Ohio River Way

06/10/2026

Today, the Ohio River Way’s team was at events spanning hundreds of miles! We’re so proud of how our staff, volunteers, and partners are changing the narrative about the Ohio River.

📍 Frankfort, KY – Forest Clevenger celebrated with our tourism partners at an event with Gov. Andy Beshear highlighting another record-breaking year for tourism in Kentucky.

📍 Madison, IN – Molly Pope presented on the connection between recreation and restoration at the Indiana Water Resources Association Symposium.

📍 Columbus, OH – Brewster Rhoads participated in a meeting of the Ohio Dept. of Natural Resource’s Waterways Safety Council.

📍 Hopkinsville, KY – Kelly Hess represented the Ohio River Way at a meeting of the Riverlands Alliance.

📍 Portsmouth, OH – Jessica Keeton captured the construction progress for “Ohio’s Wonderful Waterfronts Initiative.”

📍 Cincinnati, OH – The Ohio River Commission’s summit is kicking off now with an evening aboard BB Riverboats’ River Queen.

⭐ Bonus stop: Earlier this week in Lawrenceburg, IN, Mike Perleberg represented us at the Archaeological Research Institute’s Adventure Trek.

06/10/2026

During our 2-week Challenge, we had many talented, independent student researchers aboard our Floating Lab who worked on interdisciplinary projects… which you’ll be able to learn more about during our upcoming Summit (September 30 - October 2nd)!

Shout out to these organizations for making the research possible:

Kentucky Watershed Watch lent us their test kits and turbidity tubes to capture water quality data and explore their participatory science programs.

United States Geological Survey (USGS Upper Midwest Water Science Center) lent us water quality equipment, demonstrated the use of some of their deep water sampling equipment—and even had several staff members paddle with us!

Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO) demonstrated electrofishing, a scientific method of fish collection, and taught us more about plankton and harmful algal blooms.

Kentucky Waterways Alliance partnered with us to use their new tire-tracking tool to document discarded tires and litter along the river.

Grateful for our

06/08/2026

Want to get involved in an upcoming river cleanup? WAVE Foundations annual River Sweep will take place THIS Saturday, June 13, 2026, from 9 a.m.- 11:30 a.m.

Register here! : https://wavefoundation.jotform.com/team/team-wave/river-sweep-2026

Can't make this one? Check out Ohio River Valley Water Sanitation Commission (ORSANCO)s page to find a sweep near you: - https://www.orsanco.org/find-a-sweep-near-you/ There are tons happening all season!

Find a Sweep Near You Ohio River Sweep season is from March 1st to October 31st! Want to participate in a Sweep, but don’t have a group to plan one […]

06/04/2026

Listen to the universe 🤷‍♀️

06/02/2026

We clearly love paddling on the Ohio, but it's a BIG river with its own challenges. If you want to get out on the water this summer but feel a little intimidated, we put some tips together that will help you stay safe and feel confident.

Check them out here:

Brush up on some boating and paddling safety tips before the busy summer season begins. The Ohio River is an incredible place to paddle, but it’s also a working river with changing currents, commercial traffic, shifting weather, and plenty of conditions that can change quickly.

05/28/2026

It was an honor to have Rep. Morgan McGarvey (KY-03) join us at Louisville’s Hike, Bike, & Paddle! We’re so grateful for his leadership on the Ohio River Restoration Program Act.

Co-led with Rep. Erin Houchin of Southern Indiana (IN-09), this legislation is modeled after similar efforts that have transformed the habitats and economies of waterways around the country, such as the Great Lakes, the Everglades, and Chesapeake Bay. It’s nonregulatory and would authorize up to $350 million annually for five years for projects related to:

- water quality,
- habitat restoration,
- flooding mitigation, and
- recreational infrastructure.

These efforts would go far beyond the mainstream of the river, too. The entire watershed spans 205,000-square-miles and 15 states, meaning this would also restore tributaries like the Tennessee River, Wabash River, Green River, Blue River, Salt River, Kentucky River, Great Miami River, Licking River, Scioto River, and Big Sandy River.

Currently, there are 6 Republican and 7 Democratic cosponsors in the U.S. House of Representatives, and one Republican and one Democratic cosponsor in the U.S. Senate. Along the Ohio River Way, this also includes Sen. Todd Young (IN), Rep. Greg Landsman (OH-01), and Rep. Carol Miller (WV-01).

05/23/2026

After reviewing the forecasted conditions for next week, we have decided to postpone the third leg of the 2026 Ohio River Way Challenge—from Louisville, KY, to Evansville, IN—until this fall. Though we are disappointed, we are deeply committed to responsibly practicing wilderness risk management.

The journey so far has been incredible. The hospitality of our river communities has been so warm and, honestly, humbling. There have been more “river angels” along the way than we could possibly mention.

At the same time, our volunteer paddlers have grown into an incredible team. Waking up around 4:30am each day, our crew weathered variable conditions—including plenty of wind and rain—as part of its mission to promote river recreation and ecological restoration.

And, we are grateful to our sponsors, partners, and donors. In a first for this year, 257 individual donors contributed $26,167 on behalf of our paddlers, approaching our goal of $30,000.

We’ll keep in touch with more updates in the coming days, and we look forward to a belated expedition downriver. Thank you, again, and stay safe.

mightycause.com/event/ohioriverwaychallenge2026

05/23/2026

It was an honor to paddle with you, Senator Tichenor, from Payne Hollow to Westport. Thank you for your leadership in promoting river recreation and restoration.

Thanks, too, to Senator Funke Frommeyer for joining us for her FIFTH day on the Ohio River Way Challenge!