As this year’s cold weather finally began to break, folks seemed even more joyous about the spring because it arrived late. This season of renewal and transformation prepares us for another season of work on the ground, in our streams and even in the office! This spring, I attended River Rally, held in the stunning Sierra Nevada near Lake Tahoe. Here, Scott Haag and I, along with several others who collaborate in the DRWI, joined river conservationists across the country to celebrate and share our work, and to learn about amazing interdisciplinary projects.

We were reminded how water is a social, political and personal issue, with examples of how conservationists are connecting with people through rivers. Chad Brown made lots of eyes water when he told how he brings at-risk youth and war veterans together to heal their wounds and empower them with “deployments” to fish and navigate rivers under threat. The Spokane Tribe in Washington State seeks legal action for the pollution of their waters, while the Winnemem Wintu Tribe joins together to protect sacred rivers in northern California. River guides inspire people by showing them the beauty of regional rivers in California and Oregon, fight plans to build dams in Costa Rica, and advocate for legislation to protect rivers in Fiji.

As the spring melts the snow on top of these mountains, we discuss the power of snow, rain and drought, intersections between art and nature, and share personal stories, music and poetry (and even some amateur stand-up). It feels close to the work of Alexander von Humboldt, the often forgotten father of ecology, and John Muir, pioneer in environmental activism.

While scientists were certainly a minority at this meeting, the same conservationists have inspired the work of everyone attending, in the roles of activists, advocates, government employees, community organizers, guides, fishers, adventurers, business owners, communications experts, artists, guides, and facilitators. We discussed how local actions, like those taken within townships and municipalities, our subwatersheds, and cities are the most important. We nerded out about databases, statistics, maps and tools. We took a break to go canoeing or hiking, and discussed the importance of self care to make our work more effective. We discussed how diversity and inclusion strengthen our missions and our positive impact.

This time away to reflect on our work inspires me to continue the amazing collaborative effort we have through the DRWI. Our watershed faces similar threats to others around the world, but with our own unique challenges. Our work within and connected to the DRWI is essential to making sure that we keep these systems intact for generations to come despite short-sightedness of certain decision-makers that threaten our natural spaces.

If you didn’t get to River Rally, hopefully you will find your own way to reimagine and explore your work with natural spaces, cheer on your peers, share your plans for this spring and summer, and of course, get outside and wonder at how amazing our natural world is, how resilient and vulnerable it can be, how green spaces and rivers can heal, inspire, stir your imagination and perhaps your temper, and lead to a fresh start.


Stefanie Kroll, Ph.D.

We are interested in working with your organization to develop outreach products for you using DRWI data! We can customize data products for different audiences, geographic scales and messages. To get started, contact Stef Kroll or Kathryn Christopher to discuss your needs!

WHAT TO DO IN THE WATERSHED!
Events and activities from across the Delaware River Watershed