GREENFIELD — The Connecticut River Watershed Council is retiring its name and logo, but Executive Director Andrew Fisk said it will remain the same organization.

Now called the Connecticut River Conservancy, the nonprofit environmental advocate, has relabeled itself as a way to acknowledge the past and prepare for the future.

“To honor 65 years of work protecting the Connecticut River and all of its tributaries, we’re launching ourselves into the next 65 years. And we have a vision for what our work will be and we have a vision for our rivers,” Fisk said. “It means that we’re going to do more of the work that we’ve always done, so really it’s a vision of more work and better rivers. We’ll be a stronger voice for the river. We can find more environmental problems and fix them.”

Fisk said global climate change is affecting weather patterns and river flow and more must be done to protect individual landowners and municipalities from these impacts. He said CRC will further work to remove trash and debris along the river and plant more trees.

“The rivers belong to everybody. It’s a public trust resource,” Fisk said. “We all own them.”

The public is invited to join CRC staff, trustees, members and friends at a launch party at the deKoven House in Middletown, Conn., Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. on April 18. Another launch party was held Wednesday in Greenfield, and additional events will be held throughout the summer.

The organization, located at 15 Bank Row in Greenfield, on Wednesday changed the name on its website and on the sign out front.

To learn more about CRC or to make a contribution to help protect rivers, visit www.ctriver.org or call 413-772-2020.

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