HRWC 50th Logo SlugThis year HRWC celebrated our 50th anniversary with music, recreation, food and drink, and poetry. Thank you for marking this milestone with us.

For the past 50 years, we’ve been working hard to improve our watershed and we are seeing great results.  More people are enjoying the recreational opportunities that our river provides.  Their experiences are possible because of the improvements we’ve made in clean water, access, fish and bird diversity, local, state, and regional protections and laws, strong master plans, enforcement, restoration, and parks in river towns! Some of the signs of a vibrant and healthy ‘shed are the busiest canoe livery in the state, thousands of acres of protected high quality natural areas, a reputation as the cleanest urban river, active trails and trail towns, a national Water Trail designation, phosphorus reductions and a statewide phosphorus ban on residential lawn fertilizers, and some forward-thinking stormwater protection ordinances and rules.

That’s not to say our work is done.  We have a lot more to do and the HRWC board and staff have developed some guiding principles to get us there.  As our accomplishments have shown, HRWC protects and restores the river for healthy and vibrant communities.  Our vision is a future of clean and plentiful water for people and nature where citizens and government are effective and courageous champions for the Huron River and its watershed.  To achieve that, we:

  • work with a collaborative and inclusive spirit to give all partners the opportunity to become stewards;
  • generate science-based, trustworthy information for decision makers to ensure reliable supplies of clean water and resilient natural systems; and
  • passionately advocate for the health of the river and the lands around it.

So, what is next?  We will be out in the watershed monitoring our river and streams and natural areas.  We will use that information to engage stakeholders and partners in taking actions to protect and restore the watershed.  We will use that information to prioritize our outreach and education and other programs.  Finally, we will inspire others to get to the river, enjoy the river, have a new experience, love it as much as we do, and care about its future.

We also have a few key opportunities we need to seize upon:

  1. As more people engage with the river, we need to instill a river stewardship ethic and provide clear options for action;
  2. In order to develop a collaborative environment that encourages different ideas, perspectives, and experiences, we need to attract and retain volunteers, members, and stewards that represent the diversity of socioeconomic, gender, race, religion, and sexual orientation that are representative of the watershed; and
  3. We need to celebrate innovative and effective solutions that are coming from the bottom up and work to build strong local leadership in support of them.

We have far-reaching goals and we need you to get them done.  Please reflect on what inspires you to be a part of HRWC and where you can have an impact.  And then join us as we all jump in to make the next 50 years as successful as the past 50.HRWC_hi-res06