PACIFIC RIVERS

Our Mission

​The mission of Pacific Rivers is to protect and restore the watershed ecosystems of the West to ensure river health, biodiversity and clean water for present and future generations.

Our Vision

A future where healthy communities have access to clean, cool drinking water free from chemicals, and people can play in rivers and streams. A future where watersheds that store carbon are resilient to warming temperatures and other effects of climate change, and are home to abundant populations of fish and aquatic wildlife.

Our Watershed Approach

Protecting rivers requires managing the surrounding lands, or watershed, in a manner compatible with natural ecological processes. This is important so that people, fish and other wildlife are resilient to disturbances like flooding, wildfires and the effects of the global climate crisis. We integrate the best available science, storytellling, economic and cultural considerations to create a sustainable future for rivers, fish, wildlife and people. ​
What is a Watershed?
An area of land that drains water (rain and snow) into streams, rivers, lakes, and eventually the ocean. Focusing solely on what’s happening in a river corridor will not sufficiently protect it for people, fish, or wildlife. We must protect the river corridor plus the wider land area around it — the watershed — from activities that pollute or harm the river.

Where you fit in

Pacific Rivers relies on YOU to help us do our work. You care about rivers. You care about clean water. You care about local economies. And you know it’s not possible without a healthy environment.

Pacific Rivers is working to create a future where we:

  • Address the challenges faced by watersheds across the West.
  • Clearly deliver a sound approach to watershed resource management and clean rivers.
  • Increase public understanding of the ecological and socioeconomic value of watersheds.
  • Build lasting change that will protect watersheds for the people, wildlife, and ecosystems that depend on them.
TAKE ACTION
Today, throughout the Snake River Basin, imperiled populations of salmon continue to die at rates far below sustainable replacement levels. Scientists have told us for decades that breaching the four federal dams in the lower Snake River. Congressman Mike Simpson of Idaho has an ambitious proposal to remove the dams and invest billions in energy, irrigation and transportation infrastructure.  But elected leaders in Washington and Oregon must step up too before we lose the fish that define the region’s ecology and cultural heritage. Good work is happening in places like the Lostine, but ultimately, the success of those collaborations depend on restoring a free-flowing Snake River. 

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