On Rivers and River Protection
"A river is more than an amenity—it is a treasure that offers a necessity of life that must be rationed among those who have the power over it."
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, U.S. Supreme Court Justice, Speaking About the Delaware River in 1931
"In a country where nature has been so lavish and where we have been so spendthrift of indigenous beauty, to set aside a few rivers in their natural state should be considered an obligation."
—Senator Frank Church from Idaho,
Arguing for passage of the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act (1968)
"...the time has also come to identify and preserve free-flowing stretches of our great rivers before growth and development make the beauty of the unspoiled waterway a memory."
—President Lyndon Johnson's Message on Natural Beauty
"Wild rivers are earth's renegades, defying gravity, dancing to their own tunes, resisting the authority of humans, always chipping away, and eventually always winning."
—Richard Bangs, River Gods
"We are never far from the lilt and swirl of living water. Whether to fish or swim or paddle, or only to stand and gaze, to glance as we cross a bridge, all of us are drawn to rivers, all of us happily submit to their spell. We need their familiar mystery. We need their fluent lives interflowing with our own."
—John Daniel, Oregon Rivers