About Us
Meet Milwaukee Riverkeeper
Dedicated to a Swimmable, Fishable, Clean Milwaukee River Basin
We are a community-led, science-backed nonprofit working to protect and improve the health of the waterways in the Milwaukee River Basin.
Our Mission & Vision:
To protect, improve, and advocate for water quality, riparian wildlife habitat, and sound land management in the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic River Watersheds.
We envision a future in which people from all walks of life can enjoy the healthy waterways of the Milwaukee River Basin.
Achieving Our Goals Through Community Action
We empower our local community members to get involved and take action alongside our team of passionate water advocates. We do this by helping folks connect to their local waterways and ‘keep’ the rivers clean, safe and accessible through several programs like:
Water Monitoring
We recruit, train, support and collaborate with community members to monitor key points throughout our watersheds for impacts to water quality. We then collect and analyze this data to better understand changes over time and find new ways to help.
Identifying Pollution
The responsibility to advocate for clean water is up to all of us. Anyone that sees pollution in or along our waterways can report it to us. We will investigate and follow-up to ensure the issue is addressed and polluters are held accountable.
River Adoption & Cleanups
We help businesses, individuals, companies, organizations, and other community groups come together for annual cleanups or to “adopt” sections of our rivers. Adopters & volunteers keep our rivers clean throughout the year.
Advocating for Change
By understanding community concerns, needs, and impacts to water quality, our team is well positioned to push for the strongest regulations that will have long-lasting, sustainable impact to the health of our rivers and communities.
Learning Experiences
We bring water-based lessons into the classroom and offer enrichment opportunities for community groups and businesses interested in more deeply connecting to our waters.
Supporting Recreation
We offer many opportunities to connect with local waterways through experiences like fishing clinics, guided kayaking trips and classes, boat tours and other water-based activities designed to help locals see and enjoy our waterways the way we do.
Protecting Water for Millions of People
Our beautiful communities are connected by the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic Rivers, which are unique watersheds that converge in downtown Milwaukee, before flowing into Lake Michigan. And while these rivers form a beautiful backdrop for our city, these watersheds spread far beyond downtown, impacting the lives of thousands throughout Southeastern Wisconsin. Spanning seven counties, covering over 882 square miles of farmlands, rural areas, wetlands, and urban areas, and flowing into Lake Michigan, these watersheds are the source of drinking water for millions.
When it Comes to Water, We’re All Connected
The Milwaukee River Basin is vast, with watersheds spanning as far up as Fond du Lac, Sheboygan and Ozaukee counties all the way down to Milwaukee and Waukesha counties and even over to Washington county. With this abundance of fresh water all around us, it can be easy to forget that our waterways, wetlands and Great Lake are precious and finite. Because these watersheds are connected, choices we make in one area flow into another, and ultimately find their way into Lake Michigan. It’s important to remember that these resources aren’t endless, and are impacted by our choices. The decisions we make now, will affect the lives of future generations.
Together, we can ensure fishable, swimmable, drinkable waters for everybody!
Meet the Mighty Team Behind Milwaukee Riverkeeper
We are a small but mighty team of water citizens working to protect, restore, and advocate for the Milwaukee River Basin. With a deep connection to the communities we serve, we engage with local citizens to affect real, long-term change through education, water monitoring, volunteer opportunities, and strategic advocacy efforts. Milwaukee Riverkeeper is a licensed member of Waterkeeper Alliance, a global movement of hundreds of Waterkeeper Organizations united for clean, healthy, accessible water for all people and the planet.
As a movement, we know we are strongest together, when we lift up each others’ voices and the voices of the communities we serve.
Meet the Milwaukee Riverkeeper Board of Directors
We are governed by a recognized Board of Directors, committed to guiding our work, ensuring we fulfill our mission to protect, improve, and advocate for our local waters. With decades of combined experience, a passion for our environment, and a steadfast belief that all people deserve access to healthy, clean water, our Board is a critical part of our team. We know the work is hard, but our Board is with us ready to support, advise, and share in this important work.
Our Impact
Our mission to protect, restore, connect, and advocate on behalf of the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic River Watersheds runs both far and deep. Community need and concern over the health of Milwaukee’s waters drove neighbors to organize Friends of Menomonee Rivers – what we know as Milwaukee Riverkeeper today. As an early member of the Waterkeeper Alliance in 1999, we helped usher in a new era of water conservation, working with our communities to advocate for better solutions to their concerns, and directly engaging them in the effort to protect and restore our waters.
