Adopt a River
Taking care of our Columbia Basin Rivers: little ways to make a big difference
"We do not own the earth; we are its caretakers. We have a responsibility towards it. There was a time when we were so few that the earth could absorb and correct almost any mistake we made. But no more. Our power and influence is too great now. If we refuse to take care of the earth, or do a shoddy job of it, the effects of our mistakes will eventually come back to haunt us."
- Tom Brown Jr. from his fieldguide "Living with the Earth"
Taking care of the Columbia:
The first caretakers of the Columbia River were the ancestors of the people who today belong to the tribes of Chinook, Nez Perce, Spokane, Celilo-Wyam, Wanapum, Wenatchee Band and the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, Umatilla, Yakima, and Colville to name a few. European, Asian, and African Americans populated the Columbia Basin region in the 1800's, and near the turn of the century commercial fishers caught as much as 43 million pounds of Columbia River salmon and steelhead a year. Today the catch at best is around one to two million pounds; the massive decline has been attributed to a combination of mismanaged events commonly referred to as the 5 H's: over-Harvest, Habitat loss & pollution, Hydropower dams & fish passage, Hatcheries & fish diseases, and waste from the Hanford Nuclear Site. You can help restore a clean, healthy river with abundant salmon runs by taking care of your stretch of adopted river and strengthening a network of caretakers from the Canadian headwaters all the way to the Pacific Ocean.
Adopting a river is simply a one-year commitment to:
- Check up on your adopted site at least once a season (4 x a year), and send us quarterly habitat assessments to document changes in wildlife, plants, and land-use at your site.
- Pick-up trash at least twice a year - if the amount of trash is overwhelming call us to help organize a community clean-up!
- Consider additional caretaking options at your own pace including:
To get started choose your favorite section of river as big or small as you'd like on the Columbia or a tributary; if somebody has already adopted your preferred site we'll team you up. Read this welcome letter and send us a volunteer interest form and adoption waiver , and we'll help match you with a site and send you an adoption certificate and caretaking packet. Please contact lorri@columbiariverkeeper.org, 541-399-0769 with any questions.
Columbia Riverkeeper is proud to be coordinating the Adopt-a-River program with SOLV’s Oregon Adopt-a-River program (www.solv.org), and Portland State University’s Invasive Species Watchdog program (http://www.clr.pdx.edu/volunteer.php).
To view a map of adopted sites:
Adopted sites will be periodically updated on an online map called Google Earth. First download Google Earth's free program at http://earth.google.com/download-earth.html.
Once in Google Earth, select "Network Link" from the "Add" menu drop box. In the "Network Link" window choose your own name for the network link, and paste this link http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=pyjbW0Zj0izVHN4XUHlV3fg&single=true&gid=2&range=A1&output=txt into "Link Field", and click "OK". Have fun exploring people’s sites and reading all about them!
Columbia Riverkeeper's Support for Adopt-a-River Coordinators includes:
- Emergency assistance: If you ever see a large oil or toxic spill call 911! Never touch unidentified barrels or spills; back away immediately and call 911 for help! Document the date, time, place, what it looks like to you and take photo’s – ask the authorities what response they will take if any and then please let Columbia Riverkeeper know what’s going on. Use this pollution response form to guide you.
- Resource Guides: Learn about watershed health, the Columbia River Basin and major river threats to watch out for and possible actions to take. Adopt-a-River Guidebook - (en español ).
- Quarterly Habitat Assessment Guide: Use this form to help guide your seasonal site visits. Be sure to keep a copy for yourself and send one electronically or snail mail to Columbia Riverkeeper. Quarterly Habitat Assessment (Kid-friendly version )
- Wildlife and Plant Species Guides: The better you know your local plant and wildlife species, the better you'll be able to recognize changes at your site. We recommend bringing your favorite guidebooks out with you and committing to learn at least one new thing about your adopted site each visit. Take these basic field guides with you to help identify common trees, flowers and shrubs, animal tracks, birds, nuisance species, and invertebrates (insects). Some of our favorite fieldguides are listed below or consider a field course with Wilderness Awareness School or EarthWalk Northwest in Washington, Trackers NW in Portland, or a naturalist hike with CRK, Audubon or Friends of the Gorge.
- Tracking: "Animal Tracking Basics", Jon Young and Tiffany Morgan. "Peterson's Field guide to Animal Tracks, 3rd Ed.", Olaus Murie and Mark Elbroch. "Mammals Tracks and Sign", Mark Elbroch. "Tom Brown's Field Guide to Nature Observation and Tracking", Tom Brown Jr.
- Wildlife: "Peterson's Field guide to Mammals", 4th Ed, Fiona Reid. "Northwest Arid Lands", O'Conner and Wieda. "A Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of North America" by J. Reese Voshell "Field Guide to the Pacific Northwest" by National Audubon Society,"Birdsongs of the Pacific Northwest" by Stephen R. Whitney and Elizabeth Briars Hart, "The Forgotten Wilderness" by Tom Brown Jr.
- Plants: "Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast" by Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon, "Wild edible and medicinal plants" by Tom Brown Jr.
- Schools: Adopt-a-River is a great way for classrooms to learn about river ecology and improve local habitat. CRK staff works with supportive teachers to introduce adopt-a-river and demonstrate water quality monitoring in the classroom and field. CRK has worked with over 1,000 students since 2006 at Klarhre House School, Mosier School, Hood River Valley High School, Lyle High School, H.B. Lee Middle School, Joseph Meek Professional School, Vancouver Vocational Skills Center, Columbia Gorge Community College, and Lower Columbia College, Corbett Middle School, Kennewick High School, Mt. Hood Community College, and Wenatchee Valley College.
- Ongoing Project Support: Call CRK for technical assistance and project support. SOLV will provide trash clean-up supplies (bags, gloves, safety gear) as well as small grant assistance of up to $100 a year to supplement ground project expenses on the Oregon side of the river.
- Water Quality Monitoring: If you'd like to gather water quality data at your site you may sign up for a CRK training to become certified to use our YSI meters to monitor temperature, conductivity, pH, dissolved oxygen, and turbidity. We can also monitor e coli in the Gorge/Portland areas.
- Invasive Zebra Mussel Monitoring: Portland State University provides volunteers with a PVC pipe to monitor monthly for mussel colonization. If you see zebra striped mussels call the invasive species hotline IMMEDIATELY! 1-866-INVADER Portland State University http://www.clr.pdx.edu/volunteer_resource.html
- Maps: To see aerial photos of your site download Google Earth for free. Google Earth: http://earth.google.com /download-earth.html.
Contact Lorri Eberle with any questions:
Water Quality Volunteer Coordinator
Columbia Riverkeeper
541-399-0769
