Statistics on Commercial Use
on the South Fork of the American River

	Commercial	Private	Total		The first year permits were issued and the River Management Plan was implemented was 1981. This was also the first year that El Dorado County had a plan in place to monitor the number of people using the South Fork. In 1981, there were 76,761 commercial passengers on the South Fork American River. Over the next sixteen years (1981-1997), commercial use grew at an average of 2.5% per year. In 1998, the projected use is actually 10% less than the use in 1981. The table on the left illustrates that while river use has increased by approximately 50% over the past 17 years, the fastest growing sector has been private boaters.
1981	76,761	17,000	93,761
1982	72,863	24,200	97,063
1983	61,300	13,800	75,100
1984	74,227	18,900	93,127
1985	85,860	no data
1986	83,247	no data
1987	81,466	18,000	99,466
1988	65,446	20,000	85,446
1989	82,250	22,500	104,750
1990	78,430	34,400	112,830
1991	64,953	33,700	98,653
1992	78,784	37,100	115,884
1993	91,512	47,000	138,512
1994	73,021	45,000	118,021
1995	105,010	42,500	147,510
1996	94,440	48,700	143,140
1997	90,750	48,700	139,450
1998	est. 70,000	not yet available
Data Source: El Dorado County Parks & Recreation Department

Comparing Commercial Use
on the South Fork of the American River
with other Major U.S. Rivers

How crowded is the South Fork compared to other major U.S. rivers? The following table indicates it ranks 8th in the nation, well below Eastern rivers such as the Nantahala and the Ocoee. 1997 Commercial Use on Major U.S. Rivers
River		State	Commercial Userdays
1	Nantahala	NC	250,000
2	Middle Ocoee	TN	250,000
3	Arkansas**	CO	246,055
4	Guadalupe*	TX	194,469
5	New	WV	130,000
6	Youghiogheny	PA	121,000
7	Lehigh	PA	100,000
8	South Fork American	CA	90,750
* Data Source: Comal Recreation District ** Data Source: 1993 Data Data Source for the rest: America Outdoors

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