A River Runs Through It - McClintock Staff Meets Whitewater Outfitters
- Yosemite Chamber
- 12 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Our whitewater season is underway and the snowpack is great but for the third consecutive year, outfitters on the Wild & Scenic Tuolumne River are struggling with inadequate access for the launch and take-out of commercial rafts. Successive 2023 atmospheric rivers caused extensive damage to two of the river’s primary access roads—Ward’s Ferry Road and Lumsden Road (1N10). Interim access through alternative routes is expensive, logistically complex, and incredibly vulnerable to several threats.
Applications for repair have been submitted to FEMA and the Federal Highways Administration by the County (Ward’s Ferry) and the US Forest Service (Lumsden), but federal volatility, turnover, and a moratorium on new contracts makes timely contracting and repair of these roads uncertain. Delays to repair of these roads will certainly impact the 2026 whitewater season and associated tourism and visitation and possibly much longer. Whitewater rafting is an adventure that can be enjoyed without stepping a foot into Yosemite National Park. While we await a decision on a Yosemite reservation system, these delays are another reason adventurers will choose other, more stable vacation destinations in 2025.
On April 15, American Whitewater (a national non-profit 501c(3) river conservation organization) hosted Brixton Layne, Community Outreach Director for 5th District US Congressman Tom McClintock at the Groveland Resilience Center. Representatives from Sierra Mac River Trips, All Outdoors California Whitewater Rafting, ARTA River Rafting, and Tuolumne River Trust were in attendance, along with Lisa Mayo, President and CEO of Visit Tuolumne County and the Yosemite Highway 120 Chamber of Commerce.
The discussion covered obstacles facing the whitewater public and outfitters in arranging alternative access points, some of which are not available to those who wish to run the Tuolumne without a commercial guide. These interim access points are expensive, slow, complicated, and vulnerable to threats like rain, downed trees, fire, and logjams. In addition to a 15-20% drop in revenues, outfitters have endured unprojected expenses to obtain and insure suitable equipment-hauling vehicles and to pay for or operate boat tows across Don Pedro reservoir. Angling guides and campers continue to be unable to access the river canyon and Lumsden Campgrounds and regional grazing lease owners must haul cattle around the canyon and drive cattle on these now treacherous roads.
The Yosemite Chamber also emphasized the importance of restoring one of the few possible evacuation routes (Ward’s Ferry) out of Groveland and Big Oak Flat in the event of wildfire, and questioned Congressman McClintock’s vision for commercialization of federal lands for logging.
Seeing is believing. The meeting culminated with an opportunity for Brixton to get dirt on his shoes to understand the severity of the situation. Would a visit to the former Ward’s Ferry takeout point be enough to convince Congressman McClintock to expedite approvals for these repairs?
Apparently so. The very next evening, attendees received the following email from Mr. Layne.
April 16, 2025
Good afternoon.
Thank you for organizing yesterday’s roundtable and tour of Ward’s Ferry South. The meeting and information from stakeholders were helpful, and seeing the road in-person was eye opening. Our office submitted an inquiry to FEMA today making the agency aware that this project is a priority for Congressman McClintock, and have requested regular status reports to help move this along. Please feel free to reach out with any new information we should be aware of. I look forward to being in touch.
Best,
Brixton Layne
U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock
5th District of California
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