Checking In with @waterkeepermark and John Peach from Save The River/Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper

This week for the Checking In series, Mark speaks with people from Waterkeeper Alliance member organizations about citizen science, COVID-19, and more. Here, John Peach from Save The River/Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper answers Mark’s questions.

John Peach is Executive Director and Riverkeeper for Save The River/Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper. Previously, he served on Save The River’s board from 2000-2018. Save The River is based in Clayton, New York. Click here to learn more about its work.

MM: Tell me a little bit about yourself and your watershed.

JP: At Save The River/Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper, our watershed runs from the mouth of the St. Lawrence River downriver past the dams and power projects at Massena and Cornwall. I am a fifth or sixth generation river rat and spend half my time on an island in the river.

MM: How connected is your community to the water?

JP: The river communities of the Upper St. Lawrence are very connected to the river. Most of our economy is based on tourism, fishing, and appreciation of the environment.

MM: What is the role of water quality testing in your work? How do you share results publicly?

JP: We test water quality for swimming to New York State specifications from July 1 to August every year. We report our results online and in the local newspaper.

MM: Has the health pandemic affected your work? How?

JP: The COVID-19 pandemic has forced us to work remotely. So far, it is going pretty well. We are lucky because Save The River recently invested in new computers and ‘gdrive’ systems allowing us to work efficiently from remote sites. 

MM: If you were a fish, what would it be?

JP: A smallmouth bass or muskie.

MM: Is there a role for citizen science in your watershed?

JP: We have a significant role for citizen science at Save The River. Our Riverkeeper program trains citizens to look for pollution and invasive species, and how to report them. We have a very involved group of common tern monitoring volunteers that help us in our joint project to monitor and restore tern populations in the St. Lawrence River valley.

Read more from the Checking In with @waterkeepermark series here.

Connect with us on Twitter, @LOWaterkeeper and @waterkeepermark.