Flowing to a Better Future
The poppies are blooming on the hillsides above the South Fork of the American. The news is worse than ever. But paradoxically, I feel like I am starting to get my sea legs under me in this storm of attacks on everything I value coming from Washington DC. I spent April 5 with thousands of other cardboard carrying, witty citizens in downtown Sacramento. Clearly many others are starting to feel greater agency. I hope you are too.
Activists on April 5th at the CA State Capitol.
There is no better place than FOR to put your money, your time or your hopes if you want to change the future. The fight for rivers and the mission of Friends of the River is central and strategic to our future, to both the immediate fight for our democracy, and our ongoing fight for rivers and the environment.
First, rivers are charismatic megafeatures that create community, shared values and emotional bonds between people and the environment. This month we are holding our Guide Activist Training, with 12 new trainees who will learn to be FOR river guides. Our river program is in our DNA, and will remain a fundamental component of our strategy to build collective power, bringing people and communities together, connected to their rivers and watersheds.
Second, water policy is a very high leverage point for driving change. While often arcane and seeming to move at a glacial pace, showing up for decades of getting incremental improvements, preventing and delaying incremental harms adds up to big wins over time. FOR has made a huge difference in the last 50 odd years. The requirements for public participation in the regulatory proceedings which determine how California’s great and terrible water system is operated are extremely demanding. But FOR’s water policy expertise and skills are formidable and unparalleled. Water is life.
Third, across all domains of collective human aspiration, from business, to military campaigns, to social movements, impact is driven by the leadership. Leaders who show up make a difference, not the degree of challenge being faced. Since its inception, Friends of the River has attracted and empowered exceptional leaders. This remains true today. We have one new one to add to our team. You will meet him soon.
Come to the California River Awards. Bring your family, friends and neighbors. We need to build a movement around rivers and water, that will bring joy from being outside together, that will bring diverse communities of people together around the shared values of clean water, safety from fire and flood, and affordable water. We will make a greater contribution to the larger movement for democracy, peace and climate if we bring an organized constituency. Support FOR, build community, and focus good energy on a positive vision for action. WE CAN DO THIS!
California River Awards, San Francisco, April 25:
***If you are unable to join us in person, or are reading this too late, please consider making a donation, bidding on an item in our online auction, or volunteering (email info@friendsoftheriver.org to discuss your interests/opportunities).
