About Coosa Riverkeeper

Coosa Riverkeeper, Inc. is a citizen-based nonprofit organization fighting for fishable, swimmable, drinkable water in the Coosa Valley of Alabama. We monitor polluters and their pollution permits, patrol the waterways, educate the public, and advocate on behalf of the river.

We are a 501(c)(3) organization and a member of Waterkeeper Alliance, an international alliance of 200 Waterkeeper organizations fighting to protect their local waterways.

Why The Coosa Needs Our Help

In June, 2010 the environmental group American Rivers named the Coosa the 10th most endangered river in the country. The Coosa is also home to the largest extinction event in modern North American history, according to Center for Biological Diversity. Rapid dam construction in the early 20th century wiped out at least 36 species that thrived in the shoals that were inundated. Nonetheless, the Coosa River is the most aquatically biodiverse subwatershed of the Mobile River Basin in terms of fish, mussel and snail species.

Besides its rich aquatic biodiversity, the Coosa Valley also has a diverse cultural history. Before ultimately being claimed by the United States, the area had been ruled by several different groups of Native Americans (lastly by the Muscogee/Creek Confederacy), the Spanish, the British, and the French (who considered the Alabama and Coosa Rivers the "key to the country"). Centuries later, the riverboat era on the Coosa was the inspiration behind the classic Popeye the Sailorman cartoon.