Get ready for the musical event of the summer! Rock for the River 7 – Saturday, July 3 at the Clayton Opera House. Show starts at 7 p.m., doors open at 6:45 p.m. Tickets $30 advance; $35 door. Order tickets by calling Save The River at (315) 686-2010 or stop by our Clayton office.

Rock for the River 7 line-up includes:

Jay Nash – Many thanks to concert organizer Jay Nash for bringing great music to Clayton and helping us grow Rock for the River into one of our biggest annual fundraising events!

Joe Purdy

Garrison Starr

Chris Pierce

Amber Rubarth

Joey Ryan

Chris Seefried

Eliza Moore

And, many thanks to our event sponsors!

Duane and Dalia Stiller Foundation

Cerow Agency

Electronic Ink

Want your community to learn how to save the river?

This summer Save The River will be offering free training sessions for groups with 10 or more attendees. Save The River will send someone to your location to train your group and outfit them with all they need to assess River health. Groups can include Island Associations, Rotary Clubs or Yacht Clubs.

By becoming a Riverkeeper Volunteer you and your community members will identify signs of River health. In addition you will also learn how to identify and report pollution issues. Your community will become stewards of the River, patrolling it and keeping it safe.

Joining the Network

Once you have completed the training, you and your group will be a member of our extensive network of volunteers stretching from Cape Vincent to Ogdensburg. Volunteers share reports with this network connecting volunteers up and down River, sharing successes and new issues throughout the summer. As a part of this network you will be kept abreast of the latest River issues.

How do I get my group signed up?

It’s easy! All you have to do is call Save The River, 315-686-2010. Let us know how may attendees you have and a possible date for training. We’ll take it from there and schedule your group training session.

Need to learn more?

Check out our Riverkeeper Monitoring page to learn more about this program.

This summer Save The River is offering two exciting workshops to trained Riverkeeper Volunteers. Workshops are designed to provide volunteers with additional information on River issues.

This year’s workshops include:

Invasive Species -

Wednesday, August 4th at 3 p.m. at the Save The River office

• Come and learn about the latest invasive species to come to the River by land and by water. Sue Gwise of Watertown Cornell Cooperative Extension and Irene Mazzocchi of NYS DEC will be presenting and bringing specimens! Workshop attendees will learn how to identify new invasives and how to take action.

Wetland Paddle -

Wednesday, August 11th at 5 p.m. at TI Adventures in Clayton

• Come for a wetlands paddle and learn about the importance of wetlands and the threats currently facing this important resource. Kayak rentals are free for the evening! Special thanks to Jan Brabant of TI Adventures!!!

RSVP’s are encouraged for attendees as class size is limited. To sign up for a workshop please e-mail Save The River’s Program Manager or call our office, 315-686-2010.

We recently received many reports about gelatinous blobs on the River from many of our Riverkeeper Volunteers, which can be seen below.

From initial observations these blobs are known as Bryozoans, which are actually a glob of microorganisms that band together. They are a naturally occuring phenomenon that bloom occasionally on the River. Samples of the blobs have also been sent to SUNY ESF to confirm their identification.

To read more about Bryozoans check out this website.

Special thanks to Roger Peinkofer for sending this photo and the many Riverkeeper Volunteers who reported this issue.

Want to do more to save the River, but not sure what to do?

Become a Riverkeeper Monitoring Program volunteer. Volunteers will be trained to assess River health, learning the basics for identifying and reporting issues of concern.

How do I become a volunteer?

To become a volunteer all you have to do is attend one of our hour long training sessions. We’ll outfit you with everything you need to assess River health including a Riverkeeper Identification Guidebook and free volunteer t-shirt.

When are the training sessions?

This summer’s training sessions are free to attend and will be held:

• Wednesday, June 16th at 5 p.m. at the Antique Boat Museum’s Education room
• Saturday, July 10th at 10 a.m. Alexandria Bay Village Community Room next to the Village offices

How do I sign-up?

To reserve your space in a training session or to schedule a time for your group to be trained please call Save The River, 315-686-2010. RSVP’s are required as class sizes are limited.

To learn more about this program visit our Riverkeeper Monitoring page.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CLAYTON, NY, June 14, 2010 – Save The River is holding its 7th annual Rock for the River concert Saturday, July 3rd, 2010 at the Clayton Opera House from 7 – 11 pm.

Rock for the River is a one of a kind benefit concert, that was developed by Thousand Islands resident and musician Jay Nash. Each year, Nash brings a group of independent label artists from around the country together with local musicians for a night of great music in the Thousand Islands. Each musician brings something different and special to the stage, and the evening culminates with all the artists playing together for the last few unforgettable songs.

Tickets are $30 in advance and $35 at the door, and can be purchased at the Save The River office at 409 Riverside Drive in Clayton, or by calling 315.686.2010. The Clayton Opera House is located at 403 Riverside Drive in Clayton. Doors open at 6:45 p.m. For more information visit www.savetheriver.org and click on events.

Rock for the River 7 is sponsored by The Duane and Dalia Stiller Family Foundation, Cerow Agency, and Electronic Ink. These three generous sponsors ensure that all concert proceeds support Save The River’s advocacy, education and outreach work on the Upper St. Lawrence River. To learn more, please visit www.savetheriver.org.

For further information and to set up interviews with the artists, or for more information on Save The River, please contact Jennifer Caddick, Save The River Executive Director, at jennifer@savetheriver.org.

About the Artists:

Jay Nash grew up on a country road in a small town just outside of Syracuse, NY. It was the crossroads of suburbia and the country and a place where Nash always felt restless. At the age of 12, Nash first heard the sound of the Grateful Dead playing live. On the other side of that 90 minute Maxell cassette tape was Cat Stevens’ Greatest Hits. Suddenly, Nash no longer felt stranded in a small town….he felt connected to something bigger. In 2001, Nash headed to Los Angeles to make a demo and chase his rock and roll dreams. Last month – 9 years, 7 studio albums, 2 live records and one motion picture soundtrack later – Nash finally returned to the east coast to make a home in the woods of Vermont where he will finish working on his 9th studio album and find respite between tours. Nash has shared the stage and/or toured with: Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Counting Crows, Jason Mraz, Tristan Prettyman, Joe Purdy, Meiko, Cary Brothers, Greg Laswell, Keb Mo’, Brett Dennen, Colbie Caillat and many more. When ‘The Things You Think You Need’ was released digitally in May of 2008, Allie of blogcritics.org called it “the best album I’ve heard so far this year”. Without the help of a record label, it reached #22 on the iTunes top Rock Albums chart and spent the next two weeks as the only independent album on that chart. For more information, please visit www.myspace.com/jaynash.

Chris Pierce who is known for his powerful and “never the same” live shows continues to tour worldwide in 2010. Chris is in pre-production for the highly anticipated follow up to his successful independent soul album “Walking on the Earth” which was picked by KCRW’s Nic Harcourt as one of the top ten albums of the year. The music and performance of Chris Pierce crosses over age, race, and gender as evidenced by the diverse artists he has opened for which include B.B. King, Seal, Colbie Caillat, Al Green, Jamie Cullum, Toots & The Maytals, Robert Cray and Brett Dennen, among others. Chris Pierce is often described as an old soul with fresh music and is often compared to greats like Otis Redding, Bill Withers and Marvin Gaye. “I want the experience of my live show and recordings to stay with people. I want the listener to feel the emotion when they hear my music. I do my best to put it all out there. I believe if you are good to the music, the music will be good to you,” says Pierce. For more information, please visit www.myspace.com/chrispierce.

Singer/songwriter Joe Purdy released his 10th album “Last Clock on the Wall” on March 17th, 2009 at 4:00 in the morning, because that is when he finished it. Purdy releases his albums on his independent label, Joe Purdy Records, and with the help of national TV placements and a grassroots fan base, has been able to sell a staggering 800,000 direct track downloads in the US on iTunes without ever signing to a label. Each of his albums act as a travel guide for his experiences, which include European touring (“You Can Tell Georgia,” “Paris in the Morning”) as well as a stop on the River (“Julie Blue”). His songs have been featured on primetime network television hits (“Lost,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “House”) as well as a national KIA ad. For more information, please visit www.myspace.com/joepurdy.

Garrison Starr’s fans count from comedian Margaret Cho to musician Mary Chapin Carpenter. They all celebrate the “affecting, emotion-bearing songs” (Billboard Magazine) she performs with her “gorgeous, full, rough, passionate voice that can be ultimately pensive, intimate, hurt, consoling, libidinous, or scornful – sometimes during the same verse” (MSNBC). Her self-described “best work” can be found on her latest release, “The Girl That Killed September,” released on Media Creature Music. For more information, please visit www.myspace.com/garrisonstarr.

Joey Ryan had just graduated from Berkeley and was poised to attend graduate school to study neuroscience when he abruptly announced to his family that he wanted to pursue a career in music instead. Unwavering in his vision for his future, Joey explains: “I realized that the truths I was interested in discovering through science were actually more accessible through music.” Born and raised in Los Angeles to a teacher and a psychologist, Ryan experienced an unusual perspective on life at an early age when his father nearly lost his life to cancer, resulting in a uniquely intellectual yet emotional viewpoint on life, love, and human nature in his songwriting. Joey’s current EP, “Kenter Canyon,” was produced by Tony Berg (Jesca Hoop, Aimee Mann) and features performances by Sara Bareilles, Dave Rawlings, Z Berg and Matt Chamberlain. Joey Ryan’s “Kenter Canyon” was released on Mophonics on January 19th, 2010. www.myspace.com/joeyryan

At 17-years old ambeR Rubarth moved to Nevada to become a wood sculptor. 3 years later the head instructor told her the most important thing he had learned was for a person to follow their number one passion. ambeR said “Thank you, then I am quitting and doing music,” and off she went, trading her chainsaw for a guitar. She began touring, and people took notice. Her debut CD was named to the Top 10 Albums of the Year (alongside Kanye West & Alicia Keys) by the Owl Mag. NPR loved her “honesty and humor.” Her musical hero Tom Waits helped choose “Washing Day” (co-written with Adam Levy of Norah Jones’ Band) for 1st Place in the International Songwriting Competition for Lyrics. ambeR Rubarth is now touring throughout the US, Europe and Japan in support of her new release “Good Mystery,” which she released to a SOLD OUT crowd at New York City’s legendary theater, Joe’s Pub. Join her 30,000+ fans for a listen at www.MySpace.com/ambeRRubarth.

Chris Seefried first garnered national attention when Quincy Jones signed his band Gods Child from NYC to Warner Brothers records. Their highest honor came when their single “Everybody’s 1″, charted in two Billboard charts simultaneously, peaking at #18 on the Mainstream Rock chart and #25 on the Modern Rock chart. After two albums with Warner Brothers, Chris moved to LA and started the band Joe 90. Adam Duritz of Counting Crows signed the group to Geffen records. Their debut record “Dream This” includes the hit song song “Drive” which was featured as an end title on the HBO hit series “Six Feet Under”. Every song from the record was synched to film or television. Their second album “A Raccoons Lunch” features “And When I Die”, the end title from the New Line Cinema film Final Destination. Currently, Chris just finished scoring Michael Cuesta’s latest movie “Roadie” due out in the fall. “Fitz and the Tantrums” full length debut “Pickin’ up the Pieces” produced and co-written by Chris is due out this summer. Justine Bennett’s ep “Heavy Feeling” will be coming out May fourth and is produced and co-written by Chris. Jay Nash will be making his second record with Seefried producing in June and the “Low Stars” will be finishing their follow up record. For more information, please visit www.myspace.com/chrisseefried.

Eliza Moore received her training at the Guildhall School For Music and Drama in London, England where she developed a passion for world music and collaborative composition. Gaining inspiration from fellow musicians and her environment, Eliza’s art thrives on travel and diversity. It enables her to constantly re-invent her already eclectic style. She currently divides her time between her family home on Grindstone Island and Montréal, where her creativity is stimulated by the open and multicultural society. In 2003, Eliza released her first record “Simplicity” with NYC producer Scott Mann. Then in 2008, she recorded “Beauty in Mystery” with Los Angeles producer and internationally acclaimed jazz musician Deron Johnson. As a soloist, Eliza accompanies her voice with a weave of repeated rhythmic and melodic phrases which she pulls from her lap top, her violin, voice and Moog analog keyboard. This combination creates a tapestry of modern drum and bass crossed with lyrical early music polyphony. For more information visit: www.myspace.com/elizajmoore.

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CONTACT:

Jennifer Caddick, Executive Director, Save The River

315 686 2010 / jennifer@savetheriver.org

Photos available upon request

It is spring here on the River and Save The River has been busy preparing for the return of the Common Tern to the River. This small water bird is a New York State threatened species and has needed a little help over the years to keep populations healthy on the St. Lawrence River.

Save The River volunteers along with project partners the Thousand Islands Land Trust and Dr. Lee Harper of the Massena Bird Observatory recently erected exclusion grids on two shoals on the River to protect these birds from harassment from gulls and other water birds.

To read more about this project check out a recent article in the Watertown Daily Times.

Or listen to North Country Public Radio’s recent coverage of Save The River’s Common Tern Program.

To learn more about Save The River’s Common Tern Monitoring Program visit our Common Tern webpage.