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Pitch in for National River Cleanup Week!
 Every person in America lives within one mile of a river or stream. Imagine if everyone pitched in to keep their local waterway litter-free. Now here's your chance!
American Rivers invites you to take part in our new program, National River Cleanup Week. This annual event, started 14 years ago, coordinates volunteers across the country in removing trash from their local rivers and streams. Please join us for next year’s National River Cleanup Week (June 2-10, 2007). Find out how it easy it is to participate in a cleanup near you or, better yet, organize your own -- visit http://www.nationalrivercleanup.org/ today.
A word from David Brown about NRCW
 Last month, the National River Cleanup Week event changed hands, from America Outdoors to American Rivers. Here David Brown, executive director of America Outdoors and former American Rivers board member, reflects on the importance of cleaning up our rivers.
“I’d worked on river issues for a few years, when I noticed an 'Adopt-A-Highway' sign and thought there should be a similar event for rivers. Out of this, National River Cleanup Week evolved, and the event just really took off…
National River Cleanup Week is a statement, a call to action. Participants find shopping carts, batteries, tires and I can’t even mention some of the other items. When you find a leaking battery in your river -- your source of drinking water -- it makes you think twice. This event does more than just remove trash from rivers, it educates communities about the problems their rivers and streams face.
America Outdoors felt that it was time to take the event to the next level, and American Rivers is perfectly positioned to do just that.”
See our press release on National River Cleanup Week.
 Ripple Effect: River News from Around the Country
Good news for rivers is pouring in from around the country. Check out American Rivers’ most recent accomplishments:
Our Pick: All the Way to the Ocean
 Where does litter tossed out on the street end up? Join James and Issac as they learn that what is thrown in a storm drain ends up in their river. This book, written by Joel Harper and illustrated by Marq Spusta, is ideal for younger readers. It shows how each person, even little ones, can help prevent pollution in our rivers and oceans.
Buy this great holiday gift now!
Photo Contest: Healthy Rivers, Healthy Communities
 For some, a favorite river memory involves swimming, camping out, or rafting down a wild river; others fondly recall strolling along, exploring, or taking a refreshing dip in their hometown stream. Fortunately, many of these memories are captured in photos. Why not show us the rivers you love and the river memories you cherish by entering our online photo contest?
Finalists in three categories Best River Photo, Best Photo of People and Rivers, and Best Wild & Scenic River Photo will be featured as eCards on our website to share with family, friends and co-workers. And the grand prize photo in each category will be featured in upcoming American Rivers’ publications. Submit your favorite river photo(s) now.
American Rivers' Notable Folks
Liz Birnbaum Represents Healthy Rivers on Water Conservation Board
 When it comes to river conservation, every drop of water counts. With this in mind, S. Elizabeth Birnbaum, vice president for Government Affairs, accepted an appointment to the board of the Alliance for Water Efficiency, a national partnership spearheaded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) with help from the California Urban Water Conservation Council.
Modeled after national organizations that already exist for energy solutions, the alliance will be a clearinghouse and advocate for water efficiency research, evaluation and education. Birnbaum is the lead conservation appointee, working in collaboration with water suppliers, appliance manufacturers, building developers and others to pull together solutions that can be applied to a wide range of water efficiency problems nationwide.
Elijah Mermin Speaks Out for His Hometown River
 Once upon a time, the Anacostia was an urban jewel flowing from Maryland into the District of Columbia. Children learned to swim in the river, and spent long summer days catching tadpoles, minnow and crawfish. Now in the lower reaches of the river, one is more likely to haul in a tire or fast food wrapper than a fish.
American Rivers staffer Elijah Mermin recently collaborated on the article, "Upstream Pollution: A Downstream Dilemma," which explores the causes and solutions to the some 70,000 tons of trash, sediment and toxic pollution that washes into the Anacostia River each year. The article touts low-impact development and natural stormwater management and the need for communities to work together to protect and restore their shared rivers.
Read the article here. (PDF -- 15MB)
Give the Gift of Rivers this Holiday Season!
 Just before Thanksgiving, we launched our effort to raise $40,000 in 40 days to support our ambitious 40 new river designations by the 40th anniversary of The National Wild and Scenic Rivers Act in 2008.
We’re off to a good start, but the holiday season is fast approaching, so please consider making your end-of-year contribution in the name of Wild & Scenic Rivers. Make your tax-deductible contribution today!
Why Google when you can Goodsearch?
Do you Google? Of course you do -- like pretty much the rest of the world. Google is a great search engine, but what if American Rivers could make money every time we -- or our supporters -- did a search? Now we can!
Go to http://www.goodsearch.com/ (Yahoo! search engine), select American Rivers as your charity of choice, and begin searching. It’s that easy -- and you can even keep count of how much money we raise.
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