The ACA has a great history of working to secure Wild & Scenic protection for rivers and to ensure that the protections afforded under the act are properly enforced. The federal Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is a great tool for protecting the nation's rivers. River segments designated as Wild & Scenic are afforded protection from water projects such as dams and other development that would alter the river.
ACA Wild & Scenic success stories stretch from coast to coast. The ACA was instrumental in securing Wild & Scenic designation for Wilson Creek in western North Carolina. After years of work, legislation to designate Wilson Creek became law in 2000. A year earlier a lawsuit by ACA and the National Parks and Conservation Association (NPCA) prevented the National Park Service (NPS) from turning management of the river over to a council composed largely of pro-development representatives. ACA also took action when the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) was planning to allow Alaska's Wild & Scenic Fortymile River to be threatened by expanded gold mining operations. Vigorous protests and warnings by ACA and American Rivers prompted BLM to scrap its decision to allow suction-dredge mining camps along the river.
Despite the ACA record of success, the Wild & Scenic Rivers Act is not being utilized to its originally envisioned potential. Opponents of the Act in Congress have blocked attempts to protect many rivers deserving of protection. Federal and state agencies have often ignored their management responsibilities under the Act. The state of Maine even allowed an illegal dam to be built on the Wild & Scenic Allagash Wilderness Waterway.
Securing and safeguarding Wild & Scenic protection for the nation's outstanding rivers is a challenge that requires the efforts of all paddlers.
