2014

  • Founded first-ever Waterkeeper chapter for the Snake River and its tributaries as a 501(c)(3) organization
  • Established founding Board of Directors, with 100% Board member participation as donors in first year
  • Launched website and Facebook page with newsfeed, action alerts, pollution reporter, & volunteer events
  • Initiated “Snake Eyes” Riverwatch program, with over 25 commitments by river guides, and outfitters to monitor, steward, and report to SRW on discrete stretches of the Snake, Clearwater, and Salmon rivers
  • Intervened in 7 federal proposals via scoping comments, objections, rule-makings, and letters to Congress
  • Hosted over 100 attendees at Jackson, WY screening Patagonia’s groundbreaking film “DamNation”
  • Coordinated and executed Basin-wide “Adopt-a-Stream” cleanup program, commencing with nearly 100 volunteers participating in fall trash sweep of rivers near Boise, Idaho Falls, Pocatello, and Jackson

2015

  • Expanded “Adopt-a-Stream” river cleanup event to 10 sites and SWIM Guide to over 100 sites in 4 states
  • Purchased and operated patrol vessel to confront polluters on Snake, Salmon, and Clearwater rivers
  • Confronted illegal suction dredge mining at ESA-listed spawning grounds on South Fork Clearwater River, then assisted EPA Region 10 in building multiple enforcement cases and issuing violation notices
  • Monitored water quality for temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, salinity, and total dissolved solids while patrolling local waterways and investigating pollution reports at more than 30 sites in Basin
  • Co-hosted 1st annual “Free the Snake Flotilla” in Clarkston, WA – over 100 attendees gathered on the water to demonstrate for dam removal to protect the Snake River’s dwindling salmon and steelhead runs

2016

  • Initiated EPA investigations and enforcement actions against polluters directly discharging to Snake River
  • Sent notice letter prompting substantial redesign of rural Washington municipality’s sewage infrastructure and Wastewater Treatment Plant after uncovering more than 100 Clean Water Act violations in 2 years
  • Settled challenge to EPA’s Municipal Stormwater General Permit in 2nd Circuit, banning use of toxic coal tar sealant in roads and vastly strengthening tiered corrective action requirements and violator penalties.
  • Co-hosted 2nd annual “Free the Snake Flotilla” – with over 350 attendees demonstrating for dam removal
  • Joined case challenging Clean Water Act Rule’s jurisdictional definition of “Waters of the United States”

2017

  • Filed nation’s first lawsuit against EPA Director Scott Pruitt for failure to establish temperature TMDL on Lower Snake River to protect critically endangered sockeye from high spawning run mortality levels
  • Hosted celebration and fundraiser at Meriwether Cider Company, with live music and over 200 attendees
  • Pushed forward in case challenging Clean Water Act Rule’s jurisdictional definition of “Waters of the United States” to the Circuit Court of Appeals after venue ruling by United States Supreme Court
  • Attended 3rd annual “Free the Snake Flotilla” – SRW interns joined over 400 attendees demonstrating and demanding immediate removal of the lower 4 Snake River dams for sockeye salmon persistence

2018

  • Partnered with Advocates for the West, Whole Foods Boise, and North Junior High to host cleanups that removed more than 1,500 pounds of trash from streams and rivers across the Snake River’s full length.
  • Negotiated settlement with Garfield, WA, drastically reducing Clean Water Act permit violations, fixing infiltration and inflow issues, and improving operations and maintenance of wastewater treatment facility 
  • Won federal court victory protecting endangered salmon from mortality by high water temperatures
  • Monitored water quality for physical and chemical indicator parameters at sites across the Basin and hosted SWIM Guide app and web-based map – with more than 94,000 visits and 9,000 app downloads

2019

  • Hosted 5th Annual Basin-wide stream cleanup event on Earth Day, with over 100 volunteers at 10 sites
  • Successfully defended TMDL ruling for salmon and steelhead on appeal at 9th Circuit Court of Appeals

    • <li<>Joined Waterkeeper Alliance and co-plaintiff waterkeepers in advocacy against Trump’s deregulatory attempt to limit “waters of the United States” eligible for federal protection under the Clean Water Act

  • Co-hosted 5th Annual “Free the Snake Flotilla”/first annual Nimiipuu River Rendezvous outside Lewiston, WA at Hells Gate State Park, with over 100 vessels and 250 attendees rallying for dam removal

2020

  • Hosted summerlong, social-distanced river cleanup by members, staff and interns during pandemic
  • Sampled water to provide safety updates from Memorial Day – Labor Day for 28 public access areas
  • Maintained SWIM Guide app and all Snake Region sites, which averaged more than 1,000 clicks each
  • Filed Complaint in the federal district court for the North District of California challenging Trump EPA’s attempt to exclude wetlands and headwaters from Clean Water Act coverage
  • Sent 60-Day Notice of Intent to Sue Idaho Department of Fish & Game’s Mackay Fish Hatchery
  • Filed Complaint against Army Corps of Engineers for unpermitted oil discharges through Dworshak Dam
  • Appealed Idaho’s newly-promulgated General CAFO Permit Rule to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals
  • Sued North Idaho Correctional Institute for hundreds of Clean Water Act violations due to discharges in a Clearwater River tributary exceeding pollution permit limits as well as egregious reporting violations