About Rivers Without Borders
In a time of declining wild salmon runs, diminishing biodiversity, marine habitat degradation, and accelerating climate change pressures, Rivers Without Borders promotes and protects the extraordinary ecological and cultural values of the still largely pristine transboundary watersheds of southeast Alaska and northwest British Columbia.
From north to south, these storied mountains-to-sea river systems are the Alsek-Tatshenshini, Chilkat, Taku, Whiting, Iskut-Stikine, and Unuk. We work with First Nations, Tribes, commercial fishermen, scientists, community leaders, businesses, conservation advocates, legal and technical experts, media, universities, and others to keep the transboundary region wild and thriving.
Rivers Without Borders has a team of veteran, highly committed, and well-connected staff and associates in Juneau and Petersburg Alaska, Victoria British Columbia, and northwest Washington. We bring additional capacity to our campaigning by contracting technical support, and three advisors generously lend their expertise to our efforts. The organization is guided by a Steering Committee representing a wealth of regional conservation experience. Rivers Without Borders is fiscally sponsored by Tides Center, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The state non-profit disclosure is available here.
Our Story
The roots of Rivers Without Borders go back to 1990s efforts to confront a huge copper mine proposal targeting the Alsek-Tatshenshini.
It became clear from this successful campaign that an international advocacy approach is key to protecting international watersheds. This realization inspired the 1999 creation of a network of Canadian and U.S. organizations to coordinate efforts on regional environmental, Indigenous rights, and sustainability issues.
This Transboundary Watershed Alliance evolved into Rivers Without Borders, a project of Tides Center. RWB’s campaigning focus has shifted between specific river systems over the years, depending on threats and opportunities, but our overarching conservation goal and our approach to achieving it has remained the same.
