This year marks a milestone in river and watershed conservation for the Pacific Rivers Council. Two decades after its inception, PRC’s mission remains vital to the region: to protect and restore rivers, their watersheds and native aquatic species.

Founded as the Oregon Rivers Council in 1987, the group added 40 Oregon rivers to the National Wild and Scenic River system by passing the largest river protection act in history. During the development of the Northwest Forest Plan in the early nineties, the newly-named Pacific Rivers Council played a major role in the adoption of an Aquatic Conservation Strategy to protect and restore native fish and their habitat throughout the region. PRC’s focus on the science of freshwater ecosystems remains a unique perspective in the conservation community and bridges the gap between science and environmental policy while promoting a whole watershed approach to aquatic conservation. The highly acclaimed Knowles Creek stream restoration project, now in its 15th year, is on-the-ground confirmation of PRC’s guiding principle of protecting high quality habitat first in order to anchor restoration efforts downstream.

In the last few years, PRC has joined with colleagues in defense of the nation’s environmental laws, and recently celebrated the reinstatement of roadless area protection. The group is currently concentrating its efforts on bringing back healthy populations of native salmon and trout, and finding ways to keep our rivers and streams clean and wild. Happy Anniversary PRC and keep up the good work!  To learn more, visit www.pacrivers.org.