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Turbulent Waters Could upstate New York whitewater be harming fish?

Whitewater paddlers and fishermen are often at odds when it comes to river maintenance. What's good for one is sometimes bad for the other, and vice versa, but the problem has recently come to a head in New York's Hudson River Gorge, where regular dam releases have become an important part of a thriving whitewater rafting industry. Just outside the Adirondack town of Indian Lake, trout fishermen are up at their fly-casting arms, claiming that the practice is destroying trout habitat along one of the Northeast's most revered fishing spots and systematically tearing a generations-old pastime to shreds.

"It just turns into a water world out there," says Jim Nash, a fisherman who has lived in the area for almost 50 years. The daily releases make year-round rafting possible by flooding the Gorge with more than 10 times the normal summer flow.

The practice began a decade ago to ensure adequate whitewater during the summer. Water releases from Indian Lake dam, which may occur several times a week, extend the rafting season and bring thousands of tourists to the area every year. The practice has saved the rafting industry in the Adirondacks and is a tremendous economic boon to the town. Fishermen like Nash, however, worry that these economic improvements are overshadowing the damage created by summer rafting, as the high waters scour aquatic habitats, raise water temperatures and create unnecessary erosion. "None of us minded when rafting took place in the spring," he says. "It's fun; that's what [the river] is there for. But this summer rafting is destroying our historic river." In the summer, when water levels drop—sometimes to as low as 50 cfs—trout and other fish are left dangerously exposed, usually huddling in small pools to survive. Then the gates are thrust open and 1,000 cfs of warm lake water rushes through the gorge, worrying fishermen that turbulent conditions and unnaturally high water temperatures are pummeling the fish and forcing them downriver. Trout need steady temperatures in the low 50s to survive the summer months.

Rafting supporters, however, feel that the economic benefits, estimated to be in the millions, outweigh the environmental cost of dam releases. "The introduction of summer rafting is not doing anything but helping," says Indian Lake Town Manager Barry Hutchins. "It has most definitely helped the area, increasing the local economy and opening more doors for growth."

The rafting companies pay a fee for the releases-more than $90,000 last year-and create what Hutchins calls "a win for the town." John Starling, who has operated Adventure Sports Rafting for nearly 20 years, agrees that dam releases are a vital part of the Adirondack whitewater business. "You really couldn't do it without them," he says. "The releases have been great-the best thing to happen to whitewater since rafting started up here."

Starling also leads fishing trips on the Hudson and Indian rivers and has yet to see any negative impact. "We're still finding fish in the same fishing spots that we always have. I don't think it hurts fish at all."

Even so, the issue has attracted the attention of several environmental groups and could result in a formal investigation on the impact of dam releases by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). "Fishermen have expressed problems with the system from the beginning," says Bruce Carpenter, spokesperson for New York Rivers Unlimited. "Now they're getting more vocal and have gotten a lot more exposure for their case. Day after day, the magnitude of this water is having a tremendous impact on the river."

Carpenter thinks a DEC study would lead to a better understanding of the river's base flow that would allow boaters and fishermen to finally coexist. "The river is a public resource," he says. "We want to provide a benefit to as many people as we can with as little impact to the river as possible."

Despite this progress, Nash is still not convinced that he will see a satisfactory solution anytime soon. "We're just all tied up in the economics of this whole thing right now," he says. For the central Adirondack fishing community, at least for the time being, whitewater boaters are still public enemy No. 1.

—Tim Sprinkle