The Waterkeeper movement was started by a band of blue-collar fishermen on New York’s Hudson River in 1966. Their tough, grassroots brand of environmental activism sparked the river’s miraculous recovery and inspired others to launch local Waterkeeper groups around the world. Today, Waterkeeper Alliance unites more than 300 Waterkeeper Organizations and Affiliates that are on the frontlines of the global water crisis, patrolling and protecting more than 2.5 million square miles of rivers, lakes and coastal waterways on 6 continents. Waterkeeper Organizations and Affiliates defend the fundamental human right to drinkable, fishable and swimmable waters from the Great Lakes to the Himalayas, and combine firsthand knowledge of their waterways with an unwavering commitment to the rights of their communities. Whether they’re on the water tracking down polluters, in courtrooms enforcing environmental laws, advocating in town meetings or teaching in classrooms, the Waterkeeper movement speaks for the waters it defends with the backing of local communities. Waterkeeper Alliance ensures that the world’s Waterkeeper Organizations and Affiliates are as connected to each other as they are to their local waters, organizing the fight for clean water into a coordinated global movement.