Today is World Water Day. Celebrate protecting the St. Lawrence River by entering Waterkeeper Alliance’s “We Like it Clean Photo Contest!”

Winners will be entered in a drawing to win a free pair of KEEN shoes!

Like it, share it, and send in your submission to photocontest@waterkeeper.org

“We Like it Clean” is a month long, global effort to encourage Waterkeepers, River Network and community members from around the world to submit photos of themselves, or their loved ones…. on, in, or around their favorite waterway to show how important swimmable, drinkable, and fishable waters are to them and their communities……AND by doing so, will be entered in a random drawing to win a pair of KEEN shoes!  KEEN, a longtime supporter of Waterkeeper Alliance, has donated 10 pairs of KEEN shoes for the “We Like it Clean” random drawing that will take place on April 30th.

Check out the new Waterkeeper PSA. We are very proud to be part of an organization that works to assure swimmable, drinkable, fishable water around the globe.

Save The River, as the Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper, created the Riverkeeper Monitoring Program, a thriving community-based program to teach volunteers how to spot critical indicators of the River’s health while they are on the St. Lawrence River. Volunteers receive training in identifying problems that can impact water quality, tracking down sources of pollution and how to effectively report these problems to the proper authorities. As a result Save The River is amplifying its capabilities as the Riverkeeper and is vastly better able to assess and advocate for the health of the River.

Save The River is actively expanding the program to reach community members on both sides of the River. Staff worked with area scientists to update its Riverkeeper Identification Guidebook to include relevant Canadian content. The accompanying PowerPoint presentation has also been updated to speak to both Canadian and U.S. issues. Volunteers completing the training are given the Guidebook and a Save The River T-shirt to help identify them while they are out on the River.

Over the past five months Save The River has collaborated with local organizations to deliver twelve Riverkeeper trainings – ten in New York (eight new and two to repeat groups) and two in Ontario. Four were held at the Save The River office, two were held at the Thousand Islands Arts Center in Clayton four were held at the Minna Anthony Nature Center on Wellesley Island and two were held at the Frontenac Arch Biosphere Network Office in Lansdowne, Ontario. To-date Save The River has trained over 500 volunteers using the Riverkeeper Monitoring Program.

Support from the St. Lawrence River Research and Education Fund has made it possible for Save The River to make progress towards expanding our Riverkeeper Monitoring Program and increasing the knowledge and importance of the St. Lawrence River and its protection in our communities on both sides of the River.

Tuesday, August 14th, Lee Willbanks, Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper and Executive Director of Save The River delivered a letter to Governor Cuomo urging him to support Plan Bv7 before the opportunity is lost.

The health of the River is an end in itself. But the letter makes the equally important point that “the St. Lawrence is an unparalleled resource the health and vitality of which is key to the economic health and vitality of the region.

The letter, the full text of which can be viewed here was delivered as part of a meeting with senior executives in the Governor’s office and the Department of Environmental Conservation. The meeting was an encouraging sign that the Governor is giving advocates like Save The River a fair hearing on this critical issue.

If you too want a healthy River and believe Bv7 is one way to restore the River and the economy of a region dependent on it let the Governor and our elected officials know.

Save The River will offer training sessions for its Riverkeeper Monitoring Program on Saturday, August 18^th at 10:00 a.m. and Tuesday, August 21^st at 6 p.m. at its office at 409 Riverside Drive, Clayton.

As the Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper, Save The River is the primary voice and advocate for the health of the River and our right to clean water from the River’s beginning in the vicinity of Cape Vincent to the Massena / Cornwall area. To cover an area that large it relies on volunteers to be its eyes and ears on the water.

Riverkeeper volunteers are trained to assess potential pollution problems and to effectively report these problems to the appropriate agencies. They also receive training to recognize wildlife die-offs, invasive species and subtle changes in the River that indicate negative impacts to this fragile and already stressed ecosystem.

Since Save The River began its Riverkeeper Monitoring Program in 2008, more than 200 volunteers have been trained and now use the skills they have acquired to monitor the River.

Attending one of these hour-long training sessions is all that is needed to become a Riverkeeper volunteer. All volunteers will be given Save The River’s Riverkeeper Identification Guide as an on-the-water guidebook and a free t-shirt.

Interested volunteers should contact Save The River, 315-686-2010 or e-mail Kate Breheny, Program Manager at kate@savetheriver.org.

Save The River to Hold Riverkeeper Training Session August 17^th

Save The River will offer their second Riverkeeper training session of the summer on Wednesday, August 17th at 6 p.m. The training session will be held in the Antique Boat Museum’s Education Room and runs for one hour. Since the Riverkeeper Monitoring Program was developed in 2008, more than two hundred volunteers have been trained to be vigilant observers of the health of the St. Lawrence River.

At the Riverkeeper training session volunteers will learn how to spot signs of negative and positive change on the River, how to identify aquatic organisms, wildlife, and invasive species, how to recognize pollution problems, and how to effectively report on these issues. Volunteers will also be given a Riverkeeper Identification Guide and a free t-shirt.

Save The River works to protect and preserve the national and international waters of the St. Lawrence River between the areas of where Lake Ontario first meets the St. Lawrence River through to the Massena/Cornwall area. Riverkeeper volunteers are needed to help patrol the River, keeping an open eye for signs of change in the health of the St. Lawrence River and its surrounding ecosystem.

The Riverkeeper Monitoring Program is a wonderful way to become more acquainted with the River we already enjoy and to learn more about how to further protect it. To sign up for the training session please contact the Save The River office at 315-686-2010 or email Kayla Montanye at intern2@savetheriver.org .   Don’t miss out on the last Riverkeeper training session of the summer!

Save The River will offer two training sessions for their Riverkeeper Monitoring Program on Saturday, July 23rd at 10:00 a.m. and Wednesday, August 17th at 6 p.m. Both training sessions will be held in the Antique Boat Museum’s Education Room. Since the Riverkeeper Monitoring Program was developed in 2008, more than 200 hundred volunteers have been trained to be our eyes and ears out on the water, watching for pollution issues and signs of wildlife health.

Save The River covers the international section of the River – a huge area spanning from where Lake Ontario flows into the St. Lawrence River through to the Massena/Cornwall area. Volunteers are needed to help patrol the River – keeping an eye out for pollution, wildlife die-offs and other impacts on the environment. Volunteers will be trained to look for subtle changes in the River ecosystem that can indicate changes in River health. Volunteers will also learn how to assess pollution problems and how to effectively report these problems to Save The River.

To become a volunteer, all you need to do is attend this hour-long training session that will get you acquainted with River issues from pollution to wildlife die-offs and will give you the knowledge you need to identify these issues and report them effectively. Not only will you learn more about the River you love, but you’ll also be given the tools to do something about the bad things that can happen to the River as well. All volunteers will be provided with a take home Riverkeeper Identification Guide to assist them in identifying and reporting River issues as well as a free t-shirt.

Interested volunteers should contact Save The River to let us know you are coming. To RSVP call us, 315-686-2010 or e-mail us, striver@savetheriver.org.

Save The River would like to announce the recent training of five volunteers to our new Master Trainer Program. Volunteers were trained to give the Riverkeeper Training presentation allowing Save The River to reach more groups and train more volunteers to be eyes and ears out on the water.

Master Trainers

Our Master Trainer volunteers were selected based upon the leadership and enthusiasm they have shown as Riverkeeper Volunteers.

Curtis Buker has been a life long resident of Clayton and loves the River. He became involved in the program as a means of being civically involved with the protection of this beautiful natural resource.

Jane Carver lives on the River in Clayton for six months out of the year. Jane has spent lots of time on waterways in and throughout New England and Florida and has a great appreciation for the tremendous impact waterways have on our lives. She believes that we need to be vigilant guardians of these valuable resources.

Roger Peinkofer spends his summers in Morristown with his wife and children. He has chosen to be a part of Save The River to protect the River to ensure that his children and their children can come to love the River as much as he and his wife do.

Tammy Lueck lives on Millsite Lake. She used to live on the River and still enjoys spending time there. She became involved with the Master Trainer Program as she is interested in protecting the River in anyway that she can and the Riverkeeper Program gives her the tools she needs to do that.

Tricia Tague lives in Westminster Park and Huckleberry Island in the Admiralty Group. She became involved with the Master Trainer Program because she believes that education is vital to saving the St. Lawrence River and is looking forward to assisting in maximum outreach and education to our local communities.

Have a group of 10 or more that you would like to be trained as Riverkeeper Volunteers? Our Master Trainers will be conducting trainings throughout the summer from general sessions open to the public to Island Associations and Rotary Clubs. Just give us a call and we’ll schedule a session with one of our Master Trainers. It’s that easy!

Special thanks to our Master Trainer volunteers: Curtis Buker, Jane Carver, Tammy Lueck, Tricia Tague, and Roger Peinkofer!

To schedule your training session just call Save The River, 315-686-2010.

One of the most frequently asked questions in our office and during our Riverkeeper Volunteer Trainings is about the Double-Crested Cormorant. People are curious about the management of this native species and if populations are being adequately controlled.

A recent story on the Environment Report had an excellent update on Population Control For Cormorants, which summarized common misconceptions with this species and current population management efforts.

To read about Save The River’s position on the management of Double-Crested Cormorants, check out our 2007 position paper.

I recently received a specimen at the office that was thought to be the Ruffe, a small invasive fish resembling a yellow perch, that is an invasive species soon to arrive here on the St. Lawrence River.

Although it did look like a Ruffe, it actually was a rock bass that had died and bleached in the sun giving it the speckled appearance that the Ruffe has. From the photo you can see that this fish is deep bodied and not as slender in shape like a perch would be.

Other key features to look for if you think you have a Ruffe are for gill covers with many sharp spines, two very sharp spines on the anal fin, and a dorsal fin that is half spiny and half soft finned. To read more about the identifying characteristics of the Ruffe click here.

Special thanks to Ashley Pike for this observation!