TRUCKEE RIVER WATERSHED COUNCIL

How we started out: Back in the 70s and 80s, the Truckee River region was threatened. Species of fish had disappeared. Essential invertebrates were dwindling. Entire meadows were drying up. Much of this was traced to 150 years of human impact—from mining, grazing, clear cutting, rail and highway expansion and real estate development. By 1991 the EPA* gave the Truckee River this rating: “polluted”. This shocking assessment was enough to rally a disparate but determined group of influencers: a botanist, a national forest fishery biologist, and a Truckee local living in a cabin his grandfather built. Together, in October 1996, they promoted and organized the first annual Truckee River Day. Three hundred volunteers showed up to complete ten stream, meadow and wetland restoration projects. After more than two decades, the event is still going strong, with more than 400 volunteers every year. Today: Today, Truckee River Day is just one piece of our work. We now spearhead multiple large-scale restoration projects, and assessment and prevention efforts. From managing million-dollar restoration projects to monitoring microscopic macroinvertbrate, our work is multi-faceted and far-reaching. Over the last 20 years we’ve managed more than 50 large-scale projects. We’ve improved 348 public and private green spaces. And mobilized over 472,000 gumboot-wearing volunteers, while raising $11.5 million in funding. It’s what we do—it’s our nature.

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