are always looking for opportunities for multiple gains," said Colburn. "How can we meet hydro-power goals along with fisheries goals and with recreation goals? How can we sync all this up and use water efficiently? That’s why we work so much on dams."
American Whitewater also focuses on safety and responsible river use. They have several videos to help people recreate on the river, they also have an accident database that they have compiled over the years, tracking where and what conditions lead to accidents.
Safety becomes even more paramount this time of year, when the snow melt causes the rivers to run cold, and also causes them to rise and fall rapidly.
