The Way Forward: 2010-2015 Action Plan

River Network is an organization in the right place at the right time with an opportunity to profoundly impact the next great environmental challenge of our day -- freshwater conservation.

You may have heard the expression “water is the next oil.” That’s a serious understatement. If we run out of oil, we have alternatives like wind and solar power. But if we run out of potable water, there are no alternatives. We need it to drive our economy, grow our food, and simply to stay alive.

Our freshwater resource has never been more threatened than it is today.

Rapid population growth and our changing climate is depleting freshwater supplies in many parts of the country, drying up rivers, lakes and aquifers that are essential to sustaining life. Dangerous pollutants are entering our drinking water through storm water runoff, causing rates of cancer and other diseases to skyrocket. And poorly planned development is removing waterfront access, destroying wetlands, and degrading habitat for countless species of plants and animals both in the water and on land.

With input from hundreds of our state and local Partner groups and dozens of science and policy experts, River Network's board and staff have crafted a new 2010-2015 Action Plan to guide our efforts over the next five years.

We hope that many of you will also see this plan as a key element of your own strategic direction. By collaborating and synergizing our efforts, we can accomplish far more than any of us can working alone!

(For a look back at our 2005-2008 strategic plan, click here.)