EXHIBIT 99.1

              David Taber of American River Bankshares to Speak at
                          Financial Services Conference

Sacramento, CA, August 14, 2008 - David Taber, President and CEO of American
River Bankshares, is scheduled to speak at the 13th Annual Howe Barnes Hoefer &
Arnett Community Bank Conference in Chicago on Tuesday, August 19th at
approximately 2:20 p.m. Central Time (12:20 p.m. Pacific Time).

Presentations will be webcast live at http://www.howebarnes.com and will be
available for 7 business days beginning the following business day.


About American River Bankshares
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American River Bankshares [NASDAQ-GS: AMRB] is the parent company of American
River Bank ("ARB"), a community business bank serving the Greater Sacramento
Area in California that operates a family of financial services providers,
including North Coast Bank [a division of "ARB"] in Sonoma County and Bank of
Amador [a division of "ARB"] in Amador County. For more information, please call
(916) 851-0123 or visit www.amrb.com; www.americanriverbank.com;
www.northcoastbank.com; www.bankofamador.com.

Forward-Looking Statement
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Certain statements contained herein are forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 that involve risks and uncertainties. Actual
results may differ materially from the results in these forward-looking
statements. Factors that might cause such a difference include, among other
matters, changes in interest rates, economic conditions, governmental regulation
and legislation, credit quality, and competition affecting the Company's
businesses generally; the risk of natural disasters and future catastrophic
events including terrorist related incidents; and other factors discussed in the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007, and
in subsequent reports filed on Form 10-Q and Form 8-K. The Company does not
undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any of these
forward-looking statements, whether to reflect new information, future events or
otherwise.


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