Tualatin Riverkeepers is the organization dedicated to advocating for water quality, ecosystem sustainability, and the overall health of the Tualatin River watershed. While advocating for policies and legislation that prioritize environmental concerns, we strive to include livability, affordability, and sustainability in all that we do so that we can create collaborative, community-based solutions that are implementable for everyone.
Tualatin Riverkeepers is part of a global advocacy network, known as the Waterkeeper Alliance, which connects us to more than 350 waterkeepers across the world. The names of these organizations - Riverkeeper, Soundkeeper, Baykeeper - are often chosen to reflect the main body of water they protect. Our founders chose to pluralize our organization name because we believe everyone is a riverkeeper and that we all have a responsibility to protect our watersheds. Most Waterkeeper Alliance organizations have a riverkeeper on staff, often an individual with formal legal training, to lead its advocacy efforts. At Tualatin Riverkeepers, our Advocacy and Policy Manager serves in this role, leading our efforts in consultation with our Watershed Watch Committee.
Tualatin Riverkeepers works to ensure that urban impacts to water quality, such as urban stormwater, are minimized and avoided whenever possible. We address these impacts by being involved in regulatory processes at all levels of government. We advocate for responsible development, productive environmental retro-fitting, and inclusion of environmental justice in all development planning practices. At all stages, we build awareness around choices that individuals can make that impact water quality and water quantity. We also work to advocate for connected urban parks and natural areas, protecting local, equitable access to nature and the river.
The Tualatin River watershed roughly follows the boundaries of Washington County. This includes a significant amount of agricultural land and much of the Coast Range, the headwaters of the Tualatin River. In rural regions of our watershed, we work to ensure that land use protects both water quality and water quantity. We advocate for environmentally-conscious practices in forestry and agricultural practices, and we serve as a stakeholder in discussions around rural land use practices in the Tualatin River watershed. We also advocate for healthy habitat and land conservation, while using our seat at the table to push for more diverse representation from our wide variety of stakeholders in our community.
An introduction to the Clean Water Act.
A detailed guide to how community members can protect wetlands.
Tualatin River watershed maps.
Westside regional water providers.
Our letter to Governor Kotek opposing UGB expansion under SB 4.
