About the White River Partnership

The White River Partnership (WRP) is a grassroots organization whose mission is to bring together people and local communities to improve the long-term health of the White River and its watershed.

The WRP formed in 1996 as a group of local people who shared common concerns and interests in the watershed. That same year, we organized a series of public forums to identify the concerns shared by the larger watershed community. More than 150 community members participated in the forums, and the seven most prevalent concerns for the White River watershed were:

• Stream channel instability and streambank erosion,
• Water quality,
• Point and non-point source pollution,
• Public awareness of water quality problems,
• Extent and quality of public access to the river,
• Impacts to fisheries, and

• Maintaining Vermont’s working landscape, both agricultural and forested.

  For the past twelve years, the WRP has worked to address these concerns by uniting communities, organizations, and state and federal agencies to implement on-the-ground programs designed to evaluate the health of the watershed, to engage communities in watershed restoration, and to raise awareness about watershed issues, including sustainable forestry, agriculturem businesses, and recreational uses.