Wild and Scenic River Ambassadors — Expanding Outreach & Education on the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers

Content submitted by: SuAsCo Wild and Scenic River Stewardship Council

During the summer of 2022, the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord (SuAsCo) Wild and Scenic River Stewardship Council employed two part-time River Ambassadors to provide a presence on and around the SuAsCo Wild and Scenic Rivers and promote stewardship and understanding of local riverine resources. The Ambassadors administered projects and activities related to Wild and Scenic designation, outreach and education, and Conservation Plan implementation.

Katherine Sorrows

Katherine Sorrows

Highlights of this inaugural year of the River Ambassador program included:

• Engaged with hundreds of people at popular river access sites through the summer and provided river users with information about the Wild and Scenic Rivers.
• Shared best practices for recreating responsibly on the river, especially related to minimizing ecological impacts and adopting responsible behaviors (e.g., protecting riparian vegetation, managing human/pet waste and garbage, invasive aquatic hitchhikers).
• Managed, developed, and posted content for the SuAsCo River Stewardship Council Facebook and Instagram social media sites.
• Led interpretive paddles on the SuAsCo Rivers.
• Inventoried river access sites, both formal and informal, and documented site conditions, signage, and parking.
• Administered surveys to river users to collect data on river recreation experiences, types of river use, and public safety concerns.

Katherine Sorrows

There were successes, challenges, and learning opportunities in this first year of the SuAsCo River Ambassador program, and these experiences will help the program grow and flourish in the coming years.

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Wild and Scenic River Currents

This article was featured in the 2023 edition of Wild and Scenic River Currents, the annual newsletter for the National Park Service Wild and Scenic Rivers Program.