For the Love of Rivers

A Scientist’s Journey

A book by Dr. Kurt Fausch

Gold-colored medal with embossed tree and moon image, featuring the text "Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award Winner".

Winner of the 2016 Sigurd Olson Nature Writing Award

A clear mountain stream flowing through a rocky landscape with green trees and a blue sky with clouds.

In For the Love of Rivers, Kurt Fausch draws readers into an international collaboration among stream ecologists to discover the strong hidden connections between rivers and their surrounding forests

But the tragic loss of one of his closest Japanese colleagues, and the decline of rivers and fishes that Fausch and his colleagues study, forced him to look beyond the water’s surface and ask what is essential about rivers, and why humans would want to conserve them.

Fausch states, “Like trees and music and good health, streams and rivers are a gift to us as humans… In the end, I believe we will need to understand how and why we love rivers, if we hope to conserve them.”

The book is published by Oregon State University Press (2015), and can be ordered from them or your local bookseller.

We will need to understand our relationship with rivers, and learn how to offer them love and respect.

  • “With deft storytelling and poetic prose, Kurt Fausch conveys the mystery and magic of flowing waters — and why we need to protect them. For the Love of Rivers is a must-read for anyone who loves rivers and the natural world, which Fausch argues is all of us — whether we consciously know that or not.”

    — Sandra Postel
    Freshwater Fellow, National Geographic Society, and co-author of Rivers for Life

  • “In this beautifully written and soulful book, Kurt Fausch exposes the raw nerve of conservation: do we care enough about the natural world to save some of it? He concludes that the urge must come not from monetary justification or scientific warnings, but from a realm ‘beyond the reach of language,’ from the place in our hearts where love resides.”

    — Brian Richter, Chief Scientist of the Nature Conservancy's Global Water Program, and author of Chasing Water: A Guide for Moving from Scarcity to Sustainability

  • “This open window to the mind, heart, and adventures of an accomplished ecologist offers a rare and insightful view for any of us who care about streams, fish, and nature.”

    — Tim Palmer, Author of Field Guide to Oregon Rivers, Rivers of America, and Lifelines: The Case for River Conservation

Two men talking outdoors near a rocky river with green trees in the background.

Help Foster River Conservation

Most of the images and videos here were created by our friends at Freshwaters Illustrated, Jeremy Monroe (founder and Director), Dave Herasimtschuk (photographer and cinematographer), and their colleagues. Their images and videos have been educating others and helping move the needle on river conservation for more than 20 years.

Please join their non-profit organization and donate generously to help foster conservation of rivers and streams worldwide.

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