The Nantahala River in the Nantahala Gorge reopened Sept. 4 to the public for all uses, including private and commercial rafting and kayaking and fishing.

A technical team led by the U.S. Forest Service assessed the river for potential hazards from the recent landslides Sept. 3 and did not find any areas of concern, according to Forest Service spokeswoman Adrianne Rubiaco.

The team included a small flotilla of rafts and kayaks with U.S. Forest Service staff, river outfitters and partners with the Nantahala Gorge Association and American Whitewater, a river access nonprofit.

The Forest Service, which issues permits for boaters who paddle down the scenic river that flows through the Nantahala National Forest, issued an emergency closure order of 8 river miles Aug. 28, from the Beechertown put-in to the Silvermine take-out near the Nantahala Outdoor Center.

The news was a huge relief to the many river outfitters who missed out on a big rafting weekend over the Labor Day weekend.

“The suspension of commercial rafting permits on the Nantahala River is unprecedented and has caused significant interruption to businesses during a key visitation period,” said Jan Wojtasinski, NOC vice president of marketing.

“NOC is appreciative of the NCDOT, U.S. Forest Service, local contractors and local emergency management for dedicating time to the precious regional resource that is the Nantahala River.”

Landslides that brought down tons of soil, rock and trees on U.S. 19/74 Aug. 25 in the Nantahala Gorge created significant damage and debris blockages on the two-lane highway.

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North Carolina Department of Transportation cleared all debris from the highway and repaired damaged portions by the morning of Aug. 27. Once the road opened, the Forest Service sent in a team to assess landslide impacts to the Nantahala River and the scale of the cleanup effort.

Contractors were immediately mobilized and began to remove landslide debris from the Nantahala River on Aug. 28, after a field review and opinion from U.S. Fish and Wildlife and U.S. Geological Survey. The debris removal operations in the river were completed by the end of Aug. 30.

"The landslide cleanup in the Nantahala Gorge has been a success. I appreciate the public's patience with us as we worked through it,” David Perez, acting Nantahala District Ranger, said in a statement.

“In the end, I couldn't be happier and more grateful for all the support from Duke Energy, Swain County Emergency Management, N.C. Department of Transportation, Nantahala Gorge Association, American Whitewater, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and all the Forest Service employees that worked tirelessly. Thank you all."

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Contractors worked 12-hour days with as many as nine excavators and nine dump trucks at a time. Throughout the entire operation, approximately 7,600 tons of soil and rock were removed and approximately 150 loads of woody debris, Rubiaco said.

Duke Energy released water from the Nantahala power station Aug. 31. The power company had not performed a release since before the landslides occurred to provide a safe environment for U.S. Forest Service contractors to perform debris removal operations, spokesman Rick Rhodes said.

Duke proceeded to release water through the Labor Day weekend to draw down lake levels and move back toward normal operation. Duke Energy, NCDOT, Swain County Emergency Management Services, and the U.S. Forest service monitored the water release and did not observe any significant impacts.

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On Sept. 3, the Forest Service conducted some chain saw work to remove potential strainers, downed trees in the river. This was followed up by a float trip down the river to identify and address any additional concerns. The float team did not identify any additional obvious hazards.

Kevin Colburn, National Stewardship Director for American Whitewater, was part of the team assessing the river by kayak, and said the waterway looked “great.”

“The rock and soil had largely been removed, so the slides are pulled away, the river is very similar to the way it looked before. What was left was wood that had gotten washed downstream by river, logs and branches,” Colburn said.

He said the assessment team looked at the river with no water in it first, before Duke released water, and talked about what pieces of wood in river could be dangerous. The Forest Service had a great crew of sawyers who chopped up trees that posed a hazard. Then Duke released water for the float to begin.

“In a lot of ways, it looked a little more natural because there was a little bit more wood on the water. It was crystal clear when we put in, but muddy toward the end because of all the sediment,” Colburn said.

“There’s always logs and trees that can cause potential danger, but we saw nothing uncharacteristic of a river. It’s important that anyone on a river knows that when you see a downed tree on a river, it can be very dangerous and you have to avoid it. Be alert and you’ll be fine.”

The Forest Service warns visitors to be aware that the landslides in the Nantahala Gorge changed the river in some places and urged paddlers to use caution.