david butler
cahaba riverkeeper

David Butler was named the Cahaba Riverkeeper in 2015 and Staff Attorney in 2018, after serving as both a volunteer and Board member.

 

David brings over 15 years of experience leading canoe and kayak trips along the Cahaba River, where he observed many of the problems threatening the river today.  One of the most frequent questions he fields in his role as a guide is whether the river is safe to swim, and his work as Riverkeeper allows him to play a role in answering that question directly.

 

 

“As a recreational user of the Cahaba, I felt obligated to do something to help.  I started to look for opportunities to volunteer my time and talents, and was attracted to the Waterkeeper movement because while independent, at each organization’s core is a desire to document through scientific research and data collection the present state of the watershed they serve.”

 

David studied finance at the University of Kentucky, before moving on to work in the financial research industry in New York.  After six years, David returned to the south and enrolled at the University of Alabama where he earned a Journalism degree.  While studying in Tuscaloosa, David started working part-time at the former Alabama Small Boats shop and reignited his passion for rivers.  In 2018, David earned his J.D. from the Birmingham School of Law and was admitted to the state bar later that year.

 

As the staff Riverkeeper, David’s responsibilities include:   overseeing the successful Swim Guide program, organizing river cleanups, responding to pollution complaints, managing our intensive data collection efforts, speaking to concerned citizen and civic groups, as well as a host of other duties.

 

David lives in Vestavia just off Little Shades Creek with his wife (Susan), two children (Jacob, 15 and Allison, 4) and their rambunctious Dalmatian Lucy.