Canada has a system that designates rivers as heritage resources

It doesn't necessarily provide any protections, but is still an interesting concept. See the Canadian Heritage Rivers System website for more information.

(Maybe we need to be in the habit of calling "historic preservation"--the term we use in the U.S.--heritage preservation or heritage conversation, which are terms used in Europe and Canada, and are more expansive than thinking mostly of buildings. Although the heritage area idea focuses on the idea of the "cultural landscape" as the organizing concept.)