The rivers of the US are damaged, but they are not dead. Rivers from northern Maine to the southern tip of Florida and the Olympic Peninsula to southern California continue to function as ecosystems and to inspire the people who live, work, and play along rivers.
Our intent in this website is to enhance awareness of human alterations of rivers across the contiguous United States. The rivers highlighted here represent thousands of other rivers that have undergone analogous changes. We also wish to inspire readers to engage in protecting and restoring rivers. The rivers we describe have undergone substantial changes as a result of human activities, but people are also passionate about restoring these rivers and we highlight some of the ongoing efforts to rebuild fully functional river ecosystems.
If you don’t know the biography of your local river – how it has looked and functioned in the past, how it looks and functions now, and how it might look and function in the future – go out and investigate. River ecosystems support and enrich us. Let’s support them.