Action Alerts

In the past decade, portions of the Little Plover River were repeatedly sucked dry, making the river the unfortunate poster child for Wisconsin's inadequate groundwater management. The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources must adequately manage High Capacity Water Wells to safeguard the Little Plover and other rivers and lakes across the state.

The Lower Niobrara is threatened by too much sediment backing up in the upper reaches of Lewis & Clark Lake. The sediment is raising the level of the Niobrara and threatening local communities with flooding. To safeguard the Wild & Scenic Niobrara and its communities, the USACE must improve sediment management within the Missouri River system and must prioritize funding in their Fiscal Year 2015 budget.

Millions of people in the Southeast depend on the Catawba River for drinking water and recreation. However, storage ponds for coal ash are threatening the river and local water supply with pollution. NC’s Department of Environment and Natural Resources must require Duke Energy’s Riverbend power plant to ensure the coal ash ponds are sufficiently maintained in perpetuity to safeguard the river and water supply for future generations.

The Black Warrior River is a valuable resource for drinking water, recreation, fishing, and rare fish and wildlife. However, the river’s Mulberry Fork is threatened by the Shepherd Bend Mine, which would discharge polluted wastewater only 800 feet from a major drinking water intake. To mine the proposed area leases must be obtained leases from the University of Alabama. The University must permanently refuse to sell or lease its land and mineral rights at Shepherd Bend for coal mining.

Demand on the Colorado River’s water now exceeds its supply, leaving the river so over-tapped that it no longer flows to the sea. A century of water management policies and practices that have promoted wasteful water use have put the river at a critical crossroads. U.S. Congress must support robust funding of critical programs like WaterSmart that address water supply sustainability in the Colorado River Basin.

Rough & Ready and Baldface Creeks flow clean and clear through some of the wildest country in the West. Unfortunately, nickel mines threaten to destroy these unique, wild streams. Congress and the Secretaries of Interior and Agriculture must now permanently protect the natural treasures of Rough & Ready and Baldface Creeks from mining before their clean water, fish and wildlife, and wild character are irreparably harmed.

The Kootenai River provides critical habitat for several rare and threatened native fish species, as well as wildlife like grizzly bear and woodland caribou. However, the river is threatened by runoff and waste from current mining and proposed expansions of five open-pit coal mines along the Elk River in British Columbia, a tributary to the Kootenai. The U.S. State Department must involve the International Joint Commission in order to halt the mine expansions until an independent study of the impact of current and future mines on water quality, fish, and wildlife is completed.

The San Saba River is a scenic waterway, but through wasteful water use and unregulated pumping, irrigators are transforming a vibrant, pristine river into a dried-up riverbed. The TX Commission on Environmental Quality must enforce the law to ensure adequate flows are maintained. The Texas Legislature should appoint a watermaster on the upper stretch of the river to better manage flows and protect the river long-term.

The South Kawishiwi River, which flows into the Boundary Waters, is threatened by copper-nickel mining proposals. If mining is permitted, the Boundary Waters and its clean water will be irreparably harmed by acid mine drainage containing sulfates and heavy metals. President Obama, Congress, and MN’s Gov. Dayton must block proposals to mine and efforts to weaken water quality standards in this sensitive and well-loved area.

The Flint River provides water for over one million people, 10,000 farms, unique wildlife, and 300 miles of exceptional fishing and paddling. In recent years many Flint River tributaries are drying up completely and the river's low flows have dropped dramatically. Georgia must act to protect the Flint to safeguard the river’s health for today and future generations.

A bill introduced by Representative Tom McClintock (R-CA) would remove long-standing Wild and Scenic River protections from a section of the Merced River and allow the Merced Irrigation District to raise a spillway - all for a pittance of water. Send a message to your Representative today. Urge them to OPPOSE HR 934 and protect our nation's heritage rivers.

The Wild and Scenic Chetco River in Oregon is renowned for its world-class salmon and steelhead runs, and crystal clear water. However, it is still vulnerable to mining thanks to the General Mining Law. A law from 1872 that gives mining precedence over all other uses for the river! The good news is that the U.S. Forest Service is urging the Interior Department to protect about 17 miles of the river by withdrawing it from mining for the next five years to give Congress time to pass more lasting protection via the Chetco River Protection Act.

The rivers of Bristol Bay are wild and pristine. These rivers support the world’s largest run of sockeye salmon, native tribes who use the rivers for trading and subsistence, and a thriving commercial fishing industry. Unfortunately, they are being threatened by destructive open pit mining. Tell the EPA to not allow the Pebble Mine to proceed.

Rivers like the Missouri are experiencing changes in the frequency and severity of floods and droughts. Communities need smarter river management solutions so both communities and the environment can deal with these changes. Urge the Army Corps of Engineers to request funding for river programs that improve river management and protect communities by restoring the Missouri River.

Representative Hastings' bill is one of the most anti-environmental pieces of legislation introduced this Congress. It would jeopardize jobs, public safety, and the outdoor recreation industry that is so critical to communities all across the nation.