2023 IRU Volunteer Recap
IRU volunteers completed five water quality tests on the Boise River this summer. Photo credit: Lindsey Paynter, IRU staff
This year, Idaho Rivers United volunteers helped launch new programs to protect our rivers and watersheds across the state.
In partnership with the U.S. Forest Service, IRU trained seven Sawtooth Salmon Stewards to spread awareness about the critical salmon habitat in the Salmon River. Volunteers donated six hours to clean-up litter in the Salmon River watershed and contributed 18 hours to public outreach efforts. IRU also led a youth outreach opportunity with the Ketchum YMCA centered around the importance of environmental stewardship in the Sawtooth National Recreation Area.
Our Urban River Stewardship program was developed to connect residents to their local rivers and surrounding communities. We launched this program in Boise, ID with the goal of expanding it to other urban areas across the state. Our Boise Urban River Stewards completed five water quality surveys and donated a total of 71 hours to collect litter on the Boise River Greenbelt. In addition, IRU partnered with Sage International School to provide a youth outreach program that included conducting water quality surveys on the Boise River.
Finally, IRU established the Boise River Stewards Program, a monthly volunteer opportunity to help maintain our adopted section of the Boise River. Our adopted section is a one mile stretch in between Capital and Broadway bridges, but as the program became more rooted our volunteers were able to expand their efforts to include an additional mile. In total, 51 volunteers donated 110 hours from June to October.
IRU is proud of our volunteers and their dedication to safeguarding our rivers and their surrounding watersheds. We look forward to the upcoming year, where we will expand our URS program into the Twin Falls region and provide river cleanup opportunities to other cities across Idaho, furthering our commitment to protect our rivers.
Interested in becoming an IRU volunteer or learning more about our volunteer programs? Please reach out to our volunteer coordinator, Lindsey at lindsey@idahorivers.org.
