Most students at the University of California, Santa Barbara pass this place every day without fully realizing how special it is. 

Just beyond campus sits Coal Oil Point Reserve and Devereux Slough, a tidal wetland shaped by shifting water and a surprising abundance of life. What might look like an open stretch of land from a distance is actually a dynamic, water-connected landscape. 

We asked UCSB students what this place means to them.

“It just feels like a quiet break from everything, even if you’re right next to campus.” — UCSB Environmental Studies Student 

More Than Open Space 

Coal Oil Point Reserve spans over 170 acres and protects a mix of coastal habitats, including salt marshes, estuaries, dunes, grasslands, and seasonal wetlands. At the center of it all, Devereux Slough shifts throughout the year, sometimes filling with water and at other times drying into salt flats and shallow channels. 

That constant transformation is part of what makes the landscape so compelling. It moves and responds, changing with the seasons. 

“Spaces like Coal Oil Point give students a controlled but natural environment to not just conduct research in, but also connect to it. These spaces allow UCSB undergrads to be as close as possible to some of our beautiful native wetland species, such as great blue herons, brown pelicans, garter snakes, slender salamanders, and countless more wildlife.” — UCSB Seeds Club Communications Chair

A Landscape Full of Life 

Look closer, and the wetland reveals itself as a place full of activity. Birds move through the area in large numbers using the slough and surrounding habitats to rest and feed, as well as lay their nests. 

Coal Oil Point is especially known for the western snowy plover, which is a small shorebird that relies on this coastline. Each winter, hundreds gather here, which makes it one of the most significant sites for the species in the United States. 

“Once you actually stop and look, there’s so much going on. Birds and so many sounds, it’s definitely way more alive than you might think.” — Earth Sciences UCSB Student 

“I didn’t realize how important the area is for wildlife until one of my classes talked about it. It really makes you want to visit it more during the school year.” — UCSB Student 

What People See in a Place Like This 

People connect to landscapes like this in different ways. For some, it’s about wildlife. For others, it’s about peace and simply having a place nearby that feels different from everyday routines. 

“It’s just nice that it’s there. Like you can go out and it’s quiet for a second, even during midterm seasons when things get hectic.” — UCSB Geography Student 

“It’s really pretty at sunset. That’s honestly when I notice it the most.”— UCSB Biological Studies Student 

“As an environmental student, it’s kind of a reminder for me that there’s really ecologically important functioning habitat right next to all this developed space.”— UCSB Environmental Studies Student

Why It Matters 

Places like Devereux Slough are easy to overlook, but they play a critical role in coastal ecosystems. Wetlands filter water, provide habitat, support biodiversity, and connect land and ocean systems in ways that are not always visible.

They also offer a way for people to connect with water and nature in their everyday lives. 

“It reminds me that we live in nature, not just around it, and we should always keep working to ease the integration of people with our environment.” — UCSB Coastal Fund Board Member

Coal Oil Point sits at the boundary between campus life and a living, changing ecosystem. It’s a place many students enjoy for recreation, whether they are jogging, biking, doing wildlife photography, or having a picnic. Students fill the area. Once they notice it, community members throughout Goleta find themselves returning to the peaceful haven. 

A Closing Reflection 

As my time with American Rivers comes to a close, it feels fitting to end with a place like this one. This is a place that reminds us that even in the middle of busy lives and constant movement, there is still value in slowing down long enough to connect with the landscapes around us. 

Places like Devereux Slough reveal that the natural spaces woven into our everyday lives are both beautiful and deeply worth protecting for our future generations. 

In season 1 of Wild Rivers with Tillie, she brought viewers down some of the West’s most beloved rivers. Some face perilous threats, and others offer a playbook for how to protect and preserve these cherished bodies of water. Viewers can join Tillie on the Rogue, the Colorado through Glen and Grand Canyon, the Yampa, and on the Snake. Throughout the season and on each of the rivers she explores, Tillie engages experts in thoughtful conversation about conservation, drought, and the future of the rivers that tether us to the landscape, and to each other.

We had the opportunity to ask Tillie a few questions about the inspiration for her work (including hosting the show), some fun behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and what else she’s been working on (Tillie doesn’t sit down much)…

1) Tell us about the first river you remember spending time on.

What made the biggest impact on me was a 3-week trip in Big Bend National Park as a senior in high school. We spent three days canoeing on the Rio Grande through Santa Elena Canyon, and that changed my life forever. We were all inner-city kids, and some of us didn’t know how to swim. We were given these tippy little canoes, and I was secretly glad that I was with the instructor because I really did not want to flip my canoe! I was terrified.

At one point, the instructor told me, “I want you to put your paddle down.” I said, “What?” He said, “Put your paddle down, lie back, and just keep your eyes open.” And as I leaned back, I felt the river underneath me, the canyon walls towering around me, and the sky passing above me. We were drifting along the river, meandering through the canyon walls, and I don’t know how to describe it, except that something just clicked. And I instantly knew, this is it. This is what I want to do, and since then I’ve never looked back. That trip changed my life, and I’m so grateful.

2) Why dedicate so much of your life to rivers?

Honestly, it never occurred to me not to. Rivers have truly shaped who I am, and I feel most like my true self when I’m on a river. There are so many life lessons that the river teaches us, and in my career as a Grand Canyon guide, I saw how the river can open us up to something larger than ourselves and connect us to each other – regardless of politics, religion, socioeconomics, etc.

I’ve witnessed people light up, laugh, play, and heal by spending time on the water. And even though rivers can be intimidating, I’ve found my sense of peace and connection by being on, in, and around rivers. I want everybody to have the opportunity to experience that sense of awe, wonder, peace, connection, and freedom. It’s part of what I hope to give back to the world.

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There are so few places that we can go in this world that give us a chance to quiet our minds and just really connect with something that’s beyond ourselves. Rivers put our smallness as humans into perspective, as well as our infinite grandeur. And I want to help preserve and protect these places.
Perhaps you could describe my drive for doing this as a love affair with the river, and sometimes with love, you have no choice—it’s just part of who you are.

3) What are the best, worst, and weirdest parts about filming season one?

Well, the best part is the people I’ve gotten to meet—from Native American leaders to conservative ranchers to river-running hippies. Talking with folks and recognizing that, despite how different our outer appearances may be, people are saying the exact same thing about their connection to the land and the river.

The worst part is cold river trips, disgusting hotel rooms, and all the driving. Most of these places are in the middle of nowhere and involve hours of driving with a very cramped car full of camera gear, and the three of us (Dan Duncan, our photographer and producer, the sound person, who is often a volunteer, and I) sharing a car with all of the gear for days on end. The hotel rooms can be kind of less than desirable in the middle of nowhere, but we make it work. And of course, I like warm weather, so the cold trips are not my favorite, but it’s still good to be on the river.

The weirdest (and fun) part is that Wild Rivers with Tillie is completely unscripted. River trips are unpredictable, and we are often going on the river, filming and talking with people I have just met. We never know what the storyline will be or how it will turn out until after the trip is over.

4) What is the thing that you’re most excited about right now in terms of your conservation work?

I’m most excited for the opportunity to show big love for Big Bend and the Rio Grande River. That’s the place I was talking about earlier that transformed my life. It’s under threat right now because there are plans to build a steel-structure border wall through the middle of our National Park, which will go through some of the most special places on earth and the Rio Grande River.

Q5: If you could embed everyone in the world with one piece of knowledge or understanding about rivers, what would it be?

Rivers are the exquisite jewels of our planet, and all of life depends on fresh water. Not only do rivers sustain life on an ecological and biological level, but they’re so good for the soul. I would say get out there and just spend some time by water! Water—whether it’s the ocean, rivers, lakes, taking a shower, or drinking a glass of water—it makes us all feel better!

Rivers make up less than 1% of all water on Earth. If you think of it in terms of jewelry, rivers decorate the earth like rare, beautiful, glistening diamond necklaces that sustain and support all life. These are the most exquisite gems of our planet, and I really wish that we could learn to take care of them as such. So learn about your local river, enjoy time on it, and learn what you can do to protect it.

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Want to experience a river right now? Check out THIS immersive trip down the Grand Canyon that Tillie and her team created.

Voters throughout the West continue to care deeply about the protection of clean water and public lands as well as the wildlife habitats they contain.  The values protected by Wild and Scenic Rivers are the same values that Western voters consistently say they care about. Across roughly 15 years of polling in the West, including Colorado College’s Conservation in the West poll, the University of Montana’s biannual Public Lands Survey, and polling by the Center for Western Priorities, voters have consistently identified access to clean water and public lands, as well as wildlife protection, as top priorities. 

The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is designed to safeguard exactly those kinds of values and resources. Congress created the National Wild and Scenic Rivers System in 1968 to protect rivers that have outstanding natural, cultural, and recreational values for present and future generations. The act protects a river’s free-flowing character and water quality and preserves “outstandingly remarkable values” such as fish and wildlife, scenery, recreation, geology, history, and culture. 

Clean Water, Public Lands, and Wildlife Remain Top Priorities Across the West

Colorado College’s 2026 Conservation in the West poll covering Nevada, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Utah, New Mexico, Colorado, and Arizona provides the broad regional picture—85% of voters said issues involving public lands, waters, and wildlife are important in deciding whether to support an elected public official. That support resonated on both sides of the aisle, with nearly 8 in 10 Republicans and more than 9 in 10 Democrats saying those issues matter greatly to them. Those numbers do not mean every voter agrees on every designation in every place. What it does demonstrate is that the underlying values of Wild and Scenic Rivers still matter to voters across the region, including Republicans and Independents. When people hear “Wild and Scenic,” the phrase may sound like a label. In practice, it refers to protecting exactly the kinds of river values voters already say they want to keep. These shared priorities help explain why, when voters are asked about specific rivers, support carries through to long-term protections and, in some places, to Wild and Scenic River designation. 

In Eastern Idaho, Priorities Translate to Local Rivers 

The same poll found that voters identified water pollution and increasing development pressure along riverbanks as the two biggest threats to eastern Idaho’s rivers. These concerns reflect the kinds of threats that long-term river protections are designed to address. 

Support Carries Through to Wild and Scenic Designation 

This pattern is not limited to just general attitudes about rivers in specific places. When voters are asked about specific designations, support remains strong. 

The University of Montana’s Public Lands Survey in 2020, 2024, and 2026 found strong voter backing for designating the Gallatin, Madison, and other rivers near Bozeman, Montana, as part of the Wild and Scenic Rivers System. Similarly, polling in New Mexico shows broad agreement with protecting the Gila River watershed. A 2020 statewide poll found that more than three-quarters of voters support designating portions of the Gila and San Francisco Rivers as Wild and Scenic Rivers, including clear majorities in counties surrounding the rivers themselves. 

Together, these findings reinforce a consistent trend across the West that when voters are asked about real rivers and real places, support for Wild and Scenic River designation remains strong. 

As Congress considers bills like the Greater Yellowstone Recreation Enhancement and Tourism Act and the M.H. Dutch Salmon Greater Gila Wild and Scenic River Act, these polls offer a clear message. For more than a decade, Western voters have consistently expressed their support for clean water, wildlife, and protected rivers. The opportunity now is for their public lands champions in Congress to act on those priorities and move these bills across the finish line this session. 

The Through Line 

Polling does not replace local knowledge and river management plans or the careful work that goes into any proposed designation. But it helps answer a broad, important question: Do the values behind Wild and Scenic Rivers connect with Western voters? The evidence here suggests yes. 

Across the West, voters continue to say that public lands, clean water, and wildlife matter to urban and rural ways of life. In New Mexico and Montana, those same values translated into strong support for protecting rivers through Wild and Scenic River designation, demonstrating how broad priorities for clean water and wildlife carry through to specific rivers and real policy decisions. Wild and Scenic Rivers protect the qualities that make rivers matter, and many voters across party lines favor protecting those qualities. 

A river with deep local meaning 

The Myakka River is woven into everyday life in Sarasota County, Florida, with sunny mornings on the water, fishing, and paddling along the gentle waters with the occasional manatee sighting, if you’re lucky. Like all rivers, its value lies in many things at once. It is a habitat. It is a livelihood. It is clean water. It is local identity, and the backdrop for the memories people carry with them. It is dollars and cents in the pockets of local businesses. It is also part of a larger watershed that connects people together and to the beauty around them amid one of the fastest-growing areas in America.  

The Myakka is a rain-fed river, rising and falling with the seasons, sometimes shrinking back to expose dry stretches of riverbed and then filling again with the next rains.  

Miri Hardy, founder of the Myakka River Partnership and a longtime advocate for the river, alludes to its emotional pull. She describes what she calls “The Myakka’s magic … it’s just one of those places that gets under your skin.” Her accounts of the river’s meaningful connection to people in the region reflect a broader pattern where people form strong, lasting connections to specific natural backyard places.  

Why the Myakka is a case study in cooperative conservation 

The Myakka is an inspiring example of how local commitment can shape national conservation efforts through a rich history of cooperation and dedicated river stewardship.

The Myakka River Management Coordinating Council was established in 1985 under Florida’s Myakka River Wild and Scenic Designation and Preservation Act, state-level protection enacted to coordinate management of the river across state agencies.  

As Hardy puts it, federal designation is “icing on the cake, but you have to have the cake first.” In other words, federal Wild and Scenic River designation builds on committed, long-term local and state-scale conservation efforts.  

That foundation is also part of what has generated strong local enthusiasm to protect the Myakka and its magic. Hardy says, “You just say ‘Myakka’ and their face … it just relaxes, and it breaks into a smile.” For many in Sarasota County, the river is tied to a shared sense of place.

After decades of local effort in one of the fastest-growing regions in the country, residents and advocates recognized that protecting the river would require more than local commitment alone. Ensuring its future meant pursuing protections at the federal level. 

Enter Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL-17) and Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) and the Myakka Wild and Scenic River Act of 2025—a major step towards federal protection. 

Established in 1968, the Wild and Scenic Rivers System keeps rivers free-flowing, protects their water quality, and preserves their natural, cultural, and recreational values for future generations. The law that created this special river system was enacted in recognition of the important role that rivers play in communities and for wildlife. 

With federal designation, the magical Myakka will join 18 other rivers protected as Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers. These 18 rivers flow through a patchwork of public lands, private property, and various local jurisdictions in eastern states, as opposed to Wild and Scenic Rivers in the west, which cross vast expanses of public lands. Partnership Wild and Scenic River designations bring together communities, tribes, nonprofits, and local governments before designation to hammer out a clear plan for managing rivers across jurisdictional boundaries. 

Rivers do not recognize our maps and boundaries. Flowing across public and private lands, they connect people and places in ways that demand shared responsibility. That’s where Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers designations shine. By empowering local communities to lead, this approach brings people together across property lines to protect what they share. Rivers may not follow our boundaries, but through collaboration, they can benefit from lasting protection. 

A broader lesson for river protection 

The story of the Myakka River offers a larger lesson for our nation. Our 4.4 million miles of rivers are alarmingly under-protected. Roughly 80% lack adequate safeguards, and about two-thirds have no protection at all. Meanwhile, community demands on these waterways are growing, and the threats they face—from extreme weather to pollution—are increasing. Wild and Scenic River designations remain our strongest tool to ensure these rivers continue to support people and wildlife for generations to come. After all, freshwater is one of our nation’s most valuable resources. 

People connect to rivers in many ways, but those bonds create a shared understanding of why protecting them matters. Partnership Wild and Scenic Rivers offers a locally focused approach, recognizing that protection can take different forms depending on the landscape and the community involved. The Myakka River shows what this can look like in practice. 

When people feel connected to a river, they show up for it—and as the Myakka Wild and Scenic River Act of 2025 shows, that connection can turn into powerful long-term national protection. 

Outside the halls of Congress, few are familiar with the legislative tool called the Congressional Review Act. Seemingly innocuous, even boring in its name, the Congressional Review Act – or CRA – is a powerful, consequential political device, and it’s increasingly being used to undermine protections for our public lands and waters.

The Congressional Review Act was first enacted in 1996 and was designed to allow Congress to review major federal regulations that are listed as rules in the Federal Register. Historically, it was used infrequently. Before 2016, the CRA had been used only once. Today, it’s often used to undo administrative rules the current Congressional majority disagrees with. Still, its use as a public lands management tool is unprecedented. 

The CRA was never intended to apply to presidential action under the Antiquities Act, land withdrawals grounded in statutes, or site-specific land protections. National monuments and major land protections are exercises of delegated Congressional power, not agencies interpreting law. Because of this distinction, using the CRA in the context of public lands management stretches the word “rule” far beyond how it’s been understood before.  

In January 2026, the House passed a Congressional Review Act resolution to overturn a mining ban near Minnesota’s pristine Boundary Waters. Shortly after, the Government Accountability Office issued a groundbreaking opinion concluding that the Bureau of Land Management’s 2025 management plan for Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument could be overturned using the CRA, prompting a countdown for votes to undo protections for the Escalante River. 

When Congress votes to overturn hard-won public lands and water protections, they are overturning years of rigorous scientific review and sidelining public input, including the voices of hunters and anglers, Tribal and local communities, and conservationists around the country. They are risking the right of all Americans to enjoy access to public lands, jeopardizing local recreation economies, and harming sources of clean water.  

Our love for public lands, clean water, and abundant wildlife is something that unites us all. Our public lands deserve durable protection. Let’s remind our elected leaders that the Congressional Review Act shouldn’t be used to permanently strip protections from public lands and waters.

We all need clean, safe water for our families — no matter where we live or what we look like. Much of our water comes from rivers, which also provide crucial habitat for fish and wildlife. Our economy, farms, and cities depend on river water for growth. And rivers give us ways to connect with nature and each other.   

But America’s rivers are losing their life-giving power – choked by dams, contaminated by pollution, and overwhelmed by increasingly severe floods and droughts. This is not just an environmental tragedy, but a profound threat to our health, communities, and safety. We can still protect our vital lifelines, but we have to do it quickly. 

This is why, each year, American Rivers issues America’s Most Endangered Rivers® – a call to action for the rivers we all depend on. 

In the unenviable lead position on the America’s Most Endangered Rivers® list this year is the Potomac River. This river, threatened by both data center expansion and pollution, exemplifies how the compounding threats our rivers are facing can collide, creating impacts that can reverberate far downstream.  

Each year, in partnership with local advocates and communities, the report draws attention to urgent threats and the solutions needed to protect the rivers that sustain us all. At a time when new and emerging pressures are reshaping how we manage water, acting now has never been more critical.  

America’s Most Endangered Rivers® of 2026: 10 Rivers in Need of Your Help  

1. Potomac River: The rapid, unchecked buildout of data centers along the Potomac River threatens the drinking water for our nation’s capital and surrounding areas, while a historic sewage spill raises alarms about aging infrastructure. 

2. San Joaquin: A massive gravel mine proposed along the river would jeopardize drinking water supplies for the Fresno region and reverse major salmon restoration progress.  

3. Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness: The Twin Metals mine would bring acid-mine drainage to an iconic wilderness—endangering clean water, wildlife, and a major outdoor recreation economy.  

4. Lumber River: Toxic “forever chemicals” known as PFAS and other industrial pollution are pushing this Wild and Scenic River to the brink.   

5. Rogue River: Mining pollution and the potential loss of Roadless Rule safeguards threaten this river’s remarkable salmon runs and incredible recreational value.  

6. Chilkat River: The ongoing development of a large–scale hard rock mine threatens habitat for fish and wildlife and would irreparably harm Alaskan Native communities. 

7. Nissequogue River: A failed dam that freed a major section of Long Island’s largest river might be replaced, threatening fish and wildlife recovery.  

8. Dan River: Fossil fuel pipeline construction threatens drinking water supplies with pollution and increased flood risk for downstream communities.  

9. Amargosa River: Mining operations threaten drinking water supplies and the unique fish and wildlife that depend on this desert lifeline.  

10. Suwannee River: Excessive water withdrawals, sewage, and agricultural pollution are testing this river’s limits in the extreme.  

America’s Most Endangered Rivers® has a long history of driving real change. For 41 years, this campaign has built momentum behind solutions that protect clean water and healthy rivers. Our nation’s 4.4 million miles of rivers deserve nothing less than our best.  

This year’s endangered rivers can become tomorrow’s success stories if we act now. Learn more about the rivers at risk in 2026 and take action today! 

The situation is clear: the precipitation outlook in the Colorado River Basin is dire, the river cannot sustain the demands placed on it, and this year we’re likely to face unprecedented management decisions with potentially catastrophic consequences.

Despite decades of warnings and years of negotiations, there remains no clear blueprint for how the West can live with less water. That future is no longer hypothetical—it is already here.

We often talk about the Colorado River and drought in ways that can feel removed, impersonal, abstract, and buried in jargon. But beneath the stories, there are real lives, livelihoods, ecosystems, and traditions that make the region what it is, and that are very much at stake. 

On March 3, for example, the US Drought Monitor released their latest report, revealing that “snow water equivalent” is less than 70% of normal across the Central Rockies, and less than 50% in the Four Corners. 

Snow water equivalent is essentially how the water in the snow translates to real, wet water – the kind rivers and people rely on. By some accounts, the prediction for this year’s total is now on par with – and potentially worse than – 2002, which previously held the record for one of the worst water years on the Colorado River. For those who live in the region, the catastrophic wildfires of 2002 are not abstract: the Hayman fire burned for over a month, killed six people, destroyed more than 600 homes, and amounted to estimates of $42 million worth in damages. That same year, Arizona experienced the Rodeo-Chediski fire, which burned nearly half a million acres.

But it isn’t just one fire in one year – throughout the Southwest and in California, regions are experiencing some of the largest, most catastrophic wildfires in history, and they’re occurring much more frequently.

Fires are just one way that the consequences of this hydrology are real.

Bad water years are felt by farmers and ranchers crunching the numbers and being forced to make impossible decisions about land, crops, and cattle.

They are felt by entire communities and businesses facing water cutbacks and rising energy costs.

They are felt by rivers warming beyond what fish and wildlife can withstand and by forests burning hotter and longer.

They are felt most by families who can least afford the inevitable lack of access to fresh water, threats of wildfires, and energy rate hikes.

It’s not one dry year that has placed the Colorado River and all who rely on it in peril; it’s decades of drought amplified by warming temperatures and a system still adjusting, or refusing to adjust, to the reality of a smaller river. The sponge is wrung dry, and we’re a long way from re-saturation. A “Miracle May” might be welcome, but it cannot erase two decades of declining flows and depleted reservoirs to save us at this point.

Aquifers are drained.

Soils are thirsty, trees are thirsty, animals are thirsty.

And we are thirsty and grow thirstier – continuing to promise water in a region that’s long been in debt.

We cannot stop the drought or the wildfires. We cannot get more water into Lake Powell than Mother Nature will provide, without significant impacts to communities and economies.  

The one thing we do have control over is how we respond. Though there are variables we can’t predict, we can control our collective actions. The reality is less water, and we must start there. With collaboration, transparency, and reliable funding, the West that is grounded in reality and capable of proactively managing scarcity rather than through litigation and denial. The opportunity to manage the river with the river itself at the core of considerations is now. And any leadership, any blueprint for the future must center the fact that without a healthy river, we can’t have healthy communities, economies, or ecosystems.

But that future is contingent upon leadership, and developing and implementing a clear, transparent, and responsive blueprint through the new interim guidelines for Colorado River management. The guidelines should, at a minimum, address the following:

• If water managers consider emergency releases from upper basin reservoirs (such as Flaming Gorge, Blue Mesa, or Navajo) to move water into Lake Powell, how are they ensuring that each drop of water used is benefiting as many values as possible?
• How will reservoir operations at Lake Powell and Lake Mead be managed to preserve hydropower reliability while maintaining flows through the Grand Canyon, and what are the implications for energy prices and the availability of power?
• Are they considering testing the bypass tubes (which were resurfaced after damage from the 2022 simulated flood in the Grand Canyon) to see if water could be directed into the Canyon via those tubes? What do we know about the constraints on that system?
• The official elevation for the minimum power pool at Glen Canyon Dam (the point at which the dam can no longer generate hydropower) is 3,490 ft, but as the elevation declines (currently sitting at 3,530), at what point do whirlpools begin to form, sucking air into the turbines, and forcing Reclamation to shut down the turbines? In other words, can the models tell us when cavitation* will force a shutdown?
• How will flows through Glen Canyon dam be maintained into Grand Canyon, and what actions could be enacted to preserve fish and wildlife (and curtail invasive fish like smallmouth bass) and the rafting economy that depends on the flows as these lake levels decline?
• As reductions to Colorado River supplies continue to affect Central Arizona Project (a lifeline to urban centers like Phoenix and Tucson) deliveries, how will cities, tribes, and agriculture adapt, and what investments will be needed to maintain reliable supplies? What should water users anticipate? Is there a risk of the CAP going dry?

These questions are not theoretical. The current operating rules for the Colorado River expire in 2026, and the basin states and federal government are debating the next framework for managing a smaller river. The choices made in the coming months will shape how the West lives with less water for decades to come.

In short, it is both imminent and imperative that state and federal leadership plans for and communicate a response to a (very likely) severe shortage scenario. As John Fleck emphasized in his recent blog, if that planning is already happening, leaders need to “tell us what they’re going to do”.

If planning isn’t underway, the moment to step up to avoid certain catastrophe and ensure a water-secure future is now.

With forethought, collaboration, planning, and clarity, we can do more with less. But with the uncertainty we’re currently experiencing, short-term crisis response that’s poorly communicated, lacks leadership, and is temporary in nature will only result in greater losses of life and livelihoods.

The Colorado River will continue to shape the future of the West. The question is whether we confront reality now—with planning, cooperation, and investment—or continue reacting to crisis. Leadership today will determine which future we inherit. We urge, and we’re not above pleading, leaders to guide us into a future where the river flows, and our realities ebb and flow with it, instead of at its expense.

What an amazing year for river restoration in California–from the Oregon border to the U.S.-Mexico border to the south. We saw salmon return to the upper watershed of the Klamath River for the first time in over a century. We broke ground and completed a massive floodplain restoration project at Great Valley Grasslands State Park in California’s Central Valley. We moved the needle on cleaning up the Tijuana River and protecting the communities of San Diego County. But California is a big state–the fourth largest economy in the world and larger in area than Germany and Japan. Sometimes it helps to zoom in. In the Sierra Nevada, our headwaters team has been restoring meadows across the range and planning for the future–healthy biomes in one of the world’s most stunning and biodiverse mountain ranges.  

Ackerson Meadow 

Confluence Meadow 

The restoration at Confluence Meadow nears completion!. By reconnecting Pine Creek and Little Harvey Creek to their meadows, we can reduce erosion and allow water to spread and soak back into the landscape to ensure more water flows into Pine Creek rather than draining out through incised channels. A healthy Pine Creek provides important spawning habitat for Eagle Lake Rainbow Trout, a species found only in the Eagle Lake watershed. Our monitoring shows groundwater staying closer to the surface for longer, helping wet meadow habitat recover and stay green later into the season. And the impacts go further! Native vegetation has re-established across treated areas, stabilizing soils and improving habitat for wildlife, while ongoing work on the site continues to strengthen the meadow’s long-term resilience. 

Grouse Meadow 

We completed restoration at Grouse Meadow in the West Walker River watershed this past July 2025, replacing a culvert with a low-water crossing to prevent degradation, building beaver dam analogs in an adjacent tributary, and filling and stabilizing several headcuts throughout the meadow. Now we will monitor the site and see how vegetation responds to restoration!  

Pickel Meadow 

At Pickel Meadow, also in the West Walker River watershed, we recently received nearly $5M from the CA Wildlife Conservation Board to restore this 450-acre meadow. This effort, in partnership with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the US Forest Service (Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest) will impact the ecology of this critical habitat and expand recreational opportunities, reconnecting a 3.2-mile section of the West Walker River to its historic alluvial fan, restore over 250 acres of wet meadow habitat, and enhance habitat through revegetation and the installation of in-stream features. It will also improve a water diversion to prevent fish entrapment, improve water supply for local grazing, protect a spring with wildlife-friendly fencing, and create a parking lot and trail improvements. And we are set to begin construction in summer 2026!  

Lower Sardine Meadow

Sometimes restoration work needs follow-up. Working with the US Forest Service Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, American Rivers restored Lower Sardine back in 2019, but our site monitoring suggested that small tweaks were needed. We have adaptive management planned for fall 2026 to ensure the success of the restoration. We’ll be placing wood and rock in places where channel incision is starting to form, revegetating a former parking lot, enhancing a public trail, and removing small lodgepole pines that are encroaching on the meadow. We can protect this precious meadow for future generations.  

Forni Meadow Complex 

In 2025, the California headwaters team, alongside the US Forest Service Eldorado National Forest, was in the thick of planning for restoration at the Forni Meadow Complex. The Complex is made up of a group of three meadows at the headwaters of the South Fork American River in the Eldorado National Forest. We are monitoring the impacts of restoration by photographing the site over time and measuring groundwater levels to ensure our collaborative work stands the test of time. This project builds on our longstanding partnership with the Eldorado National Forest, where we have partnered to complete two other projects as part of ENF’s first meadow restoration efforts, as well as conducting the Caldor Fire meadow assessment and prioritization effort, which identified the Forni Meadow Complex as a high priority for restoration. This year, we will be busy getting ready to start the construction phase of the project, with on-the-ground restoration anticipated to begin later this summer.  

On a cold and overcast day in November 2025, a small team stood at the edge of a degraded wetland in Seattle, Washington, and excitedly discussed construction plans for a wetland restoration project that had been decades in the making.  

A 10,000-year-old wetland in Roxhill Park known as the Roxhill Bog is one of the few surviving fragments of a much larger peat bog ecosystem that once flourished in the Northwest. The 5.3-acre wetland is the headwaters of Longfellow Creek, which travels for about four miles before entering the Duwamish River, the only naturally flowing river that still runs through Seattle, and one of America’s Most Endangered Rivers® in 2019. 

Peat bogs occur in cool, wet environments and are exceedingly rare, covering only 3% of the Earth’s land. They form over millennia from the accumulation of dead plant material and act like sponges, holding water and slowly releasing it over time. This provides stable flows and cooler water to downstream river systems during drier summer months and helps to retain water when it floods.  

Peat bogs filter water pollutants and provide a home for many unique plants and animals, including sphagnum moss, bog laurel, Labrador tea, Makah butterflies, and bog lemmings. They also contribute outsized benefits to the world’s climate, storing about 30% of land carbon. 

Over time, peat bogs in Seattle were drained, filled, and paved over by urban development. The remaining patch in Roxhill Park slowly dried up due to groundwater diversions, which impaired water quality, destroyed downstream salmon habitat, and limited safe public access to open recreational spaces.  

“One of my colleagues at Seattle Public Utilities put it best — the bathtub is broken, the natural processes that once allowed water to remain onsite are no longer working,” said Danielle Devier, senior urban ecology analyst with Seattle Parks and Recreation. “Repairing the broken bathtub is one of the best ways to rewet the bog.”  

Members of the surrounding community in West Seattle were alarmed at what was happening in their local park. They came together in 1999 to advocate for the restoration of the Roxhill Bog to help recover lost habitat and ecosystem functions. 

“This is the last of Seattle’s original 32 peat wetlands, located within an urban area of low-income, diverse communities where this natural area is their sole connection to nature,” explained Sharon Leishman, executive director of the Duwamish Alive Coalition. 

“People gather here to experience the ethereal bloom of the fawn lily, hear chorus frogs at twilight, and see the magic of dragonflies, but this special ecosystem is being lost.  

The power of community, which started with two neighbors, has grown into a broad, collaborative effort of persistence, patience, and passion. We are all stewards of these lands and waters. We are all connected.” 

With support and funding from the Seattle Parks Foundation, King County Wastewater Treatment Division, the Rose Foundation, and the Cox Foundation, plans for the bog’s restoration eventually began to form. American Rivers joined the effort in 2019, serving as project manager for engineering and construction.  

“Completing this first phase of the bog’s restoration provides a model for how urban areas across the country can restore wetland functions and improve the quantity and quality of water for people, fish, and wildlife,” said Sarah Dyrdahl, Northwest regional director for American Rivers. “In addition to the West Seattle community, we hope salmon in the downstream Duwamish will be the big winners of this work.” 

The bog’s water level will be monitored over the coming years to help inform additional restoration, including work by Seattle Public Utilities to reroute stormwater and by Seattle Parks and Recreation, which may install more blocks to increase groundwater retention. 

A few days after construction, community volunteers planted native species in the project area to jumpstart the revitalization of the wetland ecosystem. Local organizations and project partners, such as the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association, plan to host more nature walks, art activities, and class field trips centered on peat bog ecology. They are also facilitating trash pick-up events in collaboration with the Green Seattle Partnership.  

“It’s been an honor to be part of the restoration of Roxhill Bog and to work alongside the community in caring for this important ecosystem,” said Caroline Borsenik, environmental programs director with the Delridge Neighborhoods Development Association. “I’m excited to see Roxhill continue to grow as a place where restoration and community come together, and where people can connect with, celebrate, and enjoy this special place.”  

Earlier this year, President Trump signed H.R. 7148, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, which included Interior and Environment, Energy and Water, Commerce, Justice, and Science bills. With this package, Congress has now completed work on 11 out of 12 annual appropriations bills that fund government agencies and programs through September 30 – leaving Homeland Security as the final bill yet to be negotiated.

The Fiscal Year 2026 agreement reflects a compromise between the House and the Senate. The enacted legislation differs drastically from the White House budget request, which called for cuts in funding and staff to critical river programs. The new agreement maintains annual funding for EPA, NOAA, NPS, USFWS, and many other agencies that manage river programs, infrastructure, wetlands and watersheds, and implement habitat conservation.

While there is still work to be done, we wanted to share 5 Key wins for rivers that came from the Fiscal Year 2026 Agreement.

Key Wins for Rivers: 

1. Prioritized place-based restoration initiatives 

 The Interior bill preserves the EPA’s State Revolving Funds, which provide states and Tribes opportunities to modernize upgrades to water infrastructure. It also provides increased funds to the Chesapeake Bay Program at $96 million, the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative at $369 million, and the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund at nearly $11.8 million. These increases reinforce a clear preference for locally led science, conservation, and restoration efforts. 

3. Sustained investments for nature-based solutions 

The Energy and Water bill sustains $6 million for the Cooperative Watershed Management Program (CWMP). The CWMP helps communities form watershed groups to plan and implement projects that improve watershed health and fish and wildlife habitat. An example of this being implemented is the Big Thompson Watershed Coalition in northern Colorado, which used CWMP funding to build local capacity and conduct restoration planning while identifying watershed data gaps to support potential project designs in the future. Additionally, the bill increases funding to the Central Valley Project Restoration Fund to $65.3 million and also provides $7.5 million for the Army Corps’ Engineering with Nature. 

4. Continued focus on Wild and Scenic Rivers and healthy ecosystems 

To maintain strong local-state-federal partnerships, the Interior bill provides nearly $5.7 million for the National Park Service’s Partnership Wild and Scenic Program. The funding ensures the approved conservation plans of these rivers will continue to be effectively and efficiently implemented. This includes the Kissimmee and Little Manatee Rivers, located in Florida, which are under study now, demonstrating growing demand for Wild and Scenic River designations. 

5. Progress for flood relief across rural communities  

Aligned with the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, the agriculture appropriations bill provides $50 million to the Watershed and Flood Prevention Operations program, which supports projects that protect and restore watersheds. Language in the bill report directs funds for increased fish and wildlife habitat  and improvements to in-stream river flows. An additional $3 million goes to the Watershed Rehabilitation (REHAB) program to help address aging, unsafe dams. 

Costly Concerns 

These wins come at a time when our nation is facing a historic Western water crisis, major flooding in Washington and West Virginia, and crumbling sewer infrastructure in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C. and Maryland. Cuts across the federal agencies are going to be felt for years to come. While imperfect, this is a straightforward package that sustains several priority river, water, conservation, and regional ecosystem programs. Due to the Senate’s bipartisan leadership, Congress rejected the most devastating cuts proposed by the White House. 

What’s Next? 

American Rivers will work with agencies and communities to ensure these funding provisions are interpreted and implemented successfully in ways that support river health and grow our economy. These decisions impact how projects are carried out on the water.  

At the same time, we’re gearing up for the Fiscal Year 2027 appropriations cycle, which will be another challenging year due to ongoing constraints surrounding staffing and capacity across the federal agencies.

I first visited the town of Ramseur, North Carolina, two years ago as part of a river restoration effort focused on removing an outdated and unsafe dam that had blocked the town’s otherwise vibrant Deep River. I was new to my role at American Rivers but had a strong connection to the state’s rivers and unique freshwater ecology, having spent the prior decade as an aquatic scientist. I understood the importance of interconnected rivers for the health of native fish, aquatic salamanders, and freshwater mussels. But in the city with the apt slogan “Where Family and Friends Meet,” I soon came to understand how deeply passionate people – and their connection to place – can shape the success of complex and transformative river restoration efforts such as dam removal.  

Dam removal is one of the most powerful tools we have to restore the health of rivers. A free-flowing river supports biodiversity, clean water supplies, and recreation. Sadly, the state of North Carolina has an astonishing 28,000 inventoried dams on its landscape, and many of them are obsolete. Flowing through the heart of Ramseur, the Deep River is one of two major tributaries to the Cape Fear River, together comprising the Cape Fear River Basin, which provides drinking water to nearly a quarter of a million people. This major river is severely fragmented by several major dams that disrupt its natural flow and block species movement. 

The Ramseur Dam, originally constructed in the early 1900s to power a sawmill and later the Columbia Manufacturing Company, is one such structure. It no longer produces hydropower or supports manufacturing. Built largely of river rock, time has taken its toll: the gates are broken, water seeps through the structure, and rebar juts out in places.  

With more than half a million dams obstructing rivers across the country, this isn’t a scenario unique to North Carolina, but it is a hazard felt deeply by the residents of our state. Storms now known as household names—Helene, Florence, and Matthew—reveal how aging infrastructure combined with extreme weather endangers people, wildlife, and our clean water supply. Dams that no longer serve a purpose are creating unsafe conditions, needlessly degrading water quality, and burdening city leaders and private owners with liability risks should they fail in the next major storm or from sheer old age. 

Dam removal confronts these immense challenges with a solution – reconnecting our rivers. Removing a dam can be a big step for a town. A river restoration project requires vision, courage, and partnership. The Ramseur dam removal is an act of optimism – local leaders asking: how can we improve this amazing resource for both people and nature? The leadership and community of Ramseur chose to envision a place where children can safely wade into the cool waters, anglers fish for native species, and the river flows freely, tumbling over rocks as it moves downstream. 

With respect and full understanding of the benefits they once served, more and more outdated dams are being removed to advance a future of ecological restoration, expanded recreation, economic opportunity, and community connection. Local leaders in Ramseur have embraced a future provided by a free-flowing river.

Plans for a state trail along the Deep River envision a continuous walking trail, termed greenway, winding alongside the river and a designated paddle trail, or blueway, stretching the length of the Deep River, reconnecting communities to the water and to each other. New trailheads and river access points tied directly to the restoration are designed to bring people back to the river—not as a backdrop, but as a centerpiece of community life. 

While Ramseur’s story is its own, it is also part of something much larger. Restoring natural flow in the Deep River strengthens the health of the entire Cape Fear River system, from piedmont headwaters to coastal estuaries. The benefits are cumulative. Reconnecting even a single stretch of river contributes to a larger vision: a continuous, free-flowing river system where people can paddle from the Deep River toward the coast, where fish and other migratory species can move freely, and where communities along the way are linked by shared stewardship of a healthy watershed for people and for nature.  

As the Ramseur Dam comes down, the Deep River will flow freely for the first time in more than a century. The water will find its natural rhythm again, carving new paths, supporting wildlife, and inviting people back to its banks. This transformation is possible because people, working together with care and vision, choose restoration and resilience. 

Ramseur’s next chapter is about reconnecting—to the river, to each other, and to a broader vision of a restored Deep and Cape Fear River system flowing forward together. Which North Carolina town wants to add to the story? 

Restoring floodplains — the low-lying lands next to rivers — is one of the most effective ways to reduce flood risk to communities, strengthen ecosystems, and improve water resources.

Across the country, communities, Tribes, and land and resource managers are working to restore rivers and reconnect floodplains. As weather events grow more intense and unpredictable, these projects are becoming more essential. Floodplains are a powerful and natural form of infrastructure. When floodplains are healthy and connected, they can absorb and slow floodwaters, recharge and store groundwater, reduce wildfire impacts, improve rangeland health, and increase biodiversity. Healthy floodplains can protect communities while also strengthening ecosystems. 

Despite the proven benefits, floodplain restoration projects are often delayed or stopped entirely because of outdated policies from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Why? Because…

Outdated policies treat restoration like development.

Under current FEMA policy — even when projects pose no risk to people or property — river and floodplain restoration is regulated the same as new development. In other words, projects designed to reduce flood risk can get caught up in FEMA’s no-rise standard and Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) process. The no-rise standard is meant to prevent floodplain development from increasing flood elevations and putting people or property at risk. 

The thing is, restoration projects — such as reconnecting floodplains to rivers, planting riparian vegetation, or stabilizing streambanks — can lower long-term flood risk. The lack of distinction between restoration and development creates unnecessary roadblocks, slows urgently needed resilience work, and discourages restoration efforts that could help communities adapt to worsening floods. 

So what can be done? Enter:

Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act  

The Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act would modernize FEMA’s approach to ecosystem restoration. 

If passed, the Floodplain Enhancement and Recovery Act would give states and local communities more flexibility under FEMA’s “No- Rise” rule to execute projects needed to restore these natural floodplains. Passing this act would reduce regulatory burdens and give states, Tribes, and local communities the tools they need to restore floodplains, protect lives and property, and build safer, more resilient landscapes. 

The Floodplains Enhancement and Recovery Act would ensure that floodplain restoration is treated like what it is — an investment in safety and resilience — not a risk. 

So don’t wait, follow the link below to tell Congress to support the Floodplains Enhancement and Recovery Act now!