|
10.20.08
Trouble On The West River
Paddlers love riding the spring release rapids on
Vermont’s West River. But that release date is being pushed back, and paddlers
might be shut out.
by
Laila Sholtz-Ames
FOR YEARS, WHITEWATER
RAFTERS AND PADDLERS have enjoyed the Class 3 and 4 rapids of the West
River in southern Vermont. Considered one of the state's treasures,
riding the West has become a popular way to begin the paddling season or
to view the fall foliage.
But paddlers may soon
have to change their plans.
The Army Corps of
Engineers is changing the spring release date on the West River, moving
it from the last week of April —
when it has occurred for several decades
— to
two weeks earlier on April 11 and 12. The move has caused an uproar in
the whitewater community from those who say the new date may mean worse
weather and create access problems for paddlers during the release.
Friends of the West River
and
American Whitewater
(a paddling advocacy group), have protested the change. Many feel that
the change in date was made deliberately without consulting all parties
involved, especially because the new start date will occur before
Jamaica State Park —
the river’s main access point for paddlers
— opens
for the season.
“I have seen no basis
for the change in release schedule, and [the Army Corp’s] claims that a
release would ‘interfere’ with fish migration certainly does not seem
reasonable,” said Kevin Colburn, the National Stewardship Director of
American Whitewater. “Salmon are adapted to natural spring freshet
flows, and indeed such flows may help them with their out migration.”
Residents of the West
River area are concerned that changes will affect the area’s economy. It
has been estimated that hundreds of thousands of dollars are generated
by this spring release weekend, benefiting restaurants, recreational
boating businesses and rafting companies.
In the past, the
paddling release has been easy and simple, turning on and off without a
problem. But over the years it has resulted in very rapid increases and
decreases in the river flow. According to the Vermont Fish and Wildlife
Department’s paddling release report, the main problem is that
abnormally rapid changes create problems for fish and other aquatic life
in the river because they cannot react quickly enough to the changing
conditions. This causes extensive distress for the local environment.
Fish get stuck in the rocks and are left high and dry, or stranded, when
the water levels drop rapidly. The Army Corps is concerned with increase
in flow associated with the beginning of the paddling release. But
others disagree.
“Kayakers on both
coasts paddle natural and healthy salmon rivers, so the claim that
kayaking and salmon can't coexist on the West River is without merit,”
said Colburn. A recent study done by Friends of the West River says that
“no environmental damage of any kind to the ecosystem by whitewater
releases that have been outgoing for more than 40 years has been
demonstrated.”
Paddling groups are
currently working to restore the historical release dates. |
