Biodiversity and Rivers
Healthy rivers support all living things. They are vital lifelines for birds, fish, and wildlife. The science is undeniable. Freshwater wildlife is disappearing twice as fast as terrestrial or marine species. We must conserve our remaining natural areas to preserve nature and our fragile web of life. Because without healthy rivers, there’s no water, no wildlife, no life.
Rivers are more than just waterways. They’re lifelines. Rivers are delicate networks, where beavers engineer ecosystems, where trout dance between riffles, where salmon sustain orca, eagles, and people alike, and where tiny mussels filter water into crystal clarity.
But our freshwater ecosystems are suffering, and with them, entire worlds of miraculous creatures are vanishing. The statistics are devastating: Freshwater wildlife is disappearing twice as fast as terrestrial or marine species.
Each dammed river, each polluted stream, each patch of destroyed riverside habitat is an irreplaceable loss. Once-lush, vibrant streams are drying up with drought. Warmer waters suffocate entire species.
If we protect and restore just half of our planet’s remaining natural areas, we can reverse this trajectory. We have the power to preserve the magical, interconnected web of life that sustains us all.
What we do
Protect healthy river habitat
We work to protect healthy river habitat from pollution and harmful development. This includes waters flowing across our public lands. We also permanently protect rivers under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act. Our goal is to safeguard 1 million miles of rivers so they can continue to be playgrounds for otters, trout, geese, and other wildlife.
Restore wetlands and floodplains
Healthy wetlands and floodplains — the low-lying land around rivers — provide critical rearing habitat for waterfowl, fish, and freshwater life. We improve wetlands to restore ecosystems and reduce flood risk to nearby communities. We also restore meadow habitats at the headwaters of our rivers, which host incredible species found nowhere else on earth.
Remove harmful dams
Dams are responsible for the extinction of fish and aquatic species. They destroy the river habitat that wildlife need to nest, feed, and reproduce. We’re working to remove tens of thousands of barriers in rivers to reconnect ecosystems so that they can once again support thriving biodiversity and species migration.
Help Hydro work better
We shouldn’t remove every hydropower dam. But we can ensure that the dams we need don’t harm our natural environment. By improving how hydropower functions, we can put more water back into rivers, reconnect habitat for fish and wildlife, and lessen the damage hydropower projects have on river ecosystems — while supporting the energy grid.
Speakup for freshwater wildlife
Freshwater species are going extinct twice as fast as ocean and land species. We need to conserve our remaining natural areas to preserve nature and our fragile web of life.
