Oregon Adopt-A-River

It's Easy. It's Fun! Take the Plunge!

Adopting a waterway is simple. It only takes one person to get things started. Community organizations, fishing or boating clubs, school groups, businesses, associations or any environmentally concerned citizen can Adopt-A-River. Your projects can be as large as you like. Every project, no matter how large, makes a big difference!

Oregon Adopt-A-River helps volunteers clean up and preserve Oregon waterways, and learn the importance of watershed health and a good stewardship ethic. Volunteers adopt their favorite stretch of waterway (river, lake, or stream) anywhere in the state of Oregon. Volunteers adopt a minimum of two miles of waterway and do cleanup projects at least twice a year for two years. Many volunteers do much more!

More than 400 miles of river have been adopted by over 50 volunteers. Adoptions cover the entire state including sections of the Sandy, Willamette, Columbia, Clackamas, Salmon, Umpqua, Powder, Deschutes, Rogue, North and South Santiam, Siletz, Coquille, Molalla and John Day Rivers. Many smaller creeks have been adopted as well.

Take the Plunge! Get Involved! 

Adopting a waterway is simple. You only need to register your favorite stretch and then get your project going! Your projects can be as large as you like. Every project, no matter how large, makes a big difference!

To register the stretch you would like to adopt click here. You will then be asked to commit to cleaning up your site at least two times per year for two years and report those results to SOLV.

Free Materials and Resources for Volunteer Site Adopters:

• Watershed health information
• A step-by-step resource guide to planning a safe and effective cleanup
• Garbage collection bags and supplies plus stickers and window decals
• Adoption entered in the Oregon River Registry, an Adoption Certificate and other recognition
• Program guidance provided by SOLV staff

Oregon Adopt-A-River is a broad-based stewardship effort created by the 1993 Oregon Legislature, and is administered by SOLV in partnership with the Oregon State Marine Board. Other state and federal agencies and corporations support the program as well.

To Volunteer

To get started, email us or fill out the registration form.  You can also call SOLV at (503) 844-9571 or (800) 333-SOLV toll-free in Oregon.

To receive reminders about this and other special SOLV dates and information, please sign up for e-updates now .

Have you adopted a waterway? Send us your photos of your cleanup!