Audubon Launches Multistate Rivers Advocacy Network

Audubon is taking a major step to address the threats to rivers in the arid west, launching the Western Rivers Action Network, a multistate grassroots coalition to advocate for rivers and the birds and other wildlife that depend on them.

Western rivers provide water for tens of millions of people, including twenty-two Native American tribes and the cities of Denver, Phoenix, Albuquerque and Tucson. Ninety percent of migrating birds in the region depend on these waterways for their survival. Some 80% of vertebrates spend some portion of their life cycle in riparian (streamside) areas and over 70% of Arizona’s threatened or endangered vertebrate species depend on riparian habitat.

Years of drought, invasive species, over-allocation and unsustainable management have resulted in loss of riparian habitat and significantly reduced flows. Audubon’s Western Rivers Action Network will work across the intermountain west to raise awareness of threats to rivers, promote conservation actions to increase river flow, and advocate for sensible water management policies that benefit communities and wildlife. 

Interested in being a part of the Western Rivers Action Network? There are many opportunities for volunteers! Sign up at here or contact Sarah Porter, sporter@audubon.org.

Contacts: