Willamette Riverkeeper

10/09/2026

Do you like RAD tees and PARTIES? 👕🎉

Good. Because tomorrow’s Great Willamette Cleanup has BOTH!

Do some serious good for the river while also having some serious FUN! Our volunteers up and down the Willamette will roll up their sleeves and come together for one big day of action for the river we love.

Then, we celebrate! Join your fellow volunteers at one of THREE Volunteer Appreciation Parties from 1:30–3 PM:

🍕 Eugene/Springfield: Island Park, with pizza from TrackTown and drinks supported by BNF Kombucha.

🍻 Corvallis: Common Fields, with complimentary b**r, non-alcoholic beverages, and light appetizers.

🌊 Portland: Willamette Park off S. Macadam Ave., near the tennis courts, with food and drinks for volunteers and partners.

And those shirts? Volunteers who registered by 9/25 will receive one of this year’s gorgeous Great Willamette Cleanup tees, with extras making their way to the afterparties for additional distribution.

Haven’t registered yet? There’s still time to join us tomorrow!

Do some good. Get a little dirty. Celebrate with your fellow river people. 💚

https://willametteriverkeeper.org/great-willamette-cleanup

10/05/2026

THIS SATURDAY: Get dirty for good!

Our annual Great Willamette Cleanup is happening at sites up and down the river, and there’s still time to join your community!

Whether you want to clean up by land or by water, there’s a way to pitch in:

We have sites with seats available in rafts, canoes, or kayaks that you can reserve when you register.

Other on-water sites are BYO boat, so grab your kayak, canoe, or SUP and join the cleanup flotilla.

Prefer solid ground? We have land-based cleanup sites, too!

However you join us, you’ll be part of a river-wide effort to remove trash, protect habitat, and care for the 187 Miles of Wonder that connect our communities.

Pick your site. Reserve your spot. Get dirty for good.

Find a cleanup near you and register today!

https://willametteriverkeeper.org/great-willamette-cleanup

10/02/2026

Party. Bid. Protect. Get Dirty.

Our October Riverscape e-news is here, and there’s a LOT happening on the Willamette!

🛥️ PARTY with us aboard the Portland Spirit. This is your LAST CALL for tickets to our 30th Anniversary Cruise!

✨ BID on more than 60 incredible items and experiences in our Pearls of the Willamette Silent Auction.

🌲 PROTECT our healthy forests, clean water, and wildlife by submitting a comment in support of protecting the Roadless Rule.

🧤 GET DIRTY for good by volunteering at our river-wide Great Willamette Cleanup.

Plus, hear directly from our Riverkeepers about our work and what’s ahead.

Catch up on all of it in the October Riverscape! 👇

https://conta.cc/4hxiULl

09/30/2026

🎙️ NEW PODCAST: Our Co-Executive Director and Lower Willamette Riverkeeper Heather King recently joined Progress Portland for a great conversation about the river, the work of Willamette Riverkeeper, and why connecting people directly to this incredible 187-mile waterway is such an important part of protecting it.

Heather talks about everything from paddling and volunteering on the Willamette to the very different challenges facing various reaches of the river. She also digs into some of the serious issues confronting the Lower Willamette—including the potentially catastrophic statewide consequences of a major disaster in Portland’s Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub.

The conversation also explores the co-leadership model Heather and Upper Willamette Riverkeeper Michelle Emmons have built as WRK enters its next chapter, bringing perspectives from throughout the watershed together around one shared river.

As Heather puts it: “the more you get people on the water on this specific river, the more they fall in love with it and they want to do things to protect it.”

That’s a philosophy pretty close to the heart of everything we do.

🎧 Listen to Episode 61 of Progress Portland:
https://www.progressportland.org/2026/09/25/episode-61-heather-king-co-executive-director-of-willamette-riverkeeper-lower/

Our 51st interview we talk to Nick Caleb friend of the pod on running interference on many important efforts including environmental challenges, dark money influences in Portland Politics, and why we just can't have nice things unless we really put an end to bu****it.

09/30/2026

LAST CALL TO COME ABOARD! 🛟

We have fewer than 30 tickets left for Willamette Riverkeeper’s 30th Anniversary Cruise this Saturday!

For 30 years, we’ve worked to protect and restore the Willamette and connect people with this incredible river. None of it would be possible without people like YOU.

Now it’s time to celebrate together!

🥂 30th Anniversary Celebration Cruise
📅 Saturday, October 3
🚢 Aboard the Portland Spirit
🎟️ Sliding-scale tickets available

Thanks to our friends Portland Spirit Cruises and Events and Urban Flood Safety & Water Quality District we’ve been able to make this celebration accessible to even more members of our river community.

Grab one of the remaining tickets:
https://bit.ly/4hzxXo0

Can’t cruise with us? You can still celebrate! Our Pearls of the Willamette Silent Auction features 60+ unique adventures, experiences, gifts, artwork, outdoor gear and more.

Browse the auction + start bidding:
https://givebutter.com/c/WRKPearlAuction

Here’s to 30 years of protecting the Willamette and the next 30 still to come. 💚

09/28/2026

BIDDING IS NOW OPEN! Celebrate Willamette Riverkeeper’s Pearl Anniversary through our Pearls of the Willamette Silent Auction, featuring one-of-a-kind adventures, destination packages, original artwork, outdoor gear, memorable experiences, and wonderfully Willamette treasures donated by generous artists, individuals, and businesses from across the watershed.

Like a pearl, Willamette Riverkeeper has grown layer by layer—shaped by 30 years of persistence, partnership, stewardship, and love for the river. Every winning bid supports our next 30 years of protecting clean water, restoring healthy habitat, expanding public access, and connecting communities with the Willamette.

📅 Bidding closes October 3 at 8:00 p.m. Pacific Time.
📲 Register, browse, and bid here:
https://givebutter.com/c/WRKPearlAuction

We will will notify you by text or email if you are outbid, so you can jump back in and keep bidding! Winners will be announced during our 30th Anniversary Celebration Cruise aboard the Portland Spirit and notified by email. You do not need to attend the celebration to participate or win. Items not aboard our cruise can be picked up by appointment, shipped or delivered pending additional charges, (domestic shipping only).

Register for our 30th Anniversary Celebration Cruise here: https://bit.ly/4hzxXo0

Every pearl tells a story. Every bid protects a river.
Together, we’ll keep the Willamette flowing clean and strong for generations to come.

30th Anniversary Artwork by Wehr

09/26/2026

A big THANK YOU to our Ross Island beach cleanup volunteers! You came, you paddled, you hauled off the trash! 💪

Thank you for helping to keep one of our 187 Miles of river WONDER-ful!

Missed the trip? Then consider helping us care for ALL 187 Miles of Wonder as a Ripple Collective donor! Your gift supports habitat restoration, responsible recreation, and long-term stewardship along the Willamette.

Join our “Ripple Collective” today:

https://form-renderer-app.donorperfect.io/give/willamette-riverkeeper/2025-new-donation-form