Wild Rivers

WildEarth Guardians’ Wild Rivers Program focuses on advocating for clean, free-flowing rivers across the West.

Using a potent combination of policy reform, hands-on restoration, and litigation, WildEarth Guardians is working to protect the waterways that sustain both wild and human communities. From the Rio Grande to the Pecos River, we believe rivers should have rights to their own waters.

Our vision is clear and bold: living rivers, full of water and native fish such as cutthroat trout and silvery minnows, lined by majestic cottonwoods, and enlivened by the songs of migrating birds.

Where cattle grazing compromises rivers and streams, our Wild Rivers Program seeks to have the cattle removed. Where we can secure public lands leases in order to conserve the area, we remove invasive plants from streamsides. We mobilize hundreds of citizens each year to plant native trees along riverbanks on both public and private land. We empower citizens to monitor the health of rivers or streams in their area. To stop contamination, we litigate. To ensure healthy flows in rivers, we not only litigate, we raise public awareness. We work with local municipalities to improve water quality and to provide funding for river protection. And we use federal laws such as the Clean Water Act to make sure our cleanest waters stay clean.

We are in the process of building our WildEarth Guardians website. In the meantime, check out Forest Guardians and Sinapu web pages on these wild river issues:

Protecting and Restoring Wild Rivers and our River Preserves and Private Land Projects and restoration events such as
Stream Team and volunteer opportunities like our Watershed Guardians

River Policy Reform to protect our Living Rivers, Clean Water and Wild Forests