Cullowhee, NC - American Whitewater, the nation's leading voice for headwater rivers, today applauded the release of separate reports by the U.S Interior Department and the nonprofit National Parks Conservation Association for elevating attention to threats to the Colorado River.

"These reports are a wake-up call to all of us who depend on the Colorado River," said Nathan Fey, Director of American Whitewater's Colorado Stewardship Program. "If we fail to protect the river, we fail to protect our environment, recreational opportunities, and our Western way of life."

The U.S. Interior Department report warns that climate change will reduce the amount of water available in the Colorado River for the environment and recreation, among other needs. The National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) report indicates that dams have disrupted the normal flows of the Colorado River, affecting national parks that depend on the river. NPCA is encouraging stewardship of the river to protect the parks, and preserve outdoor recreation opportunities and tourism that benefit rural and urban economies.

American Whitewater and the paddling community are in a unique position to witness human-caused ecological changes below major dams on the Colorado River, and in other watersheds. Accordingly, the organization is often called upon to offer research and local expertise to inform river management and dam operations.

"We are encouraged by the NPCA recommendation that dam operators, resource managers, and other Colorado River stakeholders cooperate and develop strategies that address both consumptive and non-consumptive river water needs," Fey added. "It is critical that recreation and cultural resources be considered in decision-making."

Right now, the Interior Department and seven basin states are completing the first-ever Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study. The study is examining current and future imbalances in water supply and demand in the basin over the next 50 years, assessing the risks to vital river resources such as climate change, and developing a long-term strategy to conserve and stretch the river's supply to meet current and projected needs for recreation, agriculture, tourism, cities, and the environment.

"American Whitewater and the community they represent maintain a deeply-held conservation and stewardship ethic toward the rivers and streams on which we all recreate," said David Costlow, a commercial outfitter on the Colorado River and AW industry partner. "We are confident that with collaboration, a long-term strategy that sustains the Colorado River for recreation, and for all of us, can be developed.