About the Muskegon River Watershed Assembly
With offices located on the campus of Ferris State University in Big Rapids, the Assembly is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that works throughout the watershed.
Our Mission
Uniting people and partners to restore the Muskegon River
The Muskegon River Watershed Assembly is dedicated to the preservation, protection, restoration, and sustainable use of the Muskegon River, the land it drains, and the life it supports, through educational, scientific and conservation initiatives.
Funding Partners
Project Partners
Our History
What began as a group of dedicated volunteers in 1998 has grown into a respected regional leader in watershed restoration and community engagement.
Past
In 2000, MRWA became a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
With early support from the Wege Foundation and the Great Lakes Fishery Trust, MRWA hired its first full-time staff, laying the foundation for long-term impact.
Over the years, MRWA has completed hundreds of projects, both large and small — from educational and community engagement efforts like stream sampling and the annual Trash Bash, to conservation and restoration work such as tree plantings, rain gardens, bank stabilization, and dam removals.
All of this work advances the Muskegon River Watershed Management Plan, first approved in 2002.
Present
MRWA has a professional staff of four working in partnership with hundreds of donors, volunteers, and partnering organizations.
Together, we are strategically advancing the Watershed Management Plan to conserve and restore the watershed.
Our headquarters are hosted by Ferris State University, and we continue to build a network of state and federal agencies, local governments, corporations, and institutions of higher education working to sustain the Muskegon River.
Future
At MRWA, our passion is making connections. Those connections with people and place are the key to our impactful, place-based restoration and conservation projects. We value affirmation, intentional action, holistic thinking, and impactful results.
Our guarantee to you is that our work will have measurable ecological and community benefit, and that the community both informs and learns from our projects.
We continue to update and focus our planning and projects for maximum positive impact, and we are actively working to build organizational and community capacity to do more good work.
