The Winter Training is organized by River Network and many allied organizations. This years training will take place December 6th-8th at the Capital Retreat Center, located in Waynesboro, PA. www.capitalretreat.org. Please contact Dawn DiFuria for more information. (503) 542-8393.
We’re planning for the fifth annual Gathering of the Environmental Capacity Builders Network (ECBN). We hope you will join us in February 2011 to learn new strategies, share insights, and build relationships with fellow capacity building organizations.
Our colleagues at the Safer Chemicals Healthy Families coalition seem to have stumbled on a top secret meeting of some of the most dangerous chemicals out there. They even caught it on tape!
This year’s National River Rally took place May 21-24 at Snowbird, UT and was a huge success. Here we have collected the materials from workshops in our Warming Watersheds track, which covered a range of issues related to water, energy and climate change.
SOLV volunteers remove 72,000 pounds of trash and debris from the Oregon coastline during their spring cleanup. Watch their fun and inspirational photo slideshow!
A few months ago we helped spread the word about the $300 million made available through the Department of Energy’s State Energy Efficient Appliance Rebate Program, and asked our Partners to contact their state energy offices to urge them to prioritize water using appliances, such as clothes washers and dishwashers, with the highest rebates. Now you can find out what rebates are available in your state.
The US Geological Survey made headlines last month with the release of a multi-year study reporting that 100% of fish sampled throughout the country contained mercury in their bodies. The Ogeechee-Canoochee Riverkeeper is on the forefront, taking action to reduce levels of mercury in their Basin through monitoring and public awareness campaigns.
Once fenced off and polluted, the Chicago River is now more familiar for sailboats and moveable bridges. Yet there is still a great opportunity for riverfront redevelopment that includes great public access and quality habitat, and Friends of the Chicago River is leading the way.
Mark your calendars for an upcoming River Network event, Saving Water, Saving Energy: Integrated Approaches to Addressing Climate Change and Protecting Rivers, an exciting half-day workshop taking place October 26th in Portland, Oregon.
In Michigan's Clinton River watershed, more than 40 municipalities, four counties and dozens of other public entities banded together to meet stormwater permitting requirements.
The Beachkeeper program is a volunteer water quality monitoring program that involves the local community in identifying and monitoring sources of urban runoff in Santa Monica Bay. Data collected by these volunteers helped identify the Bay as impaired, and was critical to the design of the cleanup plan.
If you could hire an enforcement officer to protect your watershed, would you do it? Amigos Bravos of New Mexico found a creative way to do just that…and more.
Ohio EPA developed an innovative program that combines conventional sewers and wastewater treatment with “green infrastructure” projects to increase water quality protection.
In 2004, members of the Northwest Environmental Defense Center were patrolling the Columbia River in kayaks when they witnessed murky, foul-smelling water pouring out of a pipe directly adjacent to a trash-hauling company.
Wildlife agencies often comment on Section 404 wetland fill permit applications. Reach out to the agencies to engage them and strengthen your comments.
The Dosewallips River originates in the glacial peaks of the Olympic National Park, a World Heritage Site and International Biosphere Reserve. While dams blanket the state of Washington, the Dosewallips runs free. The Dosewallips was caught in a power struggle between Washington state and the federal government.
Local citizens sometimes know more about their watersheds than state agencies, and this knowledge can be a valuable aspect of TMDL development. Such was the case for Lake Yazoo in Mississippi.
In a four-hour intensive workshop held in Baltimore, Maryland on the first day of River Network's 10th National River Rally, Heather Cooley from the Pacific Institute joined Bevan Griffiths-Sattenspiel from our Saving Water, Saving Energy program to share a collection of water/energy tools and discuss ways for grassroots groups to further river protection in an era of climate change.
In December 2008, the last of 120,000 cubic yards of PCB-laden sediment were removed from 1.5 miles of the Kalamazoo River near Plainwell, Michigan. This represents 2% of the lands included in the Superfund project. “In the short term, this is a good thing,” said Jeff Spoelstra of the Kalamazoo River Watershed Council (KRWC).
How is the global downturn affecting fund raising for river groups? Our experience is that groups with strong individual donor and pledge programs appear to be least affected. Idaho Rivers United, with a home office in Boise, Idaho, is an example of one such group.
A well-designed volunteer monitoring program can inspire real action and change for the better -- read about how the Beachkeeper program made a difference for Santa Monica Bay visitors.
By combining persistence, a good antidegradation policy, direct discussions with permit holders, and a little creativity, Illinois conservationists have found that the Clean Water Act really can work.
John Tippett, Executive Director of Friends of the Rappahannock was among those honored as a National River Hero in 2008. Thanks to John's contributions within the Rappahannock watershed, a dam is gone and the river now runs free for its entire length, with most of the lower river protected by streamside buffers in permanent conservation easement.
In December 2008, dozens of watershed leaders from across the country descended into Nashville, Tennessee for three fun-filled days of education, inspiration and networking.
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