Founders' Statement

We co-founded the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper organization in 1994 because of our great love for the river that sustained us in our childhood and now sustains our own children, as well as more than 3.5 million Georgians.

Modeling the Chattahoochee program after New York's aggressive and successful Hudson Riverkeeper, we sought to create a focused environmental advocacy initiative led by professional staff and committed volunteers. With funding from the Turner Foundation and other local supporters, UCR officially opened its doors for business on March 1, 1994 in donated office space with a single canoe for river transportation. A year later, we were powered by a donated jet boat and full-time legal staff.

Since 1994, a dedicated and diverse Board of Directors has guided UCR in its transformation from a scrappy group of paddlers, scientists, anglers and environmental activists to a respected, but still scrappy, organization that has won many victories for the Chattahoochee River Basin.

While our legal actions have captured the headlines, UCR's school and community outreach programs and floating classroom serve as the foundation of our work, and we are particularly proud of the awards that UCR has received for these initiatives.

UCR's accomplishments will give you an idea of the breadth and complexity of the river issues that daily challenge our competent staff.

Despite our successes, UCR needs your support more than ever, as metro Atlanta's sprawling growth increasingly dominates and pollutes and the river system and our water supply is stressed by drought, waste and overuse. Join us in our effort to protect Georgia's greatest river!

Laura Turner Seydel and Rutherford Seydel