Protecting natural resources in our rapidly urbanizing region.

 
 
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Who We Are

IRWP is a 19-year-old nonprofit organization whose mission is to improve the integrity of the Illinois River Watershed, a region covering rapidly urbanizing Northwest Arkansas and Eastern Oklahoma, through public education, outreach, and the implementation of conservation and restoration practices. 

This is Your Watershed

Landowners and residents of Fayetteville, Bentonville, Rogers, Springdale, Lincoln, Farmington, Tontitown, Prairie Grove, Lowell, Cave Springs, Elm Springs, and Siloam Springs— all the way over to Tahlequah, Oklahoma— you live in the Illinois River Watershed!

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Your Donation can help us build local awareness of the watershed.

IRWP T-SHIRTS

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The Illinois River Watershed Partnership works to improve the integrity of the Illinois River Watershed through public education, outreach, and implementation of conservation and restoration practices throughout the watershed.

Property owners along the Illinois River and its tributaries in Northwest Arkansas are losing an estimated 20 acres each year to stream bank erosion, according to a multiyear study.

Streambank Erosion and Restoration

Take a minute to sign up to volunteer with IRWP.

We will contact you when a volunteer opportunity that matches your criteria is available.

Follow our journey.

@Illinois_River on Instagram

View fullsize This week we took two hours to restore functionality of our 420 square foot porous parking pad. On the right the pavers have been swept and joints lightly pressure washed leaving only the exposed aggregate. And on the left, you can see a layer of fin
View fullsize Part of IRWP's water quality work includes a biological assessment of #waterqualtiy through macroinvertebrate sampling. Pictured are two Ebony Jewelwing Damselflies found in our watershed. Before emerging as an adult, the jewelwing spends most of i
View fullsize It's a beautiful late summer morning at the IRWP Learning Center. The Monarch butterflies are on the Butterfly milkweed (Asclepias tuberosa), and the Prairie coneflowers (Ratibida) and lot's of other natives are really popping! Happy Friday!
View fullsize Did you know that increasing sediments in our waterways from erosion events can lead to a decrease in the amount of oxygen that is dissolved and available for living organisms? Many of these sediments contain limiting nutrients like phosphorus and n
View fullsize We are reflecting on #WaterQualityMonth and how it is affected by precipitation here in our region. In the words of the well known American musician, "The Times They Are A-Changin'." The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has analyzed precipita
View fullsize Let's talk about streambank erosion for #waterqualitymonth. Since 2017, IRWP and partners have monitored the impact of streambank erosion in the Upper portion of our watershed. It is estimated that this process contributes to over 102,000 tons of s
View fullsize We are still looking for our next great Restoration Specialist! This an exciting entrepreneurial role implementing restoration and conservation projects throughout the Illinois River Watershed. More information available at https://www.irwp.org/job-o
View fullsize We are hiring a new position - Director of Recreation Stewardship. This position will be responsible for facilitating a conservation-minded recreation culture on the upper Illinois River and working with local partners to develop sustainable recreati

IRWP is Here to Help

IRWP’s programming provides assistance to landowners living in our watershed. If you need stormwater resources, help understanding and managing streamside property, or have a failing septic system, we may be able to provide financial and technical assistance.

Join our Mission

Sign up to Volunteer

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Sign up to receive our quarterly newsletter and periodic alerts for our (mostly free) learning sessions, discussions, events, water quality topics, and more!