Addendum: the news.

In my last entry, I forgot to post links to a couple press references to the "Take Back Our River!" campaign.

First, the Boston Globe:

Against a current craze
Police prod Saco boaters to curb the carousing

[...] Now, fed up by the rowdiness, a coalition of law enforcement agencies and river-related organizations has launched an unprecedented crackdown this season in a campaign they've dubbed "Take Our River Back."

"The party's over," said Fred Westerberg, a canoe and kayak outfitter who helps coordinate cleanup crews for the Saco River Recreational Council, a nonprofit group.

During Memorial Day weekend, Fryeburg police started dramatically beefing up patrols on the river and at launch sites. State Police are providing help on the roads to curb drunken driving. And discussions are underway to consider hefty "launch fees," which would be returned to boaters only if they removed their watercraft and trash from the river after use.

The campaign appeals to enthusiasts who see in the Saco, with its sandy beaches and beautiful scenery, a slow-moving corridor of bucolic serenity within easy reach of Boston, Providence, and Portland. The 125-mile river courses from the White Mountains to the sea, but its heaviest use occurs in a 20-mile run between Fryeburg and Brownfield.

[Read more at The Boston Globe.]

Second, Channel 6 news:

Crackdown On Rowdy Behavior Planned For Saco River

Police and the Saco River Recreational Council have new plans to curb the littering and heavy drinking that often occurs on the Saco River during the summer.

[Watch the clip at WCSH6.com.]

I heard Michelle's and my PSA on WMWV while driving home Friday night, too.

Week 4: Waiting in the wings.

I expect this is the last post I'll be making before work on the river starts in earnest.

To round up some of the stuff I've gotten done in the last two weeks:

• attended and helped facilitate SRCC training on the Weed Information Management System (WIMS);
• contacted specific river partners regarding their participation in the Leave No Trace video PSA I'm putting together;
• arranged a lunch date in July with my mentor internship "buddy," Kate, out of the central office;
• assisted my supervisor in interviewing two candidates for the other conservation docent internship position (BOTH of whom we managed to hire - more on that later);
• assisted SRRC's Michelle with brochures, fliers, and the website for Swan's Falls;
• drafted and then recorded radio PSA on "Take Back Our River!" campaign with Michelle at WMWV;
• participated in the four-hour mandatory diversity intern orientation conference call;
• performed water monitoring at two sites on the Saco (Weston's Beach and Saco Pines);
• removed some of the software I mentioned putting on the computer last post (apparently freeware is frowned upon in the Conservancy);
• created templates for transition guides to distribute to partners at SRP office close in August;
• made arrangements with my middle sister to clean out her old bedroom for intern housing (will explain); and
• organized the hell out of the cluttered office computer hard drive (boring, but extremely necessary).

So we've got two new interns coming on board - Princess, from Brooklyn, who's interested in invasive species, and Jon Boy, from Farmingham, who is really into the education work. Jon Boy will drive down to assist on weekends only, and Princess will work about 25 hours a week, staying in a spare bedroom in my house. She's close in age to my youngest sister - Princess is turning 18 this fall; Ali is turning 19. I hope they get along.

I'm pretty excited for our three-man team. WONDER TRIPLETS, ACTIVATE!

Week 2: Education and river prep.

Two weeks into my internship, things are going well. Here are some ways I've been keeping busy:

• checking in with the canoe livery to make sure we're set for the summer;
• moving files from the old computer to the new one;
• reworking stewardship fliers with new maps and information;
• updating the new computer's software (CCleaner! Open Office! Gimp!);
• monitoring water quality for the Corridor Commission;
• facilitating Leave No Trace education with groups of 5th-graders at Swan's Falls;
• taking office recycling to the recycling center;
• preparing resources and partners for a stewarship PSA video (EXCITING);
• not playing hooky to see the new Star Trek movie.

The Swan's Falls activities were pretty interesting. Poland Spring, which has bottling operations in Fryeburg (politically loaded topic; I won't go into it), offered to sponsor a trout release and day of educational activities at Swan's Falls, an AMC campground and Saco canoe launch now operated by the Rec Council. Michelle Broyer, who's been organizing the annual river cleanup since its inception, as well as championing anti-milfoil activities at Lovewell Pond, is now working for SRRC as the caretaker and coordinator at Swan's, and she has visions of creating a permanent education center there. She was naturally pretty excited about the funding opportunity, and so she worked with Poland Spring to put together the day's activities, including the trout release, water monitoring, macroinvertebrate identification, and a talk about Leave No Trace and taking care of the river. There was a barbecue as well, which kind of gave me pause - they're trying to combat childhood obesity and get kids outside and actively involved in their environment, but lunch is burgers, hot dogs, M&M cookies, and potato chips? There wasn't a vegetable in sight, unless you count ketchup and/or chips, which I do not. Anyway.

The actual events were very successful, and each student got to take home a white pine seedling, provided they promised to actually plant it. The leftover plants will become a new riparian buffer down at the canoe landing.

Several press representatives were supposed to be present, and I believe a journalist from the Bridgton newspaper did show up, but I haven't seen any published articles yet, so perhaps they didn't make it into the paper. In response to a separate press release on this year's renewed efforts to steward the Saco, a reporter from the Boston Globe came up the next day, and was planning on paddling out to look at the river itself, but plans changed. I was prepared to talk about stewardship on the river while serving as a guide, which would have been excellent, but the reporter did a few interviews instead of a full tour and photo op. It was good to get into the river for monitoring this past Tuesday, although the 45-degree water was pretty painful on my submerged hands. It appears that I will be paddling out for a preliminary trip down the river sometime next week, along with Michelle, so that should make up for the missed opportunity to get in some kayaking with the Globe journalist.





(Star Trek was really good, by the way. I finally saw it last night.)

Reorientation.

This isn't my first time working on the Saco River.


In the summer of 2006, I worked at a canoe livery, carrying canoes and kayaks for clients, and driving the vans to drop them off and pick them up along the Saco.

In 2007, I worked as a part-time conservation docent and tech guru for The Nature Conservancy (TNC)'s Saco River Project.

In 2008, I moved to Appalachia for a year, to serve as an AmeriCorps*VISTA with an environmental nonprofit in anthracite coal country, cleaning up mine-polluted rivers and reclaiming abandoned minelands.


In 2009, I'm back on the river, now working full-time as part of TNC's diversity internship program. Conservation docent work and educational outreach will still be a main focus of my position, but I will also be doing more media work, capacity-building, and tying-up of loose ends in preparation for this branch office's closure at the end of August.

As part of the internship, I'm to keep track of my work and experiences through bi-weekly paragraphs. I've elected to do so via this blog system, which I think will work better for me than a normal essay format.


It is shaping up to be an interesting summer.