James River Basin Partnership Information

Since James River Basin Partnership's inception 20 years ago, our volunteers, members, and staff have committed through action, education, and research, to preserve and protect water quality within the James River basin and our beautiful Ozarks landscape. MISSION We are a grassroots, not-for-profit, 501(c)3 organization working to improve and protect the water quality of the springs, streams, rivers, and lakes in the James River watershed which consists of almost a million acres of land in portions of eight counties. BACKGROUND In the late 1990’s, the water quality in Table Rock Lake began to decline. A major algae bloom occurred in the James River arm of Table Rock Lake - disrupting local ecology, threatening tourism, and raising concerns about local health. The event prompted media attention and citizen action. Through a project of the Southwest Missouri Resource Conservation and Development, a group of passionate citizens formed our non-profit, the James River Basin Partnership, in 1997. By August 1999, we became an autonomous grassroots organization, relying on grant funding, memberships, municipality support and donations from individuals and businesses. RECREATION In southwest Missouri, outdoor recreation brings visitors from all over the country - making the Ozarks a popular tourism destination. Many anglers, boaters, birders, and explorers dedicate time on the river to connect with our local resources and our region's unique flora and fauna. Locals enjoy our river for both excitement and fun, as well as escape and relaxation. Want to explore our basin? Check out the James River Explorer's Guide. CLEAN-UPS Just in the last three years, JRBP and our motivated volunteers have pulled over 38,000 pounds of trash and recyclables from our local rivers. Each year we find single-use plastics, metal, tires, televisions, furniture, appliances, lost toys, mattresses, and much more. Please consider joining us for one of our next trash clean-ups.