The famed Androscoggin River with its rich history of log drives and sporting camps flows south east out of Umbagog Lake in Errol, NH through numerous communities of the New England before entering the Kennebunk River at Merrymeeting Bay in Maine. The NorthWoods Stewardship Center has been working in and around the Umbagog region for many years, managing a Youth Conservation Corps program at the Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge and leading canoe trips on the lakes and rivers of the region. In the summer of 2014 the NorthWoods Stewardship Center had the opportunity to partner with the Androscoggin River Committee (ARC) to hire, train and supervise a River Steward.
The Androscoggin River Committee is a network of business owners, non-profits, government representatives and landowners dedicated to promoting and protecting the Androscoggin River Watershed in New Hampshire. The River Steward role was developed to provide resource protection along with public outreach and education. This steward interacted with river users out on the water and at high-use access points, distributing and explaining the ARC’s River Code and invasive plant species information, while also collecting data on river use, visitor numbers and demographics.
We were fortunate to have Cody Fauteux, who grew up literally on the banks of the Androscoggin River, take on the River Steward position last year. At age 15 Cody began working on NorthWood’s Umbagog YCC crew, eventually taking on the responsibilities of an Assistant Crewleader for the past two years. Now a sociology student at St. Michael’s College, Cody was the right person for the job, with a deep interest and knowledge of the river, the region, fishing and paddling which allowed him to talk easily and informatively with river users.
Currently NorthWoods in entering into a two year agreement to continue the River Steward position for the summers of 2015 and 2016. Cody will be returning as the River Steward in 2015, and will be working with one of his professors to analyze the data collected as part of an independent study in Human Geography. He has plans to present his findings at a conference held in Washington DC this fall.