Stewardship

To promote long-term stewardship of the White River watershed, we create numerous opportunities for people of all ages to do something good for their communities and their river – from hosting annual volunteer events to supporting the efforts of our grassroots volunteer groups:

Annual Volunteer Events

April, May: tree planting

June, July, August: water quality monitoring, non-native invasive species removal

September: river clean-up

Stream Teams

All of our work has been accomplished with support from our partners and with help from more than 250 volunteers, including our Stream Teams – our core groups of volunteers who are organized geographically by sub-watershed. They initiate volunteer activities in their own communities, such as planting trees, hosting educational workshops, and combating invasive plant species.

If you would like to get involved with a stream team, please let us know. The Down Stream Team meets the last Wednesday of the month at 7pm at the old Sharon Academy building. The Upper River Stream Team meets the second Wednesday of the month at 6pm at the Forest Service Ranger Station in Rochester.

Forestry Work Group

In 2001, a group of local forest landowners and WRP members interested in forestry issues formed the Forestry Work Group (FWG). The FWG is a network for landowners and community members promoting forest land use practices that sustain the link between healthy forests and good water quality, while balancing economic, environmental, and cultural interests of watershed residents.

As one of the WRP’s most active volunteer groups, the FWG is committed to increasing awareness about the watershed’s forests and how they are used. To this end, the FWG hosted bi-monthly “forest tours” in 2006 and 2007 with the goal of creating opportunities for the public to explore, discuss, and learn about various forestry land uses, as well as the cultural, economic and environmental impacts these practices pose for our watershed.

If you would like to learn more about the Forestry Work Group’s activities, please let us know. The FWG meets the first Tuesday of the month at 7pm at the Whitcomb High School in Bethel.