Blog written in collaboration with American Whitewater

For the past six years, American Whitewater and the Outdoor Alliance California team have been meeting with Congressman Tom McClintock’s (CA-05) office to advocate for expanding outdoor recreation access on America’s public lands and waters. California’s fifth congressional district is home to world-renowned public lands and waters and outdoor recreation opportunities that include thru-hiking on the Pacific Crest Trail, big wall climbing in Yosemite National Park, and whitewater paddling on the Wild & Scenic Tuolumne River.

Last month, American Whitewater, Outdoor Alliance California, Tuolumne River Trust and Tuolumne River Outfitters convened a group of whitewater paddlers, backcountry skiers, mountain bikers, thru hikers,, small business, nonprofits, community members, local elected officials, congressional staff, and federal land managers along the Tuolumne River for an advocacy meeting with Congressman Tom McClintock. Two years ago, we hosted a two day advocacy event with the Congressman to advocate for repairing access roads to the Wild and Scenic Tuolumne River, and the collective advocacy efforts are working!

Outdoor Alliance and local stakeholders meet with Congressman McClintock, and staff

American Whitewater is thrilled to share that there has been significant progress made towards restoring public access to the Tuolumne River. Over the last several years, we have been meeting with the Congressman’s office, Tuolumne County elected officials, Stanislaus National Forest staff, outdoor recreation partners, and community leaders to advocate for federal resources for roads to be repaired that were severely damaged in the winter of 2023. A contract for Lumsden Road, a key access road for the river put-in, is out for bid. The repair work includes significant improvements to the damaged areas that will reduce any future road wash out to these areas.

We continue to advocate for repairs to Ward’s Ferry and have been working with Congressional staff and Tuolumne County to navigate complexities within the FEMA Public Assistance program to move that repair forward. Although its timeline is less certain, we continue to work hard to help reopen this critical river access, wildfire escape route, and future site of important bridge and river access improvements.

Congressman McClintock said, “I want to thank the American Whitewater and Outdoor Alliance California for organizing a great outdoor recreation advocacy meeting along the Wild & Scenic Tuolumne River last month. It is great to see the collaboration in the community to advance public lands access to these incredible outdoor recreation assets. The outdoor recreation economy is vital to my district, and I look forward to helping to improve access by advancing policies that will restore our public lands for the enjoyment of the American People.”

This summer we saw millions of Americans use their voices to advocate for public lands and waters. Americans have a deep love and connection to the outdoors, especially the mighty Wild and Scenic Tuolumne River. We have seen first hand the organizations like the Tuolumne River Outfitters, Tuolumne River Trust, American Whitewater, the US Forest Service, outdoor businesses, and outdoor recreation community leaders partnering together toward a shared vision of improving outdoor recreation in the region. With the support from lawmakers like Congressman McClintock and his staff, we can ensure access to public lands and waters will help bolster the growing outdoor recreation economy, especially in rural and gateway communities like Groveland, California.

On the Tuolumne River, all photos by Chase McGregor

“Over the last three years we’ve been working hard to facilitate interim access and restored access to the Wild & Scenic Tuolumne River, while also looking downstream at ways to tackle future challenges ahead. Strong collaboration and participation between stakeholders and decisionmakers has been the recipe for success. We look forward to building upon these key partnerships and continuing to make progress for outdoor recreation and the economy it sustains.” said Jeff Venturino, California Stewardship Associate for American Whitewater.

Our advocacy work is strengthened by our dedicated partners at Tuolumne River Trust, Tuolumne River Outfitters, and the local outdoor recreation leaders in Tuolumne County.

A special thank you to the land management agencies staff that continue to work day in and out to ensure that America’s public lands are safe and welcoming for all to enjoy.

If you want to keep in touch and learn more on how you can join us to help protect important places in California, sign up for our newsletter!

Trip Report: Restoring access to the Wild & Scenic Tuolumne River