Whitewater guide. “Whitewater guide” means a person who has met the criteria established by the Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife to qualify as a whitewater guide and who holds a current whitewater guide’s license.

So, you want to become a whitewater guide……….

The following are prerequisites for applicants to be examined for a whitewater guide’s license.

1. Each whitewater guide applicant must be currently certified in American Red Cross Standard First Aid or equivalent.  Proof of current certification is required. Each whitewater guide applicant must be certified in C.P.R. Each whitewater guide applicant must enroll in and successfully complete a whitewater guide training course consisting of the following:

For a Level One License (allows the holder to guide whitewater trips on any Maine river except that portion of the Penobscot River between McKay Station and the Big Eddy):

A minimum of 7 days of instruction in river etiquette, whitewater safety, general local geography, and characteristics of whitewater rivers, and Guide training, to occur on at least two of the following rivers:  Kennebec River, Dead River, Penobscot River, Magalloway River, or the Rapid River, and Five of the seven days of guide training must be on river training on the Kennebec River between Harris Dam, Indian Stream Twp., and The Forks, and Twenty training runs between Spencer Stream and the Gravel Pit access point on the Dead River; from the Gravel Pit to the take-out on the Dead River; from McKay Station to the BigEddy on the Penobscot River; from the Big Eddy to Never’s Corner on the Penobscot River; and from Harris Dam to Carry Brook access point on the Kennebec River; and A minimum of four guided training runs on the Kennebec River, and A minimum of one guided training run from Harris Dam to the ballfield in West Forks. When used in this context, guided training run means the applicant conducts a simulated whitewater trip utilizing other guide applicants or guides as passengers.

For a Level Two License (allows the holder to guide whitewater trips on any Maine river where a whitewater guide license is required):

Must possess a Level One License, and The applicant must have made ten training runs on the Penobscot River; two of the ten training runs must include the major rapids between the Big Eddy and Never’s Corner; and The applicant must have made five guided training runs in the Penobscot Gorge between McKay Station and the Big Eddy, and The applicant must have made at least 6 commercial whitewater trips, as a paid guide.

Applicants must provide the Whitewater Guide Advisory Board with a form, signed by the applicant’s trainer, stating that the applicant has taken and successfully completed the above outlined training.  Upon receipt of this documentation, a written test will be administered.  Applicants failing the written test must wait 30 days before reapplying.Applications listed below may be viewed and printed with the free Adobe Acrobat Reader.