Spokane Riverkeeper

River protection - in 2024 we continued our work to defend the spokane river watershed against pollution through clean water defense and river flow protection. Notable accomplishments in clean water defense include: epa implementation of strong and protective water quality standards for pcb pollutionin washington state due to spokane riverkeeper and partners' strong pressure and best available science, successful ligigation and settlement with primeland chs, inc. For stormwater violations reduce pollution to hangman creek, a panel discussion co-hosted with gonzaga law school on rights of nature to educate the public on this legal framework, and continued work with the department of ecology to ensure implementiation of the hangman settlement. Our river flow protection campaign continues to support regional water planning and supply options to promote healthy,cold river flow in reponse to drought and population growth. Last year we partnered with water wise to advocate for local water conservation and water consumption reduction. We shared water conservation method and river statistics on social media to connect with our community and educate them on the needs of the river, and we continued to monitor the water right requested by airway heights.

River restoration - spokane riverkeeper supports recovery efforts of native fish and salmon populations to the spokane river and its tributaries. In 2024 we participated on the "lead entity" team to guide scientific studies regarding salmon and trout habitat by attending four meetings to design a limiting factors analysis that will guide funding in the basin. We also planted approximately 6,000 plants on 40 acres of riparian habitat along rock creek.