Tillie Walton is a conservationist, hydrologist, river guide, and the host of the PBS series, Wild Rivers with Tillie. She is also a dear friend of American Rivers.
In season 1 of Wild Rivers with Tillie, she brought viewers down some of the West’s most beloved rivers. Some face perilous threats, and others offer a playbook for how to protect and preserve these cherished bodies of water. Viewers can join Tillie on the Rogue, the Colorado through Glen and Grand Canyon, the Yampa, and on the Snake. Throughout the season and on each of the rivers she explores, Tillie engages experts in thoughtful conversation about conservation, drought, and the future of the rivers that tether us to the landscape, and to each other.
We had the opportunity to ask Tillie a few questions about the inspiration for her work (including hosting the show), some fun behind-the-scenes anecdotes, and what else she’s been working on (Tillie doesn’t sit down much)…
1) Tell us about the first river you remember spending time on.
What made the biggest impact on me was a 3-week trip in Big Bend National Park as a senior in high school. We spent three days canoeing on the Rio Grande through Santa Elena Canyon, and that changed my life forever. We were all inner-city kids, and some of us didn’t know how to swim. We were given these tippy little canoes, and I was secretly glad that I was with the instructor because I really did not want to flip my canoe! I was terrified.
At one point, the instructor told me, “I want you to put your paddle down.” I said, “What?” He said, “Put your paddle down, lie back, and just keep your eyes open.” And as I leaned back, I felt the river underneath me, the canyon walls towering around me, and the sky passing above me. We were drifting along the river, meandering through the canyon walls, and I don’t know how to describe it, except that something just clicked. And I instantly knew, this is it. This is what I want to do, and since then I’ve never looked back. That trip changed my life, and I’m so grateful.
2) Why dedicate so much of your life to rivers?
Honestly, it never occurred to me not to. Rivers have truly shaped who I am, and I feel most like my true self when I’m on a river. There are so many life lessons that the river teaches us, and in my career as a Grand Canyon guide, I saw how the river can open us up to something larger than ourselves and connect us to each other – regardless of politics, religion, socioeconomics, etc.
I’ve witnessed people light up, laugh, play, and heal by spending time on the water. And even though rivers can be intimidating, I’ve found my sense of peace and connection by being on, in, and around rivers. I want everybody to have the opportunity to experience that sense of awe, wonder, peace, connection, and freedom. It’s part of what I hope to give back to the world.
There are so few places that we can go in this world that give us a chance to quiet our minds and just really connect with something that’s beyond ourselves. Rivers put our smallness as humans into perspective, as well as our infinite grandeur. And I want to help preserve and protect these places.
Perhaps you could describe my drive for doing this as a love affair with the river, and sometimes with love, you have no choice—it’s just part of who you are.
3) What are the best, worst, and weirdest parts about filming season one?
Well, the best part is the people I’ve gotten to meet—from Native American leaders to conservative ranchers to river-running hippies. Talking with folks and recognizing that, despite how different our outer appearances may be, people are saying the exact same thing about their connection to the land and the river.
It always amazes me how much people truly care about these places and how much they are doing to protect the land and rivers in their own ways.
I also love getting to explore wild rivers, like the Devil’s River (which was probably one of my favorites), and go places I would have never thought to visit otherwise. It’s opened my eyes to rivers I didn’t know about and left me with a newfound sense of gratitude for our planet.
The worst part is cold river trips, disgusting hotel rooms, and all the driving. Most of these places are in the middle of nowhere and involve hours of driving with a very cramped car full of camera gear, and the three of us (Dan Duncan, our photographer and producer, the sound person, who is often a volunteer, and I) sharing a car with all of the gear for days on end. The hotel rooms can be kind of less than desirable in the middle of nowhere, but we make it work. And of course, I like warm weather, so the cold trips are not my favorite, but it’s still good to be on the river.
The weirdest (and fun) part is that Wild Rivers with Tillie is completely unscripted. River trips are unpredictable, and we are often going on the river, filming and talking with people I have just met. We never know what the storyline will be or how it will turn out until after the trip is over.
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4) What is the thing that you’re most excited about right now in terms of your conservation work?
I’m most excited for the opportunity to show big love for Big Bend and the Rio Grande River. That’s the place I was talking about earlier that transformed my life. It’s under threat right now because there are plans to build a steel-structure border wall through the middle of our National Park, which will go through some of the most special places on earth and the Rio Grande River.
I hope others will realize this is a phenomenal place that needs to be protected. Our National Parks, and the rivers that flow through them, are some of America’s greatest treasures. I’m excited to have an opportunity to be a voice for that river and am always looking to get folks who are making decisions that impact these places on the river to experience it for themselves.
I’d like to issue an open invitation to anybody who is a policymaker—let me take you down the river and let the river speak for itself so that you can know why these places are truly treasures that we need to protect.
Q5: If you could embed everyone in the world with one piece of knowledge or understanding about rivers, what would it be?
Rivers are the exquisite jewels of our planet, and all of life depends on fresh water. Not only do rivers sustain life on an ecological and biological level, but they’re so good for the soul. I would say get out there and just spend some time by water! Water—whether it’s the ocean, rivers, lakes, taking a shower, or drinking a glass of water—it makes us all feel better!
Rivers make up less than 1% of all water on Earth. If you think of it in terms of jewelry, rivers decorate the earth like rare, beautiful, glistening diamond necklaces that sustain and support all life. These are the most exquisite gems of our planet, and I really wish that we could learn to take care of them as such. So learn about your local river, enjoy time on it, and learn what you can do to protect it.
Want to experience a river right now? Check out THIS immersive trip down the Grand Canyon that Tillie and her team created.
