No to floating in Yellowstone
- Thread starter RobG
- Start date
RobG
Well-known member
I've never found a lot to like about AW. Now I see they are abusing the Wild and Scenic designation to make the rivers less wild and scenic.
https://www.hcn.org/issues/45.19/a-...ellowstones-rivers/article_view?b_start:int=0
Over the last decade, kayakers have continued to covertly smuggle their boats into the park while largely avoiding a public battle. But in 2009, Congress provided a new opening: It declared the Snake and Lewis rivers, which flow through the southern part of Yellowstone into Grand Teton, "wild and scenic" – a federal designation created to protect free-flowing rivers with outstanding natural, cultural and recreational values. The Snake and Lewis aren't quite the world-class whitewater of the Black Canyon, but paddlers hope they'll create the leverage needed to wedge open the door to kayaking in the park.
Wild and scenic status has worked in kayakers' favor before. In Yosemite, the Merced River's designation compelled park officials to ease restrictions on boating there earlier this year. And in 2006, American Whitewater sued the U.S. Forest Service to reverse its ban on kayaking on the Chattooga River, which flows through Georgia and South Carolina. The ban was enacted in 1976 to protect trout habitat, but American Whitewater argued that it lacked justification and violated the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. In 2007, a U.S. District Court agreed, opening the Chattooga to its first legal descent in 30 years. The decision has since been appealed, but Colburn believes it provides a legal precedent that ought to compel officials in Yellowstone to reconsider kayaking on the Snake and Lewis rivers.
https://www.hcn.org/issues/45.19/a-...ellowstones-rivers/article_view?b_start:int=0
Over the last decade, kayakers have continued to covertly smuggle their boats into the park while largely avoiding a public battle. But in 2009, Congress provided a new opening: It declared the Snake and Lewis rivers, which flow through the southern part of Yellowstone into Grand Teton, "wild and scenic" – a federal designation created to protect free-flowing rivers with outstanding natural, cultural and recreational values. The Snake and Lewis aren't quite the world-class whitewater of the Black Canyon, but paddlers hope they'll create the leverage needed to wedge open the door to kayaking in the park.
Wild and scenic status has worked in kayakers' favor before. In Yosemite, the Merced River's designation compelled park officials to ease restrictions on boating there earlier this year. And in 2006, American Whitewater sued the U.S. Forest Service to reverse its ban on kayaking on the Chattooga River, which flows through Georgia and South Carolina. The ban was enacted in 1976 to protect trout habitat, but American Whitewater argued that it lacked justification and violated the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. In 2007, a U.S. District Court agreed, opening the Chattooga to its first legal descent in 30 years. The decision has since been appealed, but Colburn believes it provides a legal precedent that ought to compel officials in Yellowstone to reconsider kayaking on the Snake and Lewis rivers.
