Pete Skinner (USA)

Peter Skinner was primarily responsible for bringing American Whitewater (AW) the most influential organization representing safe recreation use of our rivers today, back from near-collapse, converting it from the publisher of an obscure whitewater booklet to a national leader in river access and conservation. Rivers once ran during spring rains and as the snow was melting, and the sport was slow during the summer months in most regions beyond the largest watershed-fed runs.  Pete and the cohort he inspired created year-round paddling opportunities for millions now and for generations to come by driving systemic change in how rivers are regulated.  Paddlers can enjoy both creeks and spectacular canyons across the United States well into November according to a reliable, schedule posted on public calendars.

In the mid-1970’s Pete Skinner was well-known as a big water kayaker. He ran high-flow rivers from New York to Idaho, eventually making the first modern kayak descent of Niagara Gorge. In his workday life he was an “environmental engineer”, a science advisor to the New York Attorney General. He was deeply involved in the Love Canal cleanup, and during litigation against General Electric for polluting the Lower Hudson River he kayaked up to their plant at night to collect mud samples. He also founded New York Rivers United, which worked for many years to protect rivers throughout New York.

The “American Whitewater Affiliation” (AW) was founded in 1954 as a means of communication between America’s few, widely dispersed whitewater enthusiasts. They were known for publishing the American Whitewater Journal and their widely recognized Safety Code. The organization was run entirely by volunteers and offered no pay to those who wrote articles or produced the magazine. By 1977, Pete joined the board and was almost immediately elected President. As the sport grew, glossy commercial magazines became available and AW was losing membership. By 1979 AW was falling apart. Its long-time volunteer editor and executive director retired. Issues became thinner, and a few were missed entirely. The volunteers who handled the “business side” stepped down, and could not be replaced. Renewal notices weren’t being sent out, and AW’s bank account shriveled. Membership dwindled to a few hundred.

Pete decided that American Whitewater would not die! With the last money in the AW treasury he traveled to California and secured a large donation from Yvon Chouinard of Patagonia, who is himself an accomplished whitewater paddler. This allowed Pete to create several new issues of the AW Journal and send out renewal notices. Membership and publications got back on track, but recovery was slow. In 1987 Pete found an outstanding volunteer editor in his long-time paddling buddy, Chris Koll. The AW Journal moved to a full-size format with more photos and better writing. Risa Shimoda was hired as a part time Executive Director to manage AW’s day-to-day business operations Phyllis Horowitz soon thereafter to and sell advertising in the magazine and event sponsorship.

As membership picked up, Pete decided that American Whitewater could do more. He’d been trying to stop a hydro project on New York’s Black River, which had become a whitewater hotspot, but the Federal Energy Regulation Commission (FERC) would not accept input from individuals. Pete met attorney Pope Barrow while working to with Citizens for Gauley River (CFGR). They realized that hundreds of dams were going to be relicensed in the coming years, and some had the potential to re-water outstanding stretches of whitewater. At an AW strategic planning session he made the case for focusing the organization’s efforts here. He hired Steve Massaro to visit every site in New York that was up for relicensing while he and Pope Barrow worked to create a template for intervening in these very technical, legalistic proceedings.

Of note was Steve’s documentation of new bypass channel for a hydro dam on the Black River in Watertown, New York   It looked like the channel was double the approved size, and Steve noticed  two turbines when there was supposed to be one! Pete ‘’invited’ the power producer to a hearing with FERC in Washington, DC. When they acknowledged having created more capacity than what was approved, the Commission asked Pete, “what do you want from them?” He asked for water on demand, and that is what is in place to this day: when you paddle up to the dam, the operator will turn the Gauley-like river on for you!

Soon Pete was involved in hearings in New York covering hydropower projects on the Moose, Black, Salmon, Racquette, Mongaup, Beaver, Hoosic, Sacandaga, Mohawk, Esopus, Oswegatchie, Fish Creek and others. By 1993 AW was involved with more than 100 dam relicensing hearings across the country using an updated version of their original FERC intervention outline. Before Pete and Pope’s work no nonprofit conservation group had ever been listed as a FERC intervenor, but now AW had a seat at the table on any projects potentially affecting whitewater resources.

Pete’s work with Citizens for Gauley River had another unexpected benefit. When the group disbanded after the river received federal protection, American Whitewater under Pete’s leadership took over the popular Gauley Festival. Pete had been involved with the festival since its earliest days, promoting the event through the AW Journal and relentlessly leafleting paddler and rafter vehicles the day of the event. It has since become the world’s largest whitewater festival, raising significant money and providing outstanding visibility for AW as an organization.

Pete and Pope soon realized that this effort would require a stronger organization infrastructure and lots of outside help. Pete and Pope met with American Rivers to create the Hydropower Reform Coalition in 1992. This eventually brought together more than 160 national, regional, and local organizations representing stakeholders from paddlers to conservationists to lake homeowners with a shared interest in restoring rivers impacted by hydropower dams.

Next, using a grant from REI, Rich Bowers was hired as AW’s first Conservation Director in 1994. He worked closely with Pete and Pope to increase AW’s reach. As their reputation and finances got stronger, Pete applied for additional grants and in 1997 hired additional staff to work on access and conservation issues nationwide. Those years brought impressive victories on rivers like the Tallulah and Deerfield. Even more significantly the staff gave AW a presence on river issues throughout the country. Instead of rushing “from one fire to another” AW became a part of the process. They often used committed local volunteers and alliances with like-minded organizations as “force multipliers”, extending their reach. The work has accelerated since Pete retired in 2000, and today there is a staff of 11 coordinating the work of hundreds of volunteers on hundreds of projects.

Pete was passionate, had explosive energy, and was the spark plug behind the entire process for over two decades. He could be tough to work with because his mind was churning out ideas and solutions 24-7. In pushing for whitewater he never forgot the overall health of the rivers he worked on and was always ready to balance fisheries and other concerns. AW continues this tradition today. His work created a strong river conservation organization that became a leader in improving access to recreational whitewater.