Potomac Conservancy, Inc.

Potomac Conservancy, Inc. is a nonprofit clean water advocacy organization founded in 1993. It works to protect the Potomac River, the drinking water source for five million people, through on-the-ground conservation, policy advocacy and community engagement. Its technical work spans watershed conservation, streamside forest protection, water quality protection, land conservation and stream restoration, and it operates across the Potomac River watershed, including Potomac Gorge.

The organisation's farmland and streamside forest conservation program works directly with family farmers and landowners to protect streamside forests and preserve family farms; to date more than 15,000 acres of land have been protected and 105 miles of streams conserved. A volunteer cleanup and restoration programme mobilises thousands of volunteers and has removed nearly 30,000 pounds of trash from waterways. Alongside this field work, Potomac Conservancy advocates for stronger water protection laws at every level of government, including testifying at state legislature hearings.

Potomac Conservancy began as a small volunteer group and has grown into a grassroots movement with over 35,000 supporters. The organisation describes its staff as mission-driven clean water advocates, and its work combines conservation with policy advocacy and community engagement, with an emphasis on long-term stewardship of the Potomac and a stated goal of making the river swimmable and fishable for everyone. Its operating model rests on long-haul commitment rather than short campaigns.