Western Carolina Paddlers:  Conservation and Access

Contributions to conservation and access

The Western Carolina Paddlers are leaders in the fields of river conservation and access.

Since 1999 our energy has been focused on supporting American Whitewater's efforts to return flows to Graham County's Cheoah River.  AW recognized the contributions of Western Carolina Paddlers Rod Baird and Chris Bell to this ongoing battle by naming them its October 2002 Volunteers of the Month.

To get a feeling for what is involved in getting water put back in our rivers, take a look at the Comments on the Relicensing Settlement Agreement for the TAPOCO Hydroelectric Project, filed in May 2004.  Yep, that's five years after the process began, and it still isn't over!

Kayaker paddling through frothy rapid.

Bob Hathcock on the first day of the Cheoah River Test Releases, Cheoah River (NC).
Copyright Chris Bell.

Two men talking.

Christopher Smith and Rod Baird discussing the first day of the Cheoah River Test Releases, Cheoah River (NC).
Copyright Chris Bell.

Want to see more? Here's a link to additional Cheoah River photos and another to a description of the Cheoah.

Site look funky?  Your browser is so old standards-based layouts and styling confuse it.  Consider updating.  Good options include:  Mozilla (Linux, Mac, Windows),  Mozilla Firebird (Linux, Mac, Windows),  Netscape v7 or higher (Linux, Mac, Windows),  Opera v7 or higher (Linux, Mac, Windows),  Galeon (Linux),  Konqueror (Linux),  Apple Safari (Mac),  Mozilla Camino (Mac),  Microsoft Internet Explorer v5 or higher (Mac),  Microsoft Internet Explorer v6 or higher (Windows).  All are free.  Because of security concerns I personally avoid Internet Explorer.  It may or may not be more buggy than its competitors, but its prominence and Microsoft's notoriety make it the most frequent target of malicious crackers.

 
 

Search Tool

Google logo. To search this and related sites, enter search terms in text box, click name of site to search, then click submit button.

Advertising

American Whitewater logo. Click to go to the AW site (opens in new window).

WCP is pleased to be an American Whitewater Affiliate Paddling Club.  As a member of an affiliated club you are eligible to join AW at a $10 discount.  Please consider doing so.  For $25 a year ($15 if you are a junior or a senior!) you get a great paddling magazine and you help this non-profit organization defend our streams!