The River Exchange

The mission of the River Exchange is promoting healthy watersheds through community involvement in stewardship, restoration, and education. The River Exchange was established in 1996 as a project of the City of Dunsmuir, in the aftermath of the disastrous Cantara Loop railroad spill that destroyed all plant and animal life along a 36-mile stretch of the Upper Sacramento River. We provide a base for the exchange of information and ideas about river stewardship and education. The River Exchange has come to be recognized as a community leader, organizing dozens of events around watershed stewardship, participating in restoration projects throughout the region, and developing partnerships with federal, state, and local agencies, as well as other non-profits, Native American tribes, business groups, and private landowner to promote sustainable use and management of our natural resources. Across all of our work, we strive to facilitate truly collaborative processes grounded in cooperation among diverse stakeholders and building towards common-interest-based solutions for watershed health and stewardship. Our specific efforts include spring and creek restoration projects, river clean-ups, trail creation, the Sustainable Watershed Series, watershed assessments and management strategy development, and most recently, regional watershed planning. We have also taught thousands of schoolchildren about the importance of rivers, and how to be good stewards of their watersheds.