A Season for Gratitude
Updates from WV Rivers Coalition
November 2025
Your Voice Counted in 2025
As we gather with loved ones and take stock of what we’re grateful for, we want to extend our deepest thanks to you, and every member of this coalition. Your commitment to clean water, healthy communities, and a brighter future for West Virginia fuels everything we do.
This year, you have joined 5,332 supporters and members of WV Rivers Coalition in submitting more than 108,000 public comments!
It’s easy to feel small in the face of big problems — but when we raise our voices together, we shape policy, change minds, and protect the places we love.
Want to make your voice heard again in 2026? Join us for our upcoming virtual Advocacy Training Series on Dec. 4 and Dec. 9 at 7:00 pm to learn how you can take action this session for clean, safe, and resilient water for all.
Thank you for being part of this movement with us!
We’re Doing Things Different This Giving Tuesday…
Our local actions make a big impact together.
Giving Tuesday is almost here — a global day that encourages generosity in all its forms, whether it be financially, volunteering time, or just a random act of kindness.
This year, we’re using the movement as a chance to spotlight something we’re deeply grateful for: the community partners working on the frontlines to protect West Virginia’s rivers, lands, and people.
All week long, we’ll be sharing stories from local groups who are monitoring water, organizing neighbors, cleaning up streams, and building stronger, healthier communities. These partners inspire us every day, and we want to lift up their work. Join us by following along and supporting these grassroots leaders directly.
- Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to meet the groups, learn about their impact, and help spread the word.
- If you’re moved, consider supporting their work in whatever way feels meaningful — every act of generosity matters.
With sincere gratitude for your support for our mission and community,
Crys & the whole team at WV Rivers
Crys Bauer
Development Manager, WV Rivers Coalition
Celebrating Our October Mini-Grant Recipients — and more than $100,000 in Community Support!
A snapshot of Paddle Camp 2025 on the Tug Fork River.
This season, we’re especially grateful for one of our most beloved programs: our Community Action Mini-Grant Program.
Thanks to donors like you — and a few key grant partners — WV Rivers has now provided over $100,000 in direct support to local groups advancing clean water, advocacy, and community resilience across the state.
These grants help neighbors help neighbors. They power citizen science, youth leadership, water testing, on-the-ground restoration, and local organizing. And this October’s Mini-Grant Cohort shows just how powerful community-driven work can be:
Smithers & Friends Community Group
Through their “Skill Swap” model, Smithers residents will learn to monitor and advocate for clean water in Smithers Creek and the Upper Kanawha River using SciStarter/CitSci tools. An advocacy discussion circle will bring residents and local leaders together to learn from the data and chart next steps for the community.
From Below: Rising Together for Coalfield Justice
This project strengthens organizing in southern coalfield communities facing chronic water infrastructure failures. Their effort helps residents understand how water utilities and infrastructure decisions are made, test their own water quality, and organize locally to advocate for both immediate access to safe water and long-term infrastructure repair and investment.
Empower Her Environmental Wellness
Their “Clean Water and Air for Her” initiative will expand environmental health awareness among women, families, and youth in Huntington-area communities disproportionately affected by poor air and water quality. Through home environmental health kits including water tests, air monitors, and mold strips along with hands-on advocacy training, participants will learn to identify pollution, report results, and make their voices heard with decision-makers.
Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Alliance (MOVCA)
MOVCA will deploy five new air monitors across the Mid-Ohio Valley to expand community access to air quality data. The project also supports their student ambassador program, elevating youth voices on climate and environmental justice and expanding local engagement on the issues that shape their future.
Economic Development Greater East (EDGE)
EDGE is forming a new community-led group — the Southern McDowell Watershed Collective — to bring residents together around flooding, water quality, land use, and infrastructure challenges. Through listening sessions, leadership development, and collaborative planning, this project will build local capacity, elevate community voices, and create a shared action plan and governance structure for long-term watershed advocacy.
Walhonde Adventures
The 7th Little Coal River Cleanup will bring together two municipalities, high school students, teachers, nonprofits, and community volunteers for a hands-on day of stewardship. Students from the Boone Career & Technical Center will also travel to Charleston for E-Day in February to advocate for their community and clean water.
Big Laurel Learning Center
Big Laurel will continue essential upgrades to its water treatment systems to ensure safe, clean tap water for students, volunteers, and community members. They will also expand their highly successful student advocacy model developed with WV Rivers by engaging Kermit PK-8, summer camp participants, and Friends of the Tug Fork’s paddle camp. Youth will learn how to identify watershed concerns and advocate for solutions by writing postcards to their representatives.
Friends of the Tug Fork River
After two years of success in Mingo County, Paddle Camp will return to Williamson and expand to McDowell County in Iaeger. This experiential outdoor education program engages youth ages 8–18 in kayak-based learning, watershed science, and safety skills — building pride in their river and deepening their connection to the Tug Fork.
Thanks to you, these projects — and the communities behind them — are creating safer water, stronger local leadership, and more informed, empowered advocates across West Virginia. Your support is building a future where every person, in every corner of the state, has clean water and a voice in protecting it!
Interested in applying for our first round of mini-grants in 2026? Learn more on our website by clicking the button below.
A Bipartisan Push to Restore the Ohio River
WV Rivers’ Executive Director Jennie Smith and Melissa Shafer with Water Reseach Institute at WVU paused for a photo in our nation’s Capitol last week as they advocated to leaders for federal investment in our Ohio River.
Jennie has BIG news to share from her trip to DC last week: Congress has introduced the Ohio River Restoration Program Act, a major bipartisan effort to finally secure dedicated federal funding for the Ohio River Basin.
WV Rivers and our supporters like you have been deeply involved in shaping this vision. We hosted listening sessions across West Virginia, gathered public feedback, and facilitated in-person discussions so that local voices were heard in the final plan.
Together with partners like the Ohio River Basin Alliance, the National Wildlife Federation, and others, we’ve worked to ensure the priorities of West Virginians are front and center in this historic effort.
Did you know? The Ohio River provides drinking water for more than 25 million people, supports over 500,000 jobs, and moves $43 billion in commodities every year — yet it’s the largest waterway in the country with no dedicated restoration funding.
It would allow Congress to create an office within EPA and invest up to $350 million per year to support:
- Habitat and fisheries restoration
- Pollution prevention and clean water protections
- Farm conservation
- Invasive species management
- Monitoring and data collection
- Workforce development
- Community input and transparency
- Investments in communities vulnerable to flooding, pollution, and extreme storms
We’re grateful for every member of Congress who stood up for this effort — but our work isn’t done yet and we need YOU with us!
We would like to see the bill included in the Dec. 10 U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee markup alongside other water bills, and to show the committee that it has strong bipartisan regional support. That’s why we’re calling on West Virginia’s U.S. representatives to co-sponsor the legislation.
ACTION ALERT: Call our WV U.S. representatives and tell them to please co-sponsor the Ohio River Restoration Protection Act, H.R. 5966.
Call the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and ask to be connected to the member’s office. Once you have been connected to the office, you will be speaking to a staffer. Here’s what to say:
- Introduce yourself and mention what organization you work for (if appropriate).
- Tell them that you are a constituent. If you, yourself, are not a constituent, but your organization works in their district (for example, you are a state-wide organization), let them know.
- Then get to the point: “I am calling today to ask Rep. X to co-sponsor the Ohio River Restoration Protection Act. The bill number is H.R. 5966.”
- Explain briefly, why YOU care about the H.R. 5966. “I am concerned about X. (PFAS, Acid Mine Drainage, old unsafe dam, etc.)” Or, “I like to hunt and fish/kayak/camp/hike and would like to see habitat restored/am concerned with invasive species/outdoor recreation economy, etc.”
PFAS Action Plan Meetings: Thank You, West Virginia
The PFAS Action Plan meeting in Northern WV brought together community members, Town Councils, the Ohio and Brook County Solid Waste Authorities, and Ohio Valley Environmental Advocates to talk through grant funding, filtration options, and next steps for cleaner, safer water.
Last week, our Community Engagement Team wrapped up the in-person PFAS Action Plan meetings across the Eastern and Northern Panhandles — and we can’t say thank you enough.
To every resident who showed up, asked tough questions, shared your story, or simply came to learn: Your Voice Matters!
To our partners — WVDEP, Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services, Defensores de la Cuenca, and all our local leaders — thank you for your collaboration and your commitment to clean, safe water for every community.
PFAS contamination is one of the most serious water challenges facing our state. Moments like these remind us of our greatest strength: our collective power and shared vision for a healthier future.
We still have two virtual sessions coming up, including one for Spanish-speaking communities. If you haven’t joined yet, there’s still time. Click the button below to learn more and register.
Watershed Groups Leading the Way: 2025 Watershed Symposium Recap
Members of the WV Watershed Network at the 2025 Watershed Symposium.
This October, we gathered in Philippi with 70 attendees representing 19 watershed groups and 22 partner organizations for the West Virginia Watershed Symposium — hosted by the West Virginia Watershed Network in partnership with Friends of the Cheat and the WV Department of Environmental Protection.
We floated. We learned. We built skills in fundraising, communications, and water science. We dug into the legislative landscape. We heard from Delegate Bryan Smith. And we strengthened a statewide network that protects water from ridge to river.
Huge shout-out to our partners — and to Amanda Pitzer, Executive Director of Friends of the Cheat, who wrote a fantastic recap in the latest WaterNet. Read it at the button below!
Wild & Scenic: Protecting Our Waterways of Life
The Blackwater River, one of the the rivers that define our waterway of life, is eligible for a Wild + Scenic Rivers Designation.
In the Monongahela National Forest, 16 rivers and streams are eligible for Wild & Scenic Rivers designation — protections for free-flowing rivers in the United States. We are so grateful these waters exist and are so deeply loved by their communities.
Congressional representatives told us this year that they want to see public support.
That’s where you come in. Will you help us show D.C. that West Virginians want these waters protected forever? Add your voice with ours today!
Shop, Save, and Support Clean Water!
Shop the WV Rivers Winter Sale: big savings, bigger impact. 50% off discontinued/low stock gear + 35% off our special edition 35th Anniversary tee.
The challenges facing West Virginia’s rivers and streams are real – but together, we can meet them with action, hope, and care. WV Rivers is leading efforts to protect clean water and ensure every community has a voice in decisions that shape their future. Thank you for being part of this coalition.
This fall, we invite you to get involved:
- Learn how to make an impact. Join our upcoming Advocacy Webinars.
- Share your perspective. Become a District Advocate and connect with your legislators. Write a letter to the editor or an op-ed about why clean water matters to you.
- Keep an eye on your local streams. Download the WV Stream Watch app and become a volunteer monitor.
- Start or advance your own project. Our next mini-grant deadline is October 31, apply today!
- Show up and speak up. Join us for E-Day at the Capitol this legislative session on February 23, 2026.
Together, we can ensure that every West Virginian – now and for generations to come – can trust the water that flows through their community.
