The Center for Riverine Science and Stream Re-naturalization (CRSSR) was created by the Board of Regents of the State of Montana on November 21, 2002. The mission of the CRSSR is to act as a nucleus to focus interdisciplinary teaching and research on natural and impacted stream systems and to connect The University of Montana with national research labs (federal and private) and river restoration practitioners.

 The University of Montana is establishing a national prominence for its research and training programs in the field of River Science. The purpose of establishing the CRSSR was to create an organized structure that links faculty and researchers within the University of Montana System and enhances their efforts to develop nationally competitive research and training programs. The Center will focus faculty efforts initially from the Missoula campus and the Butte campus. CRSSR participants will also include cooperative affiliates including faculty and researchers from outside universities, federal agencies and private industries. By sharing a common interest and effort, resources can be more effectively combined to enhance project development, collaborative efforts, extramural funding, and research training, as well as faculty and graduate student recruitment. This is particularly true of a field like river science, where research and education are multidisciplinary by nature and typically cross the boundaries of traditional science departments. Further, river science is also a field in which campus-based applied and basic research can foster the collaborative development of research in conjunction with state agencies, private industry, and federal agencies and laboratories.