News / Articles

Hurricane Helene ravaged many communities in mountain towns of North Carolina and Tennessee that are at the heart of southeastern whitewater paddling. CCA is establishing a relief fund to assist people, communities, and businesses there.

VICTORY: CCA Secures Victory in Suit Against Trump Administration For Illegally Restricting Potomac River Access When Trump Golfs

“The paddling community has a voice and we effectively used it to execute change. The Potomac River is for the American people and we’re glad to see their access to it restored,” said Canoe Cruisers Chairman Barb Brown.

The Final Rule gives CCA most of what our lawsuit asked for, effective immediately.

LAWSUIT UPDATE - Government's Response to CCA's lawsuit regarding Potomac River Access at the Trump Golf Course. Democracy Forward's statement: "Attached is the government's motion for summary judgment and an accompanying declaration by a Coast Guard official. Interestingly, the declaration states that the Coast Guard has decided to issue a revised rule considering and responding to the public comments this summer. This is a positive development, but of course the Coast Guard has made promises before so our optimism should remain guarded for now. The other legal arguments made in the motion are as expected. Our lawyers are preparing a response, which will be due March 28."

This is a list of news articles about the lawsuit with links to the publications.

Washington, D.C. — Today, on behalf of the Canoe Cruisers Association of Greater Washington DC, Democracy Forward sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for unlawfully restricting access to a key portion of the Potomac River without providing the public with the required notice or opportunity for input, effectively blocking the public’s legal right to access the river during President Trump’s frequent golf trips.

Four time Olympian, Frank Havens (1923-2018) the Washington Canoe Club Gold Medalist from 1952, died, July 22, 2018, just days before his 94th birthday. Frank was the winner of the first Potomac Downriver Race in 1956.

Kevin Kearney and Beth Rogers organized the tire cleanup which drew non-paddlers as well as CCA members. We collected 229 tires for recycling.

This map show our proposed modification of the Potomac Security Zone at Trump's golf course. GPS coordinates are approximate. We are asking the Coast Guard to allow us to paddle on the Maryland side of the river, and to give us a safe path across the river so that we can enter the GW Canal area of the Potomac.

Our efforts to reach the news media about the closure of the Potomac River everytime Trump plays golf at the club on the Potomac has worked. We have made the newspapers and the TV news. Check out these links.

These are the changes that CCA and the paddling community are proposing for the security zone at the Trump golf course. We would like the boundary along the old C&O dam mover upriver at least 100 feet, and the boundary along the Maryland shore moved away from the shore to allow passage.

I have sent this letter to the following DC area media outlets: ABC 7, CBS 9, FOX 5, NBC 4, WMPT 22, WETA 26, WTOP and WAMU. Others have sent the letter to local newspapers.

The U.S. Coast Guard will block access to the Potomac River at Violettes Lock. This may make it impossible to run the GW Canal/Violettes Lock loop.