I hope I'm not broaching a taboo topic, but I am interested to hear some comments / experiences.
Having previously worked as a 'stream steward', I can tell you that what we as kayakers consider dangerous wood in an eddy is referred to as desirable 'large woody debris' to a stream keeper...
So... what ramifications to river modifications for paddling have on the environment? A large topic to be sure...
Locally the canoe club worked in tandem with the fish folks and created eddies and even a wave on our river.
But what laws might we run afoul of when trying to create a wave or hole? For sure it isn't legal to bulldoze a local streambed over low water in the hopes of making a wave at high water...
What about removing wood? Safety measure or environmental error?
What do you / your local club do / do not ? How do you approach such issues?

hi chris!
around middleeurope there are three things mostly determining the river´s environmental value: pureness, pureness and pureness. the struktural quality you speak of, might be considerable if the waterquality is already exessively good. of course this will always be the way scientific environmentalists (the ones with the microscopes) would argue, rather than the environmentally devoted locals (the ones with the 8x20). the foodchain in the river, starting with waterdetermined micoorganisms leads straight and unreplaceably to certain fish and mammal populations suited to the type of the river. only major struktural blocks like steep weirs, untrespassable for watermigrating species, can distort this effect. also long channelsituations can change the riverpopulation---but again only, because it reduces the oxygencontens, just like any input of biomass into the water will do. the long wood can eventually form obstacles in the current with the effect of bubbles and thus raise the oxygenlevel in the water. well --- i´d say: build as many welladjusted obstacles into the river to really get the water mad, whenever you take out the logs, and you do nature and your boatbuddies a real favour.

greetings from east - headsup!

interesting to note that someone in the club has been told that they would require Department of Fisheries and Oceans Permit to remove any wood...