The mission of the Pacific Rivers Council (PRC) is “to protect and restore rivers, their watersheds and the native species that depend on them. We do this for the benefits that healthy watersheds provide to present and future generations – and for the intrinsic virtues of rivers themselves.” PRC identifies, prioritizes and advocates for the protection and restoration of the best remaining freshwater ecosystems to ensure their resilience in the face of current and future threats, such as population growth and climate change. Our goal is to permanently protect and restore the rivers and watersheds most critical to preserving our freshwater heritage.
For two decades PRC has worked to bring attention to the rapid degradation of our nation’s freshwater ecosystems and to help implement solutions to reverse the declines. PRC’s first notable achievement was the landmark 1988 Oregon Omnibus National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act, which remains the largest river protection legislation in the nation’s history.
PRC is unique among conservation groups in its adherence to a whole watershed approach to river and aquatic species conservation. At the heart of our work is the basic principal of “protect the best, restore the rest”, emphasizing the need for systematic protection of high quality habitat to anchor the recovery of degraded areas. This premise was first articulated in our 1993 book, Entering the Watershed. For over 15 years our highly acclaimed stream restoration project on Knowles Creek in Oregon has confirmed our restoration strategy on the ground. Knowles Creek is part of the Siuslaw River Basin Restoration Partnership which won the prestigious Thiess Riverprize in 2005.
