The Skagit River, pictured above, runs through northwestern Washington. Nearly 160 miles of the Skagit and its tributaries are protected by the National Wild and Scenic Rivers designation to preserve its scenic value and enhance recreational opportunities.University of Washington
The U.S. boasts more than 4 million miles of rivers, peppered with laws and regulations to protect access to drinking water and essential habitat for fish and wildlife. But in the first comprehensive review of river protection, research co-led by the University of Washington shows that the existing regulations account for less than 20% of total river length and vary widely by region.
Freshwater conservation strategies have historically emphasized protections against land use and development on public lands, including National Wildlife Refuges, Wilderness Areas and National Forests. However, protection measures that are specific to lakes, rivers and wetlands are much less common.
Most of the protection afforded to rivers comes from land-based measures, but the growing global consensus is that this isn't enough. Freshwater ecosystems are losing biodiversity faster than anywhere else. To improve stewardship, researchers first need to map the existing protections and attempt to gauge their benefits.
"We examined the patchwork of different aquatic and terrestrial protection measures that seek to support river resilience to better understand where we are doing well and where there is room for improvement," said Julian Olden, a UW professor of aquatic and fishery sciences.
Olden co-led this study with Conservation Science Partners and American Rivers. They published the results Jan. 9 in an article in Nature Sustainability, alongside a policy brief on the topic.
Rivers supply clean drinking water and power to millions of Americans. They provide habitat for fish, water for thirsty crops, and create transportation networks for people, goods and animals. But the nature of rivers makes them harder to protect. They cross borders, traverse ecological zones and snake between public and private lands.
Waterways are now represented in some major conservation initiatives, such as the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework - an effort to protect 30% of Earth's land and ocean by 2030 - but that wasn't always the case.
"Threats to fresh waters often originate outside the bounds of protected land areas," Olden said. "So unfortunately no matter how much attention you give an individual stretch of river, it is only as protected as its headwaters."
This map shows watershed protection rating by color, with yellow indicating higher levels of protection and blue representing little to no protection. Because rivers originate at the watershed, protecting source waters is critical to ensuring quality downstream.Conservation Science Partners
Because the mechanism of protection varies depending on the policy or management practice, the researchers developed a river protection index to compare river segments based on water quantity, quality, connectivity, habitat and biodiversity - key ecological attributes supporting freshwater resilience. They categorized segments by protection level to identify gaps and prioritize areas in need of protection.
"We layered local, state and federal protection mechanisms onto the river network to reveal where and how we seek to protect America's rivers," Olden said.
The study reported that nearly two-thirds of rivers in the U.S. are unprotected. Just over 19% of total river length in the entire U.S., and 11% in the contiguous U.S., is protected at a level deemed adequate to safeguard the health of river ecosystems. Results varied by region as well. Protections favor high elevation and remote areas, as well as public lands. Low-elevation headwaters and large swaths of the Midwest and South are underprotected.
River-specific protection efforts remain scarce. The Clean Water Act - a seminal freshwater protection measure passed in 1972 - protects just 2.7% of total river length. Habitat bulwarks for endangered species protect 1.3% and approximately 2% receive protection from river-specific designations, such as National Wild and Scenic Rivers.
Land-based regulations, by comparison, apply to a much larger chunk of the total. Federal Wilderness Area designations apply to 6.3% of total river length and river and floodplain protections encompass 14.2% of total river length.
The study also highlighted the potential value of investing in watershed management programs.
"Working to ensure that protected rivers also have protected upstream watersheds supports reliable access to clean water that doesn't need treatment, which can be expensive, before it hits the faucets of American households," Olden said.
Beefing up protections doesn't mean cutting off access to rivers, either.
"We can use regulatory action to support equitable access to the numerous benefits rivers provide human society," Olden said. "Protected rivers support recreation, freshwater biodiversity and cultural value. It's a win-win-win."
