For the past four decades, more than a thousand visitors have flocked to Jamaica each spring for the drawdown of the Ball Mountain Dam Reservoir. They won’t be visiting this year.
The spring whitewater release at the West River means sold-out campsites at Jamaica State Park, no-vacancy signs at local inns, spaghetti supper fund-raisers for the church, and parking fees and a food wagon that support the local school. This year, there will be few, if any, visitors.
Over the last decade, actions by the Army Corps of Engineers (ACOE), (who manage Ball Mountain Dam on the West River), and the Vermont Agency of Natural Resources (VANR), have significantly reduced scheduled opportunities for whitewater boating tourists to enjoy the river. The West River in Jamaica is one of the premier whitewater rivers in New England, and at one time hosted the Olympic Trials for whitewater paddling. Historically there have been two full weekends of whitewater releases starting in April and a two day release in the fall.
Last fall the ACOE announced that the late April releases would be moved several weeks earlier, to a time of year when Jamaica State Park is not yet open to the public. As with past cutbacks to scheduled releases, the ACOE and VANR provided no specific flow studies or monitoring data from the West River indicating that releases over the last 40 years have had any impact on the river’s ecology.
After significant discussions last fall and this winter, paddlers, including representatives from AMC, New England Flow, American Whitewater, Friends of the West River, commercial rafting companies, and concerned citizens questioned the planned release change and sought a solution that would support public use of the West River. Despite the feedback both public agencies were receiving, the spring release was scheduled early, weeks before the Jamaica State Park was open.
Then, in a surprise announcement made the last week of March, the ACOE announced the releases would occur not on a weekend at all, but midweek from April 6 to April 10.
The ACOE released the water on April 1 without notice – a week earlier than even their midweek schedule had indicated. All of these decisions were made unilaterally without consulting with any of the organizations, including the local community that had been working with them over the past two decades.
A Web site, www.FriendsofTheWestRiver.org, has been started along with a petition in reaction to the ongoing situation.
Kevin Colburn, national stewardship director of American Whitewater
Chico, CA
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