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American Rivers
Formation	March 1973; 51 years ago
Founded at	Denver, Colorado
Type	Nonprofit
Legal status	501(c)(3)
Purpose	River protection and restoration
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Website	americanrivers.org

American Rivers is a nonprofit environmental advocacy organization focused on protecting and promoting the health of rivers in the United States. Established in 1973, the group is currently headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Activities

River restoration

American Rivers advocates for the restoration of rivers and streams that have been damaged by human activity. Primarily, this involves dam removal, culvert replacement, and floodplain restoration. The organization claims to have been directly involved in over 200 dam removals,^[3] providing funding in some cases.^[4] American Rivers also maintains a public database of all known dam removals in the United States since 1912,^[5] and publishes reports on the state of dam removal in the country.^[6]

America's Most Endangered Rivers

Each year since 1984, American Rivers has published a list of "America's Most Endangered Rivers". Three criteria are given for inclusion on the list:^[7]

The river is of regional or national significance to people and wildlife.
The river and communities that depend on it are under significant threat.
The river will face a major decision in the coming year that the public can help influence.

River of the Year

In 2019 American Rivers announced its first "River of the Year". The designation recognizes historically degraded rivers that have made significant progress toward recovery.

Year	River	Rationale
2024	Klamath River	The removal of the four dams on the lower Klamath following decades of activism by the Un-Dam the Klamath movement.^[8]
2022	Neuse River	Decades of pollution mitigation assisted by the Clean Water Act, commemorating its 50th anniversary.^[9]
2020	Delaware River	75 years of progress in reducing pollution and restoring wildlife.^[10]
2019	Cuyahoga River	50 years of progress in restoring the Cuyahoga since it caught fire in 1969.^[11]

National River Cleanup

Started in 1991, the National River Cleanup program promotes volunteer litter cleanup events.^[12]^[13] As of 2023^[update], American Rivers is a partner of National CleanUp Day.^[14]