Indigenous peoples in many parts of the world--on the Columbia, Nile, Mekong, and Amazon rivers for example--still rely on rivers to provide them with food. This is called subsistence fishing. When dams are built, these subsistence fisheries are often flooded out, forcing people to move away and find other work.

Some commercial fishing still takes place on rivers, but for the most part commercial fishing has already so decreased the numbers of formerly abundant species that it is no longer profitable. Some major river fisheries of the past were the Columbia River salmon, the Russian sturgeon that provides caviar, and Mississippi River mussels.

Today, by far the largest part of stream fishing is done by recreational fishers: the average citizen with a fishing pole and tackle box. He is joined by the recreational hunter who enjoys working with dogs and gun to bring down waterfowl like ducks. These casual resource users work very effectively with environmental groups to help protect streams and other bodies of water, because they know better than anyone that without healthy streams their sports will vanish.

Many people find fishing a relaxing and enjoyable way to escape the pressures of modern living. They may fish from boats or from the banks, and there are many who fly-fish. Many fishermen now practice catch-and-release. When they catch a fish, they leave it in the water, gently remove the hook from its mouth, and support it until it can swim away.

Catfish are often caught, but the hands-down favorite of most of the fishing public is trout. Because of this, streams are stocked annually with the trout that the public wants to catch. These hatchery fish disrupt ecological systems because they are usually larger and more aggressive than native fishes, including native trout. Hatchery fish may also breed with native species, diluting their chromosomes and making their survival more precarious.

Private environmental organizations and their volunteers are monitoring streams all across the country, keeping an eye on their health. Children in school often spend time studying streams because it is a good way to learn about and get involved in local ecological issues. College students, graduates, and professors study streams in order to advance our knowledge about them. Federal and state governments, as well as tribal governments, employ biologists to study rivers in their jurisdictions.

People have used canoes, feluccas (a kind of sailboat), rafts, and sampans for thousands of years to travel up and down rivers. Today these small boats can still be seen on the Amazon, Tigris and Euphrates, Mekong, Nile, and Yangtze rivers, among many others.

In America, paddleboats and steamboats became a popular mode of transportation in the late 1800's, especially along the Mississippi River. Even the wild and woolly Columbia River--before it was tamed--hosted a few brave ferry captains. A few of the old paddleboats and ferries can still be found and are used today to generate tourist dollars. In a few places where bridges can't be built, people must still use ferries to cross rivers.

Large rivers are often major shipping routes for modern industry. Tugboats can be seen pulling long barges up and down rivers. Ocean-going ships enter the mouths of some rivers to reach major cities. Some examples of these rivers are the Columbia, the Hudson, and the St. Lawrence River in Quebec.

Early in America's history, rivers were used to transport logs downstream. This was a fast and easy way for loggers to move logs to where they could be loaded onto trains or ships. Unfortunately, it was also devastating to the environment, scouring the rivers of the debris that had provided animals with habitat. Today efforts are underway to replace this debris with large jams of logs bolted together.

Although hydroelectric dams don't need water to cool them down, they need water to generate electricity. In the half-century of their operation, dams arguably have caused the most fish to be placed on endangered species lists, and they have driven a number of species to extinction.