This year’s Most Endangered Rivers report from American Rivers makes one thing clear: It is not sustainable for a single river to support 36 million people.

That’s the situation today for the Colorado River. Though millions use its water, it is already so over-tapped that it now dries up to a trickle before reaching the sea. Climate change and population growth have the potential to make the situation worse. The Bureau of Reclamation’s own report (Colorado River Basin Water Supply and Demand Study, December 2012) stresses that there is not enough water to meet current demands across the basin, let alone support future demand increases. Scientists predict climate change will reduce the Colorado River’s flow by 10 to 30 percent by 2050. We can’t stay on the path we’re on now if we want this iconic river and its surrounding parks and communities to remain healthy.

That’s why, now more than ever, it’s time to talk about how best to conserve the river while ensuring our protected lands remain unimpaired for future generations.

Images of this iconic river are entwined with the majestic national parks it travels through, from the meadows and rich valleys of Rocky Mountain to the dramatic vistas of the Grand Canyon. A Park Service brochure of the region captures so much of it so well for me:

The national parks of the Colorado River basin set aside the best of the river corridor’s most scenic, natural, and cultural wonders to serve the country’s heart and spirit … Dinosaur National Monument’s cathedral-like canyons where the Green and Yampa Rivers meet … Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park’s steep, narrow gash through some of the hardest rock on Earth … Curecanti National Recreation Area’s vast blue shimmer in the Colorado high country … Canyonlands National Park’s meandering gulches in the heart of Utah’s red rock country … the stark meeting of big water and big desert in Glen Canyon and Lake Mead National Recreation Area … more than 2,000 sandstone arches at Arches National Park … and the breathtaking, mile-deep descent into geologic time that is Grand Canyon National Park.

These parks and recreation areas depend on the river for their health and vitality, and in turn create economic boons for surrounding communities throughout the basin. Yet, it is a nearly impossible challenge for the National Park Service to fulfill its mandate to conserve resources in these parks due to ongoing water management issues. The various federal agencies managing the river have aimed to provide a reliable supply of water to this rapidly growing region of the country but haven’t significantly considered how to incorporate the protection of parklands. Americans recognize the special character of these wild places and protect them for present and future generations. It is now my turn, and yours, to speak up on behalf of national parks to ensure these southwestern jewels remain for our children and theirs.

In their report, American Rivers points to the need for Congress to fund programs that will encourage better water management of the Colorado River for the 21st century. NPCA couldn’t agree more. All concerned agencies, including the U.S. Geological Survey, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Reclamation, and the National Park Service must be involved in the development of a long-term, basin-wide framework to proactively manage water flows to address the needs of surrounding cities, agriculture, hydropower, recreation, and environmental resources. Full participation with an open, transparent process and adequate funding are both crucial to the future of this great American waterway.

NPCA’s Colorado River program is working to incorporate healthy river flows and healthy national parklands into the land- and water-management discussions more fully. These protected natural areas are part of larger landscapes and ecosystems that require collaboration among disparate stakeholders to protect. We work with federal, state, and local agencies to promote proactive measures for long-term restoration and protection of these public lands and waters. We believe that by highlighting the profound impact river management and continued diversion has on our national parks—places that are both beloved for their beauty and valued for their economic leverage—we can engage a diverse network of voices that will advocate to save the Colorado River.

For more information, see our recent press statement on American Rivers’ Most Endangered River and learn more about NPCA’s Colorado River program. You can take action for the Colorado River on the American Rivers website, and learn more by reading the Most Endangered Rivers report and watching the video below.

This Sunday, many national park supporters will keep their hiking boots in the closet and get their blood pumping in a different way: by cheering their favorite teams to victory when the San Francisco 49ers face the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl. With national parks—as well as NPCA staff—based in both teams’ hometowns, two NPCA colleagues defend their turf in our first-ever national park smackdown!

What city do you think has the best national parks? Vote in our Super Bowl park poll!

In the Western corner: San Francisco

-Kati Schmidt, Senior Media Relations Manager and lifelong 49ers fan

As one of the most visited sites in our National Park System with more than 13 million annual visitors, Golden Gate National Recreation Area is as diverse, stunningly gorgeous, and steeped in history as San Francisco, the City by the Bay, itself. Nearly half of this park’s featured sites are within the city limits, and I consider myself lucky to call it my “home” park. A favorite setting for Hollywood blockbusters, its beauty is an easy walk, jog, or public transit ride from my front door, as well as rest of the city. While a love letter to Golden Gate National Recreation Area could easily elevate from sonnet to epic saga, in the name of brevity, I’ll call out a few of my favorite ways to experience the park:

• The Land’s End trail offers hiking and labyrinth-walking along the coast, with jaw-dropping views of the Golden Gate Bridge and sailboats traveling in and out of the city’s fog veil. The trail winds down to Sutro Baths, a former swimmable playground for many and, in recent months, home to a lovable river otter, aptly named “Sutro Sam.”
• Alcatraz is a must-see attraction for global visitors, and my most memorable experience there came last summer, when I braved chilly bay waters to swim from “The Rock” to shore–landing at yet another national treasure, the San Francisco Maritime National Historical Park.
• My weekend jogs feature Ocean Beach as a turnaround point. This beach beckons visitors to climb windswept sand dunes, stroll the shoreline, or just scope out surfers.
• My first San Francisco home was in the Presidio, where Ohlone natives originally lived and where numerous battles were waged, before the U.S. Army took control in 1846.

Our beloved San Francisco 49ers rally cry says it all as far as Golden Gate National Recreation Area and our city is concerned: “Who’s Got it Better Than Us?! Nobody!!!”

In the Eastern corner: Baltimore

-Ed Stierli, Steve & Roberta Denning Land Conservation Fellow and die-hard fan of all things Chesapeake

You’ll get a taste of Baltimore in the Superdome this weekend when Ravens fans show support for their city with a thunderous “OH!” as Alicia Keyes hits the high notes of the Star-Spangled Banner. Francis Scott Key never could have predicted this lyrical change, but he would be proud of the city that valiantly defended America’s freedom (while San Francisco was still a part of Spain). Stories from the War of 1812 and the landscape of the Chesapeake Bay make the Baltimore region the most unique city for national parks in the United States.

Why we are the best Bay Area:

• Fort McHenry National Monument and Historic Shrine—This site is the only such doubly designated national park and one of the country’s last standing star-shaped forts. After the burning of Washington, DC, during the War of 1812, the fort bravely defended Baltimore and repelled the British Navy, inspiring Francis Scott Key to write the Star-Spangled Banner. Almost one million visitors come to the fort each year, which also is home to a sprawling wetland.
• The Chesapeake Bay—North America’s largest estuary is home to more than 3,600 species of plants and animals. The bay’s watershed encompasses 54 national parks, and its iconic skipjacks, oysters, ospreys, and Cypress trees are unrivaled.
• Water Trails—Baltimore is home to not one, but two congressionally designated water trails: the Captain John Smith Chesapeake and Star-Spangled Banner National Historic Trails. Both offer an outdoor paradise with thousands of miles for boating, fishing, hiking, and birding throughout one of the most beautiful landscapes in America.
• Charm City—Babe Ruth, Edgar Allan Poe, and the cast of Hairspray have all called Baltimore home. The city has more than 56,000 buildings listed in 52 National Register historic districts, providing a bustling National Heritage Area. Ask anyone who frequents historic Fells Point, a neighborhood which transports visitors back to when Baltimore was a “nest of pirates.”
• Blue Crabs—The Dungeness has nothing on Maryland Blue Crabs. The Maryland state crustacean is a favorite for crab cakes or steamed with some Old Bay. Crabcakes and football, that’s what Maryland does.

Is your heart in San Francisco? Does Charm City have the real charm? You decide the most Super City for Parks! Vote for your favorite in the poll above to help us crown the winner!

“Shhh … He’s sleeping!”

“I think I saw him blink!”

Over the course of the week, nearly 1,000 urban youth in Washington, DC, explored the landscape of the Anacostia River, a part of the Captain John Smith Chesapeake National Historic Trail, with the Urban Canoe Wilderness Adventure, a partnership project organized by NPCA, Wilderness Inquiry, the National Park Service, National Park Trust, and others. NPCA is partnering with a variety of groups throughout the Chesapeake watershed to bring awareness to landscape conservation efforts and promote outreach to advocates of all ages, including our youngest future stewards.

With 80 percent of America’s youth living in urban areas, it has never been more important to connect children with the great outdoors and our national parks. With our new National Parks in the Chesapeake campaign, NPCA has been engaging youth by restoring wetlands and planting grasses at Fort McHenry and along the water trails of the Chesapeake. Other projects have involved partner groups, NPCA members, and community youth in building new educational areas and birdhouses.

The kids involved understand that the national parks in their community make their backyard a whole lot bigger, and just like the other things they own at home, it’s important to protect and take care of them. With our parks increasingly at risk, we think it’s important to take time to explore them with our kids, classrooms, or the youth in our communities. They are the future generations we protect the parks for, and the growing stewards that must advocate for the generations to come.

Planning your Chesapeake adventure has never been easier. Download the Park Service’s free new smartphone app at www.chesapeakeexplorerapp.com.

Visit our website to learn more about the National Parks in the Chesapeake campaign.

-Edward Stierli, Steve & Roberta Denning Land Conservation Fellow

Forty years ago today, Congress overrode a veto from President Nixon to officially make the Clean Water Act the nation’s law for protecting one of our most precious and irreplaceable resources. This landmark legislation is the reason why we are able to enjoy the many activities that we do today on our rivers, streams, and lakes, including those in and around our national parks. 

While participating in the Great Lakes Restoration Conference in Cleveland last month, I had the opportunity to visit Cuyahoga Valley National Park for the first time. I met with park rangers and learned about restoration projects on the park’s waterways. As I stood on the banks of the famous Cuyahoga River, I had a hard time imagining that this beautiful river–now a centerpiece of a national park–was once one of the most polluted rivers in the nation, so much so that fish could not live along the stretch that is now in the park.

In 1969, just a few years before the Clean Water Act was passed, pollution on the river caught fire, as it had several times before. It was a wake-up call for many Americans to think about how we are using our rivers, streams, and lakes. Should we be dumping toxic industrial waste and oil-soaked debris into the same rivers and lakes that supply our drinking water?

Fortunately, we have come a long way from the days of burning rivers, and that’s something to celebrate!

When the Clean Water Act passed 40 years ago, less than a third of our nation’s waterways met water quality standards. Today more than two-thirds meet those standards. While we are greatly improved from where we were, there are many waterways around the country where pollution and toxins are so high that it is unsafe to swim or fish and drinking water standards are not met.

On the Cuyahoga today, one can find more than 40 fish species up and down the same stretch of river that had none 40 years ago. Thanks to the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, there is a restoration project in Cuyahoga Valley National Park to reconnect Stanford Run tributary to the Cuyahoga River, which will improve Lake Erie water quality and provide additional fish and wildlife habitat. The river is returning. However, park managers still discourage canoeing, swimming, and wading in the river because of sewage and pathogens. We aren’t there yet. 

Unfortunately, there are times at other national parks when visitors are restricted from using the waterways. There have been times when park rangers at the Upper Delaware Scenic and Recreational River and within Delaware Water Gap National Recreation Area have limited public access due to rises in fecal coliform levels. At the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area, there has been a recreational water contact advisory for boating, swimming, and fishing due to a sewage treatment plant failure. There have been fish advisories for mercury levels at Cape Cod National Seashore.

These national parks are some of the most highly protected and cherished places in our country. If they don’t meet the standards, one can only imagine what it is like for waterways that have been neglected.

Protecting the quality of water that flows through and surrounds national parks is a responsibility that lies beyond the jurisdiction of the National Park Service and rests with the states and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). There is ongoing litigation between several states and EPA about how the Clean Water Act is being executed, and a lack of clarity about which waters are protected under the Clean Water Act due to Supreme Court decisions. These judicial uncertainties are leaving many waterways and wetlands exposed to pollution and degradation.

Our current Congress has acted against clean water more so than any other in history. There have been more than two dozen votes on separate amendments or bills to gut Clean Water Act protections, derail ongoing clean-up and restoration efforts, or add industry-specific loopholes to bedrock environmental laws. There have been nearly a dozen bills introduced to limit the administration’s authority to protect and restore our nation’s Great Waters and several amendments to appropriations bills to eliminate clean water funding.

Through NPCA’s leadership in the America’s Great Waters Coalition, we work to ensure that the protection and restoration of our nation’s waterways are viewed as a national priority. Without the safeguards provided by the Clean Water Act, our Great Waters, such as the Chesapeake Bay, Great Lakes, and Everglades, and the national parks that they support, will deteriorate, and our restoration efforts will be unsuccessful. 

As we celebrate today’s anniversary, we reflect back on how much progress has been made to clean up our waterways from the days of burning rivers. This progress must continue and not stall or reverse. Poll after poll ranks clean water at the top of Americans’ environmental concerns. We must remind our decision-makers that clean water is vital for our health, livelihoods, and economic prosperity. Hopefully, with another decade of strong support and protections we can celebrate the 50th anniversary with swimming and fishing in even more waterways in our parks and around our country.

For more information about how NPCA is working to improve the quality of our Great Waters, visit www.npca.org/greatwaters.

Many people think of scenic mountain vistas, sprawling canyons, thundering waterfalls, and towering timber when they think about the spectacular natural features protected by our National Park System. But 85 national park units also harbor spectacular scenery along and under the surface of wide-open oceans and Great Lakes.

Park staff manages the coral reefs, kelp forests, glaciers, estuaries, beaches, wetlands, historic forts, and shipwrecks in these 85 units with the assistance of the National Park Service’s Ocean and Coastal Resources Branch in the Water Resources Division. NPCA’s Great Waters Program works on the organization’s regional efforts to protect critical bodies of water and other resources in a number of these parks around the country. NPCA was also instrumental in the establishment of Fort Monroe National Monument, the system’s newest coastal addition (November 2011), and continues to work to protect additional shoreline in the Chesapeake Bay area.

-Dr. Gail Dethloff, Director, Center for Park Research

*Source: Shoreline Length and Water Area in the Ocean, Coastal and Great Lakes Parks, March 2011 (PDF, 2.5 MB)

But threats to the health of the Great Lakes and to the 13 national parks in the watershed abound. The National Park Service battles invasive species, falling water levels, eroding shorelines, and contaminated tributary lakes and rivers, while using ever-shrinking budgets to combat these threats. A few years ago, however, an important federal funding source was established to restore the Great Lakes and improve water quality to the more than 30 million Americans that depend on the lakes for their drinking water–the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, or GLRI.

The GLRI provides about $300 million each year to many projects in cities, rivers, and harbors around the lakes. It provides the National Park Service with critical annual funding to respond to ecosystem needs in eight of our Great Lakes parks, with more than $18 million of GLRI funding currently allocated to restoration projects. And we are seeing great results.

NPCA has put together a compelling list of successful GLRI-funded projects at our Great Lakes national parks. A Sound Investment: Restoring the Great Lakes in our National Parks provides a look at six projects currently underway. Check out the Park Service’s award-winning film series, Little Things, Big Problems, funded by GLRI dollars. The films discuss the dangers of invasive species like zebra mussels and the Round Goby, how they’re impacting our Great Lakes, and how the public can help stem the spread of these invaders.

A great example of GLRI funding in action is the “Reconnecting Waterways” project at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, which has created jobs for land surveyors, hydrologists, and soil scientists and has engaged hundreds of volunteers, including a group of college students helping out with assistance from NPCA. So far, nearly 55 acres of wetlands have been restored and native water birds such as coots, kingfishers, and green herons have returned to the national lakeshore after being gone from the park for more than 100 years.

At a time when the Park Service budget faces additional cuts, which can lead to smaller workforces and less ability to protect the water and wildlife in our Great Lakes national parks, the GLRI has provided much-needed jobs for the Park Service and local communities. If we cut funding for the GLRI now, it will only be more costly in the long run. Tell your elected officials to support the GLRI because it protects our national parks. Let’s tell the presidential candidates how important our Great Lakes national parks are.

-Lynn McClure, Director of NPCA’s Midwest Regional Office

Learn More

Watch this seven-minute video by the National Park Service on the importance of removing invasives at Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore–one of the projects funded by GLRI.

The National Park Service manages 72 miles of the river known as the Mississippi National River and Recreation Area, which cuts through the Twin Cities down to Hastings, Minnesota. The Park Service teamed up with the Friends of the Mississippi River and released today the State of the River Report, which examines the status and trends of 13 key indicators of the river’s health and water quality, as well as the river’s viability for recreation, fish, and wildlife. The goal of this report is to document the current state of the river and identify key strategies that have been effective at improving its health and water quality so that we can continue to make progress going forward. The report is accompanied by two guides that identify actions individuals and policymakers can take to continue to make improvements to the river. Major findings include:

• Elevated levels of mercury and other elements have compromised the healthfulness of fish caught in the river.
• Excessive bacteria have impaired some sections of the river.
• More water is flowing into the river than before, bringing pollution and destabilizing the watershed.
• Invasive populations of Asian carp continue to spread and threaten native aquatic life.

Not all the findings are negative. Bald eagles, mussels, and fish are thriving, for example, indicating that river restoration has had a positive impact on some wildlife. To read the full report, visit the new State of the River website.

-Christine Goepfert, NPCA’s Upper Midwest Program Manager

Did you know that August is National Water Quality Month? It makes a lot of sense to draw attention to the importance of having clean water during a month when people are enjoying rivers, lakes, and oceans across the country. 

Waterways in and around national parks provide some of the best recreational opportunities –whether you’re boating on Lake Powell at Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, viewing the sandstone cliffs at Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore, snorkeling at Biscayne National Park, or fishing the Gibbon River in Yellowstone National Park.   

Unfortunately, 207 of our 397 national parks–52 percent–have waterways that are considered “impaired” under the Clean Water Act, meaning they do not meet appropriate water quality standards. The most common reasons why they fail to meet the standards include high levels of pathogens, mercury, heavy metals, nutrients, and sediment. For national parks, most of these pollutants are the result of activities happening beyond park boundaries, often from upstream or airborne contaminants. 

The National Park Service (NPS), in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey, monitors water quality data and keeps general information such as acres of lakes, miles of streams, and even the number of waterfalls within and adjacent to each national park. They also keep track of the health of these many bodies of water. NPS makes all of this data publicly available so you can learn more about their efforts at http://nature.nps.gov/water/. You can also delve into the details on the different kinds of waterways in and around your favorite parks, including how much of this water is degraded or impaired by looking up the details at http://nature.nps.gov/water/HIS/index.cfm. 

Fortunately, identifying a waterway as impaired allows states to start more proactive pollution reduction measures, helping to reverse the damage. For example, the state of Florida is working on a plan that will store and treat water for longer periods before it flows south to Everglades National Park from Lake Okeechobee, thereby reducing the amount of phosphorus and other pollutants that enter the park from upstream agricultural areas.

NPCA works to protect and restore the waterways in and around national parks because healthy parks depend on healthy waters. As we celebrate National Water Quality Month, rest assured that as you are enjoying these late summer days on a national park waterway that NPCA is working across the country to ensure that the rivers, lakes, and oceans are in the best conditions possible. 

Join us in celebrating National Water Quality Month by taking action:

• Take steps toward cleaning up waterways in your community and conserving water in your home. The J.M. Smucker Company and its Adams, Laura Scudder’s and Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter brands are working with NPCA to encourage actions such as picking up litter along the waterline on your next hike at a park.  Just tell us how you’ll make a natural difference when you visit Make a Natural Difference online and they’ll donate $1* to NPCA.
• Get updates on water quality news and other issues affecting national parks, including ways you can take action to make a difference, by joining our online community at www.npca.org/join.
• Learn more about NPCA’s Great Waters program, visit www.npca.org/greatwaters.

*The J.M. Smucker Company and its Adams, Laura Scudder’s and Smucker’s Natural Peanut Butter brands have made a combined donation of $100,000 to the NPCA, and will make a combined additional donation of up to $100,000 through April 30, 2013.

If you liked this story, you might also like:

• Focus on Water: New GeoStory Highlights Park Champions (June 20, 2012)
• Three Endangered Rivers, Countless Memories: Saving Our Nation’s Great Waters (May 23, 2012)
• Focus on Water: Protecting Our Rivers and Streams Where We Live (March 15, 2012)

In celebration of summer, we invite you to get to know 12 park champions who are restoring, conserving, and educating others about our national waters and our national parks. The stories that they tell demonstrate the range of threats to national park waters and the inspiring diversity of action that people are taking to protect and preserve our national treasures for future generations. 

The health of our national parks is directly linked to the health of the waters that surround and flow through them. From Sleeping Bear Dunes to Canyonlands, Everglades to Olympic, water is central to features, wildlife, recreation, and aesthetics and is fundamental to visitor enjoyment. 

However, beyond national park boundaries, the health of these waters is being jeopardized by urban development, degraded water quality, invasive species, altered water flows, climate change, and loss of habitat. Fortunately, these individuals are dedicated to ensuring that our Great Waters and surrounding national parks remain America’s treasures.

In partnership with National Geographic, we showcase these stories in a GeoStory—an interactive platform that combines maps with stories and photos so that viewers can visually explore places and issues. You can zoom in the map and see nearby national parks.

Explore the GeoStory here: http://www.npca.org/protecting-our-parks/air-land-water/great-waters/geostory.html

-Sarah Gaines Barmeyer, Great Waters Program Manager

American Rivers recently released its annual list of America’s Most Endangered Rivers. Although its methodology is imprecise, the report highlights real and serious threats the rivers could face this year that would change their fate for years to come.

The top three rivers hold special significance to me personally, and to the national parks that surround them.

The Potomac River

According to American Rivers, the most-endangered river in America is the Potomac River, which runs through Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C.—“the nation’s river.” As a D.C. resident, I am one of the millions who depend on this river for drinking water. I also enjoy the recreational opportunities that it provides, such as hiking and biking the Chesapeake & Ohio Canal National Historic Park, which runs alongside the Potomac for 184 miles. And in my opinion, the best view of the Lincoln Memorial is from the Potomac, with the Washington Monument standing tall behind it.

The Potomac suffers from urban and agricultural pollution that will only get worse if Congress weakens the Clean Water Act. Since the start of this Congress, there have been more than 25 votes on separate amendments or bills to gut Clean Water Act protections, to derail ongoing clean-up and restoration efforts, or to add loopholes to bedrock environmental laws. Nearly a dozen bills to limit the administration’s authority to protect and restore our waterways have been introduced in the last five months. If stream and wetland protections are reversed, it is estimated that 10,000 miles of Potomac streams and wetlands will be in danger.

The Green River

American Rivers’ report named the Green River in Utah the country’s second-most endangered river. The Green River flows through Dinosaur National Monument and Canyonlands National Park. One of my most unforgettable national park experiences was canoeing a 52-mile stretch of the Green River, as it meandered through Canyonlands just above its confluence with the Colorado River. For four days, my husband and I embarked on this adventure through Stillwater Canyon in near-solitude, stopping occasionally for hikes to see ancient Puebloan ruins and slot canyons. One day we hiked from the river, out of the canyon, and into the Maze—the most remote district of Canyonlands. With limited water and daylight, we could only get so far before having to turn around and head back to the Green River. However, we promised each other we would return and experience this red rock wilderness properly, which we would likely access from the Green River again.

The Green River faces threats from the proposed 500-mile Flaming Gorge Pipeline, which would divert more than 250,000 acre feet of water from the Green River annually to the Front Range of Colorado.  This diversion would reduce water flow in a region that is already suffering from water shortages and high demands. It would also reduce water levels at Dinosaur and Canyonlands and impact the recreation and tourism economy, rural agriculture, native species, and downstream water use.

The Chattahoochee River

American Rivers named the Chattahoochee River in Georgia the third-most endangered river. It begins in the Blue Ridge Mountains and flows south through Atlanta and rural landscapes towards Florida. I lived in Atlanta for several years, where I relied on “the Hooch” for drinking water and recreational experiences, and worked to implement sustainable water management policies in Georgia. On days when I needed to escape the city, the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area was the place to go to float downstream, hike and bike the many trails, or fly fish for trout.

The Chattahoochee River has been at the center of a “tri-state water war” between Georgia, Alabama, and Florida for more than 20 years. Rapid population growth combined with extreme droughts has put a strain on the Chattahoochee and its dependent communities. New proposals for dams upstream and downstream of Atlanta and a lack of serious commitment to water conservation only exacerbate the problems. Studies estimate that 5 million gallons of water will evaporate each day from the river if these dams move forward.

Thankfully, there is still time to inspire leaders to make decisions that will result in positive outcomes for the rivers and the people and parks that depend on them. I plan to take action so that my family and I can continue to enjoy these memorable experiences, and so future generations can as well. I encourage you to do the same.

To find out more about these and other endangered rivers, and to take action to help make a difference, visit the American Rivers website.

To learn more about NPCA’s work to protect endangered rivers and other vital waterways, visit our Great Waters program.