Sidedoor: The Riverkeeper

Being a “Riverkeeper” might sound a little quaint—even romantic—but protecting critical waterways means spending as much time in court as on the water.

The mighty Mississippi may be more famous in folklore and popular culture as “Old Man River,” but the more prosaic Patuxent River in Maryland has its own champion in RIverkeeper Fred Tutman. In 2004,Tutman founded Patuxent Riverkeeper, an environmental advocacy organization,with the goal of protecting and preserving all 110 miles of the Patuxent. Tutman’s role as Riverkeeper takes him from the river bank to the courtroom—and as the only African American Riverkeeper in the United States Waterkeeper Alliance—on the forefront of an environmental movement that is still incomplete.

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