Recreational Release Update for the Feather and Pit River Watersheds (CA)

By: Theresa Lorejo-Simsiman

Feather River Watershed

Pacific Gas & Electric (PG&E) has cancelled its scheduled recreational releases for August on theNF Feather River Rock Creek Run. This area is within the footprint of the Dixie Fire and is  closed to all public access through September 30, 2021 by a Plumas National Forest closure order. American Whitewater has confirmed with PG&E that October 9th and 10th will be the dates of theNF Feather River Poe Run releases. The Poe Run is also within the current Plumas National Forest Dixie Fire closure area and could be affected if this closure is extended beyond September 30. In addition, the USFS Pacific Southwest Region has issued an order closing 9 National Forestsin California through September 6, 2021. This regional closure order impacts access to all rivers within these national forests (Eldorado is closed through September 29 under a separate order).  We’re working to confirm SF Feather River Little Grass Valley Run releases and will be watching relevant closures closely. American Whitewater will keep folks informed for any potential releases on this reach.

Pit River Watershed

Elsewhere, on the Pit 5 Run, PG&E has changed the recreational releases back to the original dates of September 11th and 12th, cancelling the October dates for this reach. As an added twist, a small portion of Pit 5 is within the Shasta-Trinity National Forest which is also currently closed through September 6 by the regional closure order detailed above. American Whitewater is consulting with USFS to determine whether they may extend the closure, affecting the Pit 5 Run on September 11th and 12th. We will inform paddlers whether these releases are impacted too. Stay tuned. The Pit 1 Run releases are not affected by national forest closures and are scheduled for October 2nd and3rd and October 16th and 17th with additional releases taking place October-December during powerhouse maintenance.

Stay Informed

In the interest of Paddling Aware (#paddlewise) we encourage paddlers to visit the AW Wildfire Information Map. Zoom in on your favorite river to get proximity to wildfires, air quality, state road closures, and the National Forest closures in California. Before heading out, be sure to visit the website for each National Forest directly to check for the most current closures (go to the “Alerts and Notices” section).