Edgar Peck has been working to secure access to the take-out for Watauga Section 3 / put-in for Watauga Gorge for several years. The parking area to access the Watauga River at Guy Ford Road is privately-owned. The Blue Ridge conservancy has been working to purchase the 2.3 acre property on the downstream river left side of Guy Ford for about 2 years. This is about to come to fruition, securing a permanent public access to the river. This site provides a put-in to the Watauga Gorge section of the river below Guy Ford Road, as well as a take-out point for Section 3.

We have now discussed the need to increase Club dues at the past three CCC meetings (May, July, October). Those discussions have led the Board to ask the membership for feedback regarding the dues structure.

Both options will have memberships with online access to the newsletter for $20, an increase of $5 from the current price. Considerable debate has arisen about the pricing of memberships that include mailed delivery of a printed copy of the newsletter, which are currently $20. We are considering two options for these memberships: $25 or $30.

A YES vote approves an increase of $5 in dues for members who read the newsletter on-line, and $10 for member that have the printed newsletter delivered via USPS. Memberships receiving a printed copy of The Paddler will become $30, while those with online subscriptions to The Paddler will become $20. This pricing change will go into effect with new or renewed memberships beginning January 1, 2012.