Jim Norton

Project Coordinator, Columbia Rediviva

Jim is the Boise-based project coordinator for Columbia Rediviva, an intentional dis-organization of advocates for re-examining our relationship to salmon and power in the Columbia River Basin. He previously worked with impact-focused capital, investing in the shift from industrial to ecological models of natural resource management. The Rediviva project was inspired by dramatic changes in western energy markets, promising unprecedented opportunities for renewed abundance on his home rivers in the Pacific Northwest.  

Jim has also been a professional river guide and naturalist for the last 30 years, and now primarily guides in the Grand Canyon and Central Idaho. Along the way, Jim learned to tolerate the front country by becoming active in the effort to restore rivers and pacific salmon populations, for which he has spoken from community halls to Congress.

While working for a documentary film studio, Jim developed, wrote, and produced “Salmon: Running the Gauntlet” for PBS’s Nature series. This one-hour program explored the natural history of Columbia River salmon and the unnatural history of our 150-year interventions in every stage of their life cycle – what is now the oldest and most expensive species recovery effort in U.S. history.