The Coalition for a Clean Minnesota River was founded in 1990 due to the vision of members of several groups whose love for the Minnesota River allowed them to see its potential and want to fight for its future. CCMR encourages citizens from all walks of life to share its vision. Over 40 organizations and hundreds of citizens have joined our efforts, carving out their own unique roles in river restoration activities.

We work to ensure that all citizens have a voice in determining the river's future.
We encourage and support the broadest diversity of citizens possible, building effective networks and bridges among unusual allies to reach our goals. We strive to find balance and realistic approaches to solving the river's environmental problems.

We have a passion for the work we do.
We offer a positive vision of what the Minnesota River can become. We create and nurture relationships among the public and provide an extensive network to link river supporters together.
We stay on top of river issues so that we can expose abuses, negligence and mismanagement that adversely affect water quality. We call attention to these and demand corrective actions, using news media to share our concerns with others.

We are catalysts for action.
We work at the state and national level to develop public policy to improve the river, such as our trip Washington, D.C. to lobby for CREP program and for the American Heritage Rivers program.
At the individual level, we encourage churches, students, families and businesses to make their own contributions to improving water quality. We seek to educate, inform, persuade and entertain in a way that allows others to unleash their own talents and creativity to help the river.

Minnesota River Facts
It is 335 miles in length.
It has 670 miles of shoreline.
It drains 20% of Minnesota's land mass.
870,000 people live in its basin.
It is our state's most polluted river.