About Us

In 2020, American Rivers and the Grand Canyon Trust received requests from Indigenous advocates for more information about tools to protect culturally and ecologically important rivers on Tribal lands from FERC-licensed hydropower projects. This request was in response to FERC-licensed hydropower projects being proposed on the Little Colorado River over Tribal objections. The Wild and Scenic Rivers Act is one strategy to protect rivers from such threats. However, due to historical omissions, Tribes do not currently have equivalent rights to States or even private parties to utilize this federal law to protect Tribal ancestral lands or even lands under their jurisdiction.

We heard from Indigenous advocates, Tribal partners, and legal scholars that creating a well-researched, draft proposal for correcting these discrepancies would be the best way to begin an informed conversation. The Getches-Wilkinson Center joined the partnership to help create this draft proposal. The effort is being carried forward by American Rivers and the Getches-Wilkinson Center since the project goes beyond the geographic scope of the Grand Canyon Trust. More input from Tribes, river advocates, and legal scholars is being sought for the next phase of this project.

American Rivers is a national nonprofit conservation organization championing an effort to protect and restore all rivers, from remote mountain streams to urban waterways. Healthy rivers provide people and nature with clean, abundant water and natural habitat. For over 50 years, American Rivers staff, supporters, volunteers, and partners have shared a common belief: Life Depends on Rivers. With headquarters in Washington, D.C. and 355,000 supporters, members, and volunteers across the country, we are one of the most trusted and influential river conservation organizations in the United States, delivering solutions for a better future.

The Getches-Wilkinson Center for Natural Resources, Energy, and the Environment endeavors to serve the people of the American West, the nation, and the world through creative, interdisciplinary research, bold, inclusive teaching and innovative problem solving in order to further true sustainability for our use of the lands, waters, and environment. Major programs and initiatives focus on natural resources, water and public lands issues in Colorado and the West; energy and environmental security in the developing world; electricity regulation and energy policy; climate change law and policy; and native communities and environmental justice. The name comes from the contributions of two iconic figures in the Colorado Law School’s environmental law history, David Getches and Charles Wilkinson.