Collaboration and Partnerships

A component of the Upper Merced River Watershed Council’s mission is to convene and collaborate with all who care about the river to strengthen our collective watershed protection impact. We dedicate significant efforts towards partnership-building and advocating for the interests of the Merced River on the local, regional, and national level.

The Watershed Council is an active organizational member of the following groups and entities.

Logo with a graphic water and Wild and Scenic Rivers Coalition stacked on the right

  • The Wild and Scenic Rivers Coalition is an unincorporated alliance of these river and wildlands organizations with a mission to protect and defend existing and potential Wild and Scenic Rivers and broaden the movement for their conservation by raising awareness about their value.

Logo featuring a illustration of pinecones and a green YSS acronym

  • The Yosemite-Stanislaus Solutions (YSS) collaborative group is a highly diverse coalition of interests who share a common goal of restoring and maintaining healthy forests and watersheds, fire-safe communities, and sustainable local economies using a science-based approach.

Mountain peaked with white snow graphic logo

  • The Sierra Nevada Alliance is a network of conservation groups encompassing 24 watersheds of the 650 kilometer-long Sierra Nevada in California and Nevada.

Water Droplet logo

  • The River Management Society (RMS) is the nation's premier network connecting those who work on and for rivers with their river professional peers, including outfitters and guides, rangers, planners and landscape architects, fluvial geomorphologists, environmental lawyers and policymakers, students, professors, researchers and authors.

  • Yosemite Gateway Partners is a partnership of government agencies, non-profit organizations, tribes, individuals and businesses that acknowledge the interdependence of Yosemite National Park and the surrounding communities, and collaborate on and address issues of regional importance to create sustainable cultural, natural and economic prosperity.

The following agencies and organizations work in tandem with the Watershed Council and share common goals like stewardship, equity, and protection of the Merced River.

Federal Agencies

  • Yosemite National Park is protected under the jurisdiction of the National Park Service, an agency of the Department of Interior. The mission of the NPS is to preserve unimpaired the natural and cultural resources and values of the National Park System for the enjoyment, education, and inspiration of this and future generations. NPS manages 81 miles of the Merced Wild and Scenic River, from its headwaters in the Yosemite high country to the El Portal area along State Highway 140.

  • The US Forest Service is an agency of the US Department of Agriculture and manages public lands while providing technical and financial assistance to state and private forestry agencies and make up the largest forestry research organization in the world. The Merced Wild and Scenic River flows through both the Sierra and Stanislaus National Forests, 33 miles of which are co-managed with the Bureau of Land Management.

  • The Bureau of Land Management's mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. BLM manages, protects, and preserves 12 miles of the Merced Wild and Scenic River.

Regional Organizations

  • NatureBridge is a non-profit partner of the National Park Service whose mission is “to connect young people to the wonder and science of the natural world, igniting self-discovery and inspiring stewardship of our planet.” NatureBridge in Yosemite works in concert with the Watershed Council, engaging students in volunteer water quality monitoring along the Merced River.

  • Sierra Foothill Conservancy is a land trust rooted in the local community that works to preserve special places for future generations. The Watershed Council partners with SFC on annual river clean-ups and other events.

  • Sierra Nevada Conservancy is a state agency that leads California’s efforts to restore and enhance the extraordinary natural resources and communities of the Sierra Nevada while protecting them from wildfire and a changing climate.

  • Friends of the River is a state-wide organization dedicated to protecting and preserving what remains of the State’s free-flowing rivers in their natural condition, and especially those rivers that are protected by the Wild and Scenic Rivers act.

Local Groups

  • Founded and managed by past Watershed Council Board Director, Bill King, Mariposa Trails provides trail access and promote its use for adventure, health, stewardship, education and community prosperity.

  • Keep it Wild – Merced River is a coalition of groups and friends interested in keeping the Merced River a federally designated Wild and Scenic River..

  • The Merced River Conservation Committee is a local volunteer organization of members interested in the Merced River watershed and its future, based in Mariposa County. Their principal interests are fisheries and aquatic habitat, trail and boating recreation, and historic sites.

    Other suggestions: Mariposa County Planning Department; Merced River Trail Community Working Group; Yosemite Tourism Bureau, etc.