Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

FROM STAFF REPORTS

Two longstanding local nonprofits—Cahaba River Society and Cahaba Riverkeeper—have merged to form Cahaba River Coalition, a unified organization dedicated to preserving and protecting the Cahaba River and its watershed.

The new organization aims to leverage science, conservation and community engagement to monitor river health, share trusted information with the public and encourage sustainable development in partnership with local leaders.

According to a press release, the Cahaba River, recognized globally for the biodiversity it supports, faces mounting threats from development, pollution and extreme weather. As a unified organization, Cahaba River Coalition plans to strengthen programs and enhance responsiveness to pollution reports and citizen concerns, while advancing water protection, river recreation and community education to better serve all five counties in the watershed.

Building on their legacies, the two organizations bring decades of community impact to the new Cahaba River Coalition. Cahaba River Society has long connected communities to the river through recreation, education and stewardship programs. Cahaba Riverkeeper has worked to defend the ecological integrity of the river and enforce the Clean Water Act, as part of the global Waterkeeper Alliance. Together, the unified organization will honor this legacy with a stronger platform to engage communities and expand its program to inspire a growing movement of advocates for a thriving, healthy and biodiverse river.

Deborah Barker, interim executive director of Cahaba River Society, and David Butler, executive director and Riverkeeper of Cahaba Riverkeeper, will lead the new organization together until a permanent leader is named early next year.

“By bringing together the incredible work of both organizations, we will expand our reach to protect the rich biodiversity of the Cahaba,” Barker said. “Merging our strengths in data, relationship-building and education opens new opportunities to deepen our impact across the entire watershed. Cahaba River Coalition will broaden both the protection we provide and further inspire people to be stronger stewards of this extraordinary river.”

In its first six months, Cahaba River Coalition will expand data collection to document persistent water quality issues that impair the Cahaba, threaten public health and damage the river’s fragile ecosystem. To respond, it will broaden programs across the watershed, offering high-quality environmental education and timely public health information to keep people safe, informed and engaged, while also launching a new membership program to keep the public invested in its work.

“The Cahaba River is a world-renowned biological treasure and invaluable to our state, the communities it supports and visitors from around the world,” Butler said. “We are excited to combine our expertise to inspire future generations to honor the river we all love with collaborative solutions in the face of inevitable change.”

Cahaba River Coalition will retain all staff and programs from both legacy organizations, providing continuity for the communities they serve. Its work will be sustained by individual donors, local foundations, the Save the Cahaba license plate and a new membership program designed to engage the public as an ongoing source of support.

“This merger is a positive step for the Cahaba River and for our river protection movement as a whole. Collaboration is the most effective way to protect our rivers and water resources,” said Cindy Lowry, executive director of the Alabama Rivers Alliance. “Together, they will be able to accomplish their mission of protecting and defending the Cahaba River and its watershed even better than they can individually.