Rivers & Lakes Multimedia | Freshwater Conservation

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Rivers and Lakes

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Experience our work on rivers and lakes.

Sockeye salmon, still grey in color having just transitioned from sea to freshwater, wait to enter Kurilskoye Lake at a research fish counting gate in the southern tip of the Russian peninsula. The salmon are threatened because poachers are paid large sums in the depressed Russian economy for their caviar. © Ami Vitale

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Interactive Features

Drop of water on leaf photographed in the Gondwana Link project area of Western Australia. Containing rivers, salt lakes. arid lands, mountains and ancient eucalyptus forests, the landscape of the Gondwana Link project area in south Western Australia is an extraordinarily rich and complex ecological mosaic containing some the world's most ancient habitats. Recognized as a top biodiversity hotspots, the mega-diverse Gondwana Link project area (situated in south Western Australia) contains an amazing 25 percent of the country’s plant species. © Ami Vitale

Where Does Your Water Come From?

About half the American population receives its drinking water from lakes and rivers. Use this interactive map to find out where your water comes from.

Irrigation System © Calvin Perry

Farmers Find Innovative Ways to Save Water

Variable Rate Irrigation (VRI) technology lets farmers avoid waste water with the push of a button.

The gravel bottoms and braided channels of rivers leading into Iliamna Lake in southwest Alaska are ideal for the many king salmon that spawn in the lake’s waters. © Ami Vitale

The Heartbeat of a River

Healthy rivers are ever-changing, rising and falling as seasons come and go. Seasonal flow patterns are a river's heartbeat — they orchestrate plant and animal life cycles ans sustain complex natural processes.

Abra de Anticona (4,818 masl) peak covered by snow. Also known as Ticlio, it marks the dividing waters between the Rímac and Mantaro watersheds. The Nature Conservancy is supporting the creation of the Lima Water Fund, in partnership with Fondo de las Americas (FONDAM) and GEA, a local NGO focusing on sustainability issues. Rímac is one of the three agricultural valleys that Lima is built on. It provides 75 percent of Lima’s water, catering to a population of approximately 9 million people, and 95 percent of its lands has already been urbanized. © Walter Wust

Water Funds

Find out how the Conservancy is working to revolutionize the value of water by creating water funds for people and nature.

The paddles on the rear of the vessel pushing the excursion paddle-boat "Spirit of Dubuque" up the Mississippi River near Dubuque, Iowa. The Nature Conservancy works to protect the Mississippi River and its watershed through the Great Rivers Partnership which is a collaboration between a wide array of partners dedicated to the conservation of the world's great river systems for the benefit of the people and the species that depend upon them for life. © Mark Godfrey/TNC

Explore the Mississippi River

Join The Nature Conservancy on a journey down the Mississippi River. Hear the stories of people who depend on this mighty river for their livelihoods and inspiration.