Our Time to Act!
Our community deserves a healthy, resilient Potomac River that is safe enough to fish and splash in. Together, we can fulfill this promise – but we must act now.
Join Potomac Conservancy’s Campaign and help raise an ambitious $8 million to dramatically increase the pace and scale of conservation in our region. This is the decisive decade. We must restore clean water to the Potomac River.
Will you join us?
Help Make the Potomac River Safe for Everyone
Goals of Our Campaign:
PROTECT
Saving our
Riverside Forests
Protect 20,000 acres of streamside forests, doubling upstream conservation
Conserve 75 miles of riverside trees to protect water quality
Form a Back Creek Conservation Corridor to protect streams and wildlife
RESTORE
Shaping a
Resilient Potomac
Restore 250+ stream miles with shoreline trees
Reforest the Potomac River region with 3,000+ new trees
Provide farmers with critical resources to reduce agricultural water pollution
ACTIVATE
Empowering
Community Change
Grow our clean water movement from 30,000 to 65,000+ supporters
Launch a Neighborhood Hub leadership model to expand stewardship and partnerships
Accelerate our policy impact to advance state and federal environmental protections
CATALYZE
Strengthening
Public Funding
Secure protection of our drinking water sources
Establish new state funding for land protection in Virginia
Dismantle barriers to deploying existing federal funding for conservation programs in the Potomac’s headwaters
Your Impact
Why It Matters
The Potomac is our river – The “Nation’s River.” Over five million people rely on the Potomac for drinking water. The river drives our economy, provides habitat for diverse wildlife, and connects us to outdoor enjoyment that enriches our lives.
Potomac Conservancy understands the vital bond between clean water and community well-being. As an accredited land trust, we improve local water quality through conservation strategies that protect streamside forests, restore resilient ecosystems, activate community change, and catalyze funding for river protection programs.
We have seen remarkable progress. The Potomac is the cleanest it’s been in generations, but rapid forest loss and extreme climate impacts are increasing pollution. We have a small window of opportunity to make the Potomac resilient and healthy – to finally return swimmable and fishable waters to all communities.
We must meet this moment with urgent and bold action, not just modest improvements.
Join our Clean Water, Healthy Communities Campaign today! This first-of-its-kind endeavor will raise an ambitious $8 million to vastly increase the pace and scale of land and water protection in our region. Together, we will protect and restore the Potomac River for all of us, forever.
Latest Impact
In 2024, we welcomed over 1,370 volunteers to pitch in for the Potomac River and other important tributaries at cleanup events in Maryland, Virginia, and DC. Together, we removed over 34,300 pounds of damaging litter—more than 17 tons—from our waterways and green spaces, surpassing our 30,000 pound target for the year.
