How Rivers Connect Us

Tribal and local fishers in Bristol Bay read the salmon run like an unfolding story—watching the water, tracking returns and protecting a way of life shaped by the fish. Their deep knowledge and care help sustain one of the world’s last great wild salmon fisheries, season after season.

At Granite Creek, the Yavapai-Prescott Tribe partnered with TNC to heal a scarred stretch of river, clearing out industrial debris, planting cottonwoods and willows, and slowing the flow of water with natural structures to create renewed wetland habitat and a gift to future generations who will walk its banks.

In the Columbia River Basin and waters across the Pacific Northwest, salmon nourish the land and the people who call it home. Meet some of the Indigenous and local stewards who are working in reciprocity with salmon to support their journey and sustain the cultural traditions rooted in their return.

As the easternmost arm of the Bering Sea, Bristol Bay is the meeting point for five major rivers, where wildlife thrives. Immerse yourself in breathtaking scenes of salmon, bears and seals in the Bay’s pristine headwaters.

Taking a page from beavers, TNC is leading river restoration across the Sagebrush Sea and Colorado River Basin, drawing on simple, nature-friendly engineering to slow the flow of water and revive habitat for songbirds, sage grouse, mule deer, and trout. 

In Idaho's Upper Salmon Basin, over half of salmon and steelhead habitat is located on private lands. To continue TNC's longtime effort to restore these critical waters, our teams are working with private landowners to balance community needs with healthy natural systems.

Vast tracts of Canada’s Pacific coast rainforest have been deeply impacted by historic industrial logging practices. So have many of the streams bringing wild salmon in from the sea. To bring back healthy salmon runs and preserve a way of life, Indigenous-led Salmon Parks are restoring what’s been lost.

The Colorado River is the lifeblood of the Southwest, bringing life to dry places. But that doesn’t mean there’s enough water to go around. So TNC is helping to find new opportunities to give the river a rest while still bringing water where it’s needed.

Chinook salmon return to Idaho’s Lee Creek in a wondrous cycle of life that brings them 850 miles from the Pacific Ocean. By protecting places like this, TNC is showing how we can help their chances in a struggle for the survival of a species.