On June 26, 2025, join the Willamette Riverkeeper for their Wild & Scenic Film Festival On Tour Event, an evening of inspiring films that celebrate the beauty of our natural world and the power of individuals to protect it. Hosted at the historic Hollywood Theatre in Portland, Oregon, this annual event supports Willamette Riverkeeper’s mission to protect and restore the health of the Willamette River and its watershed.
Enjoy a curated selection of short films showcasing environmental activism, outdoor adventures, and breathtaking landscapes. Don’t miss your chance to win fantastic door prizes provided by their generous sponsors: Paddle People, Oregon Paddle Sports, REI, and Freshwaters Illustrated. Reserve your spot today and be part of an unforgettable evening of films, community, and conservation.
Willamette Riverkeeper was founded in February of 1996, originally known as “Friends of the Willamette River.” Shortly after, the name was changed to Willamette Riverkeeper, with the organization becoming the 12th of the relatively new realm of “Riverkeeper” organizations nationwide.
WR has grown a range of programs and projects that address everything from Clean Water Act compliance and river education to Superfund cleanup and habitat restoration. Today WR has an impassioned and effective staff with an office in Portland, and an office in Eugene working on a range of issues and projects each and every week.
Willamette Riverkeeper organizes opportunities throughout the year to “meet” the river. WR enables people of all experience levels and backgrounds to take part and seeks to make the barrier to entry very low. We typically offer their canoes, safety gear, and guidance free of charge. Their staff and lead volunteers have decades of experience taking literally thousands of people out along the river.
WR also uses science, restoration and policy work to improve water quality in their communities along the Willamette and its tributaries. Pesticides, emerging contaminants such as flame retardants, legacy pollutants such as PCBs, and many others are very real concerns today. WR works with community stakeholders to respond to issues as they are detected to investigate potential water quality violations under the Clean Water Act. They also evaluate new permit applications and applications to renew wastewater discharge permits from industrial and stormwater sources up and down the river.
Willamette Riverkeeper’s Habitat Restoration Program works to improve floodplain and riparian habitats within the Willamette Basin in collaboration with multiple partners including private and public landowners as well as other conservation organizations.
Over the past few years, Willamette Riverkeeper has sought to acquire land along the river and in the wider watershed in order to protect them for the long term. Thier goal is to protect what is in good shape, and also with lands in marginal condition, to restore them.
The River Guardians Program works throughout the Willamette basin in partnership with local communities to report and clean up the immense amount of debris found in their river and on its banks. The program runs across all 187 miles of the Willamette mainstem and sections of its tributaries, with monthly cleanups in Portland, Salem, Corvallis, Eugene-Springfield, and surrounding areas.
River monitoring is completed on a regular basis by volunteers, and once a month cleanups are focused on problem areas identified by local citizens, volunteers, land managers, and other stakeholders. The River Guardians Program emphasizes solutions-based actions aimed at protecting and restoring a healthy riparian environment, ultimately serving all people (directly and indirectly) who live along and in the Willamette River Basin, which makes up 70% of Oregon’s population and houses all its major cities.
Heather King, Co-Executive Director & Lower Willamette Riverkeeper, says that, “Hosting a WSFF On Tour event helps Willamette Riverkeeper deepen community engagement, raise vital funds, and expand awareness of our work to protect and restore the Willamette River. The festival serves as a platform to connect with new supporters, energize our existing base, and underscore the importance of clean water, public access, and environmental justice. It’s also an opportunity to showcase our ongoing advocacy and restoration efforts in a creative and inspiring way.”
She continues, “Our favorite aspect of hosting this event is the energy and sense of connection it creates. Bringing people together through the power of storytelling and film reminds us why we do this work. Seeing our community laugh, cheer, and get inspired by the same stories that move us is a powerful reminder that we are not alone in this fight for a cleaner, healthier river. It’s a celebration of the river, of community, and of the collective impact we can have.”
