Follow the Water
Connecting people in Oregon, SW Washington,
Columbia River & Coastal communities
Follow the Water
Connecting people in Oregon, SW Washington, Columbia River & Coastal communities
Follow the Water is the work of the Clean Rivers Coalition, a voluntary collaborative partnership of over 60 water organizations in Oregon and Southwest Washington. We work together to bring you insights about WATER—the science, the stories, and the positive actions we can take—from diverse voices in our communities.
Stories from our Community
In this video we explore:
"Water is our first medicine. When you have nothing else - Water"
- Judy Bluehorse Skelton
Water is Life. Water is Sacred
Chapter One: Connection
Water is the reason this planet is so special and unique. Everything that lives here relies on water. Listen to personal stories about the powerful connection we have with water, our food supply, and our well-being. The purity of our water sources is crucial to this connection but recovery for our water, our health, and our environment is possible.
Water will take you where you need to go...
Are we disconnected from our water?
Chapter Two: Disconnection
Do you know where your drinking water comes from? Do you know where your rainwater goes? We have an expectation that we can turn on the tap and we know that good clean water is there but we have lost our connection to our water.
You Will Learn
"We're often disconnected from water because we don't have to go get it" - Katie Holzer
How can we live in a way that is more in tune with the land so that it can continue to provide for us?
In this video we explore
"It's one of my favorite things now to live in a city with such a strong path along the river" - Mareshah Jackson
How Can We Reconnect?
Chapter Three: Reconnection
Begin the journey to reconnect. We all take an active role with our water. Sometimes it can be beneficial, sometimes it can be detrimental but we all have an impact. In this video local members of our community share personal stories on the simple ways they were able to reconnect with our water in positive ways.
Photo from Caz Zyvatkauskas - Female deer photographed crossing Johnson Creek near Gresham Main City Park
Friends you may see on our rivers
Black-Tailed Deer
They love coniferous upland forests and will visit rivers and other water sources to drink water. They can jump high and are very good swimmers.
Did you know?
Understanding Local Place Names
Willamette, pronounced “will-AM-it,” is derived from the Kalapuyan word wallamt, which means “still water,” describing a place on the river near Oregon City. The Kalapuya were one of many tribes who lived year round or seasonally in the Willamette Valley before being removed during the reservation era. Descendants from Kalapuya and all these tribes, including Molalla, Clackamas and Chinook peoples, still maintain cultural, spritual, or harvesting ties to the area.
Willamette River, Willamette Water Trail, Willamette National Forest, Willamette Valley
For more on place names, visit - TravelOregon.com
Featured River Spot
The Willamette Falls
"Willamette Falls served as an important cultural site for Native American tribes. John McLoughlin built the Pacific Northwest’s first lumber mill here. And, in 1844, Oregon City became the first incorporated city west of the Rocky Mountains." - Willamette Falls Legacy Project
Find Out More
“Coyote came to that place [around Oregon City] and found the people there very hungry. The river was full of salmon, but they had no way to spear them in the deep water. Coyote decided he would build a big waterfall, so that the salmon would come to the surface for spearing. Then he would build a fish trap there too.” - Excerpt from the Clackamas Chinook story, "Coyote Builds Willamette Falls the Magic Fish Trap"
Follow The Water
Follow the Water is about our relationship with our water in Oregon, and Southwest Washington.
English 
Español de México 
Русский 
Tiếng Việt 
简体中文
It's Women's History Month, and we want to highlight Maritza Oropeza Kritz, a volunteer leader, educator, and ambassador for Latino Outdoors.
We love her poem "Sana Sana," which translates to "heal, heal." We couldn't help but think of the Spanish saying, "sana, sana colita de rana," which is culturally significant to Latino/a/x/e communities. Learned at an early age, the saying is a consolation that healing is on the way.
Sana Sana by Maritza Oropeza Kritz
I walk amongst the trees
Brisk breeze flowing through my hair
I look up at my ancestors
Protectors of the land
Whispers of cries
What have we done to the land?
I follow their cries to the mountains
Gazing at our beloved earth
I see her yearning of thirst
Empty forest and black clouds
On the brink of collapse
Lands bare and seas empty
Senseless wars against nature
Man’s envy has overcome his humanity
Days are numbered
As we drift closer to extinction
What have we done to the land?
Nourish our earth for she will always forgive
Our shelter of wonders
Do not destroy her innocence
Our strength in numbers can heal
The earth is our teacher
The earth is our mother
The earth is our home
Without our home, we are nothing
#WomensHistoryMonth #MesDeLaMujer ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook
Call for Submissions and Cover Artist: Vol 2 of Voices of the River - Confluence Project ... See MoreSee Less
Call for Submissions and Cover Artist: Vol 2 of Voices of the River - Confluence Project
www.confluenceproject.org
Call for Submissions and Cover Artist: Vol 2 of Voices of the River Confluence Staff January 17, 2023 Confluence is pleased to announce that we are currently accepting submissions for the second volum...Comment on Facebook
The Haystack Rock Awareness Program volunteers have been flexing their mussels to protect our sea stars 💪!
Volunteers from the Haystack Rock Awareness Program of the City of Cannon Beach have been surveying the sea star population in the wake of a wasting disease that has become common among the species in recent years. This disease is closely tied with mussel populations, as they are a primary source of prey for sea stars.
Harvesting mussels—or collecting plants or animals—from the rock and surrounding boulders of Haystack Rock is illegal and has a direct impact on its unique ecosystem. It is considered poaching.
Mussel harvesting is permitted elsewhere along Oregon’s rocky shores. The Haystack Rock Awareness Program seeks to broadcast that message, while highlighting the protected nature of Haystack Rock—one of Oregon’s seven marine gardens.
Check out the great work being done by the Haystack Rock Awareness Program and learn more about sea stars and mussels with Kelli Ennis, the director of the program: www.opb.org/article/2023/02/21/mussel-poaching-haystack-rock/ ... See MoreSee Less
Comment on Facebook