River Protection
Healthy rivers are ribbons of life. Rivers provide much of our drinking water. Fish and wildlife need clean, free-flowing rivers to survive. Without healthy rivers, there’s no water, no wildlife, no life.
Yet our rivers face unprecedented threats from pollution, risky development, and violent weather. Our clean drinking water is at risk. Freshwater and river species are dying off twice as fast as land or ocean species as river habitat disappears.
Scientists warn we must conserve our remaining natural areas to preserve nature and our fragile web of life.
Public lands are our country’s single biggest clean-water provider. National Forests alone supply water to 60 million people. And they do it naturally — essentially for free. When rivers are damaged, we all pay the price — literally.
We work to protect healthy rivers from pollution and harmful development so they can be clean and healthy for all of us.
What we do
1. Safeguard rivers on public lands
We work with local partners on the ground to protect waters flowing across our public lands. We also safeguard rivers close to where most Americans live, so that people in urban areas can safely enjoy their city waterways.
2. Keep healthy rivers healthy
We permanently protect our nation’s healthiest, most beautiful waterways. Designating a river under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is a powerful defense against new harmful pollution, dams, and diversions.
3. Protect clean water
We work to protect clean water for people and wildlife. This includes educating people across the country about where their water comes from and the importance of protecting natural sources of clean water.
4. America's Most Endangered Rivers®
We shine an annual spotlight on 10 rivers whose fates hang in the balance. In its 40 years, the campaign has stopped risky river development, held polluters accountable for contaminating water sources, and improved the lives and livelihoods of millions of people.
Wild and Scenic Rivers
Rivers make life possible. Wild and Scenic Rivers are our healthiest, cleanest, most intact waterways — protected for their beauty, natural and cultural significance, and recreational value. They provide clean drinking water, support a rich web of life, and are the lifeblood of our cultures and communities.
Think of Wild and Scenic like a national parks system for rivers. It is the strongest tool to protect rivers in the United States. Wild and Scenic designation makes ecologically and culturally important rivers — and the land alongside them — permanently off-limits to dams or activities that would negatively affect the river. Learn more about Wild and Scenic Rivers.
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