Paddlers across the region are chomping at the bit to boat a new stretch of river that will soon be added to the arsenal of whitewater recreation in WNC.

Alcoa Power company has agreed to open the flood gates on the dam at Santeetlah Lake, raising the water level downstream on the Cheoah River to accommodate whitewater paddling on a class IV level. The special water releases will be provided 19 days a year.

The first such release will be held Sept. 17 and paddlers from across the Southeast are expected to flock to the area, from gung-ho kayakers to commercial rafters testing the Cheoah’s viability for guided trips in 2006. Two more releases will be held this year on Oct. 1 and again Nov. 2. The Cheoah River is located in the Nantahala National Forest outside Robbinsville.

Mark Singleton, executive director of American Whitewater, a national paddling group based in WNC, said Graham County has no idea what’s hit them. Singleton said there could be upwards of 200 paddlers coming for the Sept. 17 release.

“As word kind of gets out in the paddling community, the subsequent releases will start ramping up from there,” Singleton said. “I expect there will be commercial outfitters doing guide training to get them accustomed to the river and the lay of the land.

“I know folks who are coming down from Pensylvania and New York, and I know there will be folks that are going to come from the metro areas of the region —that’s Atlanta, that’s Charlotte, that’s Raleigh,” Singleton said.

The river is not for beginners. In addition to Class IV and IV+ rapids, branches, bushes and logs in and across the river will require a high skill level to negotiate.

Only advanced or expert boaters should attempt running the river this fall, according to the U.S. Forest Service, which is managing the recreational activities. Helmets are required and boaters without them will be ticketed by the forest service.

The nine-mile section of river typically has little water. The hydropower company diverts the water from the river bed and runs it through pipes to its power plant before dumping it back in the riverbed nine miles later.

“The river bed has been dewatered, so you have some vegetation that has grown up in the river bed itself. So there have been folks working on getting the channel cleared out,” Singleton said.

The Forest Service will track the releases this fall — including their popularity and impact by the paddlers — to determine how many boaters can safely use the river. The analysis will help establish parameters for future private and commercial use of the river.

There is very limited parking along the river, so a shuttle will be provided from Robbinsville. The shuttle includes a jaunt to scout the nine-mile run of the river before being dropped off at the put-ins. The cost is $16 — $3 of which goes to forest service for river-related projects and $3 of which goes to the Graham County Rescue Squad. The shuttle will leave from Robbinsville High School for the Sept. 17 and Oct.1 releases. For the Nov. 2 release, shuttles will pick up boaters at the old gym located on Knight Street in Robbinsville just off U.S. 129. The shuttles will start running at 8 a.m. and depart every 15 minutes and run until 5 p.m. Launch windows will be assigned on a first-come, first-served basis.

The following regulations will be enforced on the Cheoah River during recreational boating days:

• No alcoholic beverages within 500 feet of the river.

• No camping within 500 feet of the river.

• No night-time floating, rafting, or tubing (between sunset and sunrise).

• No parking within 500 feet of the river, except in designated parking areas.

• No watercraft other than non-motorized, hard-bottom canoes and kayaks, or inflatable watercraft with a minimum of four internal air chambers.

• Helmet required.

For information on eating or lodging in Robbinsville, contact the Graham County Travel and Tourism Board at 818.479.3790. For information on the river, go to the American Whitewater Web site at www.americanwhitewater.org or contact the Cheoah Ranger District at 828.479.6431.