River Network Clean Water Fellow, Erin Kanzig contributed to this blog. As part of the response to the coronavirus pandemic, Congress passed the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) back in March to help revive the economy and protect public health by providing direct support to individuals as well as state, tribal, and local governments. The… Read More ›
Blog
Unpacking Federal Water Policy Progress, Gaps & What Lies Ahead
by April Ingle
Like many of you, when the Biden Administration and the new Congress began their work at the start of this year, I began hopefully anticipating what they would do help ensure more people have access to safe, clean, affordable water and our communities have healthy, resilient waterways. Since then, as droughts, floods, wildfires, storms, and… Read More ›
Building Strong Champions with Professional Development
by Brenna Goggin
To address today’s water crisis, the national network of water protectors needs strong leaders. That’s why Building Strong Champions is the essence of River Network’s mission. At its core, Building Strong Champions is building the capacity of individuals and organizations. This blog post is the third in our series highlighting this work: professional development, a… Read More ›
EPA Needs to Hear from Us: Fix Clean Water Act Rollbacks!
by April Ingle
After the Dirty Water Rule went into effect in 2020 more than half of the nation’s wetlands and streams lost Clean Water Act protections. Every day the Dirty Water Rule stays in effect streams and wetlands across the country are at risk of destruction and pollution. We need the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to… Read More ›
Online Accessibility as a Component of Water Equity
by cschmidt
For years, River Network has hosted online webinars, trainings, and peer calls to engage members of the water community around relevant and topical issues. But as many organizations, including River Network, have ramped up online events and digital outreach in the last few years, and particularly over the past 18 months in response to COVID-19,… Read More ›
New Community Leadership Programs for Climate Resilience Launched with River Network Support
by Hannah Mico
Last November, River Network published part one of a two-part toolkit series on Equitable Climate Resilience. This first tool, titled Fostering Community Leadership, introduced community leadership development programs as a way to center equity in conversations, decisions, and community impacts related to climate change. We put the tool to work at the beginning of 2021 by granting three organizations funds, planning resources, and direct… Read More ›
Community-Led Research Projects Underway in 8 Communities: What Have We Learned?
by Hannah Mico
River Network kicked off 2021 by granting 8 local organizations with funds and technical assistance to design and implement community-led research projects in their communities: the last eight months have been ripe with direct consulting, peer calls for our cohort of grantees, resource sharing, and research to support diverse projects. Community-led research, or CLR, is a strategy that… Read More ›
Putting Data to Action: Community Science, Partnership, and Advocacy for a Healthy Schuylkill River
by Colleen Walters
This blog post was originally published by the Delaware River Watershed Initiative. Steps toward change happen with collective action. In late June, staff from Bartram’s Garden shared their story of how they used their data and collective voice to highlight water quality issues and demand the attention of the governing agencies of the tidal Schuylkill River in… Read More ›
Aligning with Agriculture for Multiple Benefits on All 300+ Miles of the Yampa
by Nicole Seltzer
How do you support river health and engage irrigators along 300 plus miles of river and with nearly 250 individually owned diversion structures? It’s tough, but rewarding, and exactly what River Network and our partners have been up to in the Yampa river basin recently. The Yampa River in northwest Colorado is often cited as… Read More ›
Listening to the Network for Healthy Rivers in Agricultural Landscapes
by Mikhaela Mullins
Farms, ranches, and rangelands occupy 44% of US land, making the farmers and ranchers who work these lands and use this water to irrigate them vital voices in any water-related conversations – both because of their water usage and their vast working knowledge of local lands and waterways. In recent years we’ve heard from our… Read More ›
Introducing River Network’s Equitable Infrastructure Toolkit
by Katherine Baer
“Inequality impacts rivers, too, because that’s where it ends up ultimately.” –Catherine Coleman Flowers, River Rally 2021 How are decisions to use green infrastructure versus a detention pond to control stormwater runoff made? What are the options for making water rates more affordable? How can states prioritize those most in need through their water infrastructure… Read More ›
Rethinking Staff Holidays – Another Step in our Journey Toward Inclusion
by River Network Staff EDI CommitteeWe at River Network have tried to maintain transparency and open communication regarding the evolution of our work on equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). Being a network and a capacity-building organization, we take great pride in our approach to “learning in public” and sharing our ever-evolving thinking and processes related to EDI with our network…. Read More ›
Commit to a Green New Year
by Karla Noboa
This spring, it is more important than ever for us to come together and make every day Earth Day. In 2020, there were 26 billion pieces of litter along America’s waterways, according to data compiled by Keep America Beautiful. With the increase in single use personal protective equipment and fewer resources available due to the impacts of COVID, litter is more… Read More ›
How River Network Is Building Community, Online
by cschmidt
Connection and the open exchange of information and ideas has always been integral to water stewardship and community leadership, even before the pandemic. For this reason, River Network launched an online community for the nationwide network of water protectors in January of this year. What you might not have noticed when we launched the community... Read More ›
Building Strong Champions with Leadership Development
by Brenna Goggin
To address today’s water crisis, the national network of water protectors needs strong leaders. That’s why Building Strong Champions is the essence of River Network’s mission. At its core, Building Strong Champions is building the capacity of individuals and organizations. This blog post is the first in our series highlighting this work: looking at what it… Read More ›
