The mission of the American Heritage Rivers Alliance (AHRA) is to connect existing and future American Heritage River communities through advocacy, national coordination and fiscal capacity to enhance their local environmental, economic and heritage assets.  American Heritage River communities are established through the federal-local partnership of the American Heritage Rivers Initiative (AHRI).

AHRI, established by Executive Order 13061, is a network of locally-driven partnerships working to restore rivers, promote sustainable development, and improve quality of life.  Interagency River Navigators help match local needs with available federal resources for environmental, economic, and cultural/historic preservation efforts.