Meet Willamette Riverkeeper’s new executive director

In Bob Sallinger’s eyes, a river is an effective means for channeling ideals and a litmus test for broader environmental health.

“They (rivers) give people something to focus on in terms of access, equity, climate change and biodiversity. They are such a powerful reflection on how we are doing in those arenas,” he said.

As the new executive director of Willamette Riverkeeper — which works to protect and restore the Willamette River — Sallinger hopes to inspire more engagement with river preservation and to safeguard the river from pollutants. Sallinger, who served as the conservation director for the organization following 30 years with the Bird Alliance of Oregon, recently assumed the role held by Travis Williams for over two decades. Williams recently became the president of the Willamette River Preservation Trust.

“The Willamette Riverkeeper has had an amazing impact and is a grassroots, community-based organization that gets people involved in a tangible way,” Sallinger said. “I feel fortunate to have the opportunity to build this forward.”

Sallinger grew up in Massachusetts, attended audubon camps as a kid and moved west after falling in love with the region while hiking the Pacific Crest Trail. He got a job with the Bird Alliance of Oregon (then the Portland Audubon Society) and worked for the organization for 30 years — including as its conservation director.

“Conservation was my north star,” he said.

Sallinger collaborated with Willamette Riverkeeper on various policy and advocacy work and then assumed the role as Riverkeeper’s conservation director last year.

“I have a tremendous amount of respect for the work Travis and Riverkeeper have done for the last couple decades,” he said. “I joined not anticipating becoming the executive director. I did it because I thought it did incredible work, has a great staff, a great membership and I loved the idea of working on the Willamette River.”

Sallinger said some of the organization’s priorities and initiatives moving forward include: pushing for greater regulation of trash that pollutes the river, guiding the restoration of the Portland Harbour Superfund site, ensuring the enforcement of the Clean Water Act (so that the water quality is high), protecting biodiversity and pushing for greater requirements for development within floodplains.

“What we should try to achieve is to make the Willamette River a premiere river nationwide. I want people, when they think about protecting and restoring a river, to think about the Willamette,” Sallinger said.

Sallinger also mentioned wanting to spark greater engagement with marginalized communities.

“It’s a matter of being very intentional. It’s a matter of building trust. It’s a matter of building relationships over time,” he said. “We’ve certainly done some of this, but it’s something we are committed to continuing to pursue. I’m very interested in creating those connections and understanding the concerns different communities may have around the river.”