About ten years ago, Christopher Swain developed a crush on a river. He was living in Eugene, Oregon and became fascinated with the Columbia River, which runs from the wilds of Canada into the Pacific Ocean northwest of Portland. When Lewis and Clark explored the Pacific Northwest, the river was 'clear at any depth', no pollution, no dams, and full of fish. Christopher saw that the river had been abused and contaminated over the years, and wanted to do something to help.