American Rivers

Restore damaged Rivers - we need to fundamentally transform the health of Rivers in our country. Up to 85 percent of all dams in our country are unnecessary, harmful, and even dangerous. Because removing a dam is the single most impactful way to secure a Rivers' future health, we must remove thousands of them quickly. Our work to remove dams has been central to American Rivers over the past decades and will be even more important as we work to restore Rivers in the decades ahead. We are prioritizing removing the worst 400 dams by 2027 and will kickstart the removal of 30,000 dams by 2050. We also drive national solutions to flooding that prioritize communities' safety, equity, and the health of river habitats and will restore 20,000 acres of functional floodplains by 2027. In addition, we work to restore clean water by working in cities to connect communities to their Rivers and work to restore healthy river flows, habitat, and access by engaging in hydropower relicensing and reform.

Protect healthy Rivers - scientists say we must protect one-half of the planet to sustain the web of biodiversity upon which all life depends. By driving federal and state protections, we will safeguard 1 million miles of Rivers, from remote mountain streams to urban waterways. To do it, we are working shoulder to shoulder with local partners to protect our healthiest, most scenic Rivers as well as Rivers closer to where most people live through the federal wild and scenic legislation and other approaches. We are also supporting communities experiencing more frequent and damaging flooding protect their Rivers in ways that address social inequities and improve their communities' resilience to climate change impacts.

Champion a powerful river movement - we can't do this work alone. American Rivers has always been known for our willingness and ability to work with everyone, from local partners to government agencies to decision-makers, to do what's best for Rivers. We know that the challenges to Rivers are increasing dramatically. And we know that the impacts of polluted and flooding Rivers disproportionately impact communities of color. We need a powerful, diverse, bipartisan river movement to face those challenges and drive change that makes Rivers healthier, water cleaner and communities safer. And we won't stop until every river has multitudes of champions speaking up for it.