Spokane Riverkeeper Partners with Groupon Grassroots for Weeklong Local Campaign

Our friends at the Spokane Riverkeeper have partnered with Groupon Grassroots , the philanthropic arm of Groupon, for a local campaign to fund water quality monitoring efforts on Hangman Creek and the Spokane River; monitoring that will help assist a larger watershed restoration effort being undertaken by Riverkeeper and other local organizations.

If the Spokane Riverkeeper local support initiative reaches its funding goal, Spokane Riverkeeper can begin baseline testing on water quality in Hangman Creek and in the Spokane River. Baseline data is essential in setting up an effective and eventually successful restoration project.  Spokane Riverkeeper is currently working with The Lands Council , Inland Northwest Land Trust , Trout Unlimited and Spokane Community College to develop a multi-year restoration plan for Hangman Creek, a major tributary of the Spokane River.  A restored Hangman Creek is vital to meeting water quality improvement goals of the Spokane River, and baseline data and eventual ongoing water quality testing is critical in determining effective restoration efforts.

“We are thrilled to employ the collective action model of Groupon Grassroots to raise support for our Spokane Riverkeeper local support initiative,” said Spokane Riverkeeper Bart Mihailovich. “We look forward to creating new awareness for Spokane Riverkeeper and our mission as one of the local organizations in Spokane to be featured on Groupon Grassroots.”

One hundred percent of the Groupon Grassroots campaign proceeds will be used to provide funding support for water quality monitoring of Hangman Creek and the Spokane River.

An incredible amount of work is underway to clean up and protect the health of the Spokane River, a lot of which Spokane Riverkeeper has a hand in.  But one glaring hole in the overall scope of work is the lack of protection and work being done to clean up Hangman Creek.  Unchecked development and agriculture and a culture of disregard for stream and shoreline regulations have impaired Hangman Creek to a point where it has become one of the biggest threats to overall Spokane River health. Shorelines need to be rehabilitated, wetlands need to be created and pollution prevention measures need to be put in place before any kind of water quality improvements are to be expected.  Success of this Groupon Grassroots campaign will help Spokane Riverkeeper get the ball rolling on this important step down the long road of watershed restoration.