Snake River Fund Awarded Wild and Scenic Rivers Stewardship Partnership Funding

Wild and Scenic Rivers flow throughout the country. This designation helps protect some of the nation’s free-flowing rivers providing opportunities for recreation, protecting drinking water, and helping fuel local economies. However, the Wild and Scenic Rivers designation doesn’t translate into full protection; many of these rivers suffer from the same threats as other rivers including: erosion and sedimentation from overuse on local trails, invasive plant species, and trash and graffiti.

Following on the heels of the 50th anniversary of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) was looking for ways to build on some of the strong collaboration between USFS staff and local groups to engage community members in protecting and restoring these rivers. As a result, with funding from USFS, River Network was able to offer Wild and Scenic River Stewardship Partnership project funding for the first time.

To qualify, projects had to take a shared stewardship approach on rivers administered by USFS. Snake River Fund plan to use awarded funds to improve the visitor experience along a highly used path to the Snake River through trail restoration and educational signage.

“These types of shared stewardship projects between local groups and national forests are critical to fostering relationships that ensure the continued protection and enhancement of wild and scenic rivers,” said Scenic Rivers National Program Manager Steve Chesterton.

We are thrilled to work with River Network on projects that connect people and rivers and help steward places into the future.

For more information on our upcoming projects or to learn more about what the Snake River Fund does, please reach out.