Riverkeeper takes care of the river so that there are always plenty of fish and the water is clean and safe for everyone who lives around it.  In 1984, attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined Riverkeeper. Kennedy is Riverkeeper's chief prosecuting attorney, and along with Karl Coplan, he co-directs the Pace Environmental Litigation Clinic where ten students and two professors do nothing but prosecute Hudson River polluters. To date, Riverkeeper and its network of citizens have prosecuted over 100 environmental lawbreakers.

The Waterkeeper Alliance is the umbrella organization for the more than 80 Waterkeeper programs located throughout North and Central America. The Waterkeeper movement is among the fastest growing grass-roots environmental movements and quickly is becoming a unique force for environmental change. It is an environmental "neighborhood watch" program, a citizen's patrol to protect communities and the waters they depend on. The Keeper philosophy is based on the notion that the protection and enjoyment of a community's natural resources requires the daily vigilance of its citizens.