Friends of the River began in 1973 when a group of environmentalists joined together to fight the proposed New Melones Dam. The New Melones Dam was set to inundate what was then one of California’s premier whitewater rafting sections, Camp Nine on the Stanislaus River. In 1980 alone, 60,000 people rafted through this idyllic canyon to see it one last time before the New Melones Reservoir was filled. Indeed many of the activists involved in the fight against the dam were river guides who worked within the limestone walls of the Camp Nine section. 

The group organized a campaign called ‘Save the Stan’ and under the name ‘Friends of the River’ worked to get Proposition-17 onto the 1974 ballot to stop the dam from going ahead. Unfortunately, a ‘no’ vote meant voting in favor of the dam. In addition to this confusing wording, the agricultural lobby poured big money into a counter campaign and sunk any hope of saving the Stanislaus River.

In 1979 after pursuing all possible avenues to save the Stanislaus, Mark Dubois, a leader in the movement and co-founder of Friends of the River, famously chained himself deep within the canyon, deterring its inundation for some days, but ultimately, the reservoir was filled.

Despite this terrible loss Friends of the River continued into the future, determined to protect other rivers in California from a similar and devastating fate. Friends of the River became the dominant voice for the protection of California’s rivers through persistent political and community engagement.

Friends of the River continues this important work today and in the face of climate change, our work has never been more crucial. Friends of the River works to be a voice for California’s rivers in the political and legal spheres and also works to inspire the public to take action on behalf of our rivers.

With your help, Friends of the River will continue its work to stop the proposed Sites Reservoir, Pacheco Reservoir, Del Puerto Reservoir, the raising of the Shasta Dam, and the Delta Tunnels, just to name a few of the current projects that threaten the very existence of California’s rivers today.