Safety First at the Yuba

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Meet your 2019 River Captains: Hunter Reed, Hillary Reyes and Annette Glabe.

Join us for opening day this Monday, May 27th at Bridgeport and Highway 49 Crossings. Starting Monday throughout the rest of the summer season, you will be seeing River Ambassadors at your favorite South Yuba River crossings to educate visitors and protect our Yuba. Memorial Day weekend is typically when people start flocking to the river in droves, but with the rainy, cool weather River Ambassadors will be on standby until the sun reappears on Memorial Day. River goers will be greeted by our enthusiastic and dedicated volunteer River Ambassadors and River Captains who encourage visitors to keep the river clean, healthy and safe.

KNOW & GO
WHAT: River Ambassador Opening Day at the River 
WHEN: Monday, May 27, 10am-2pm
WHERE: Bridgeport Crossing, South Yuba River State Park

The Yuba is strong and steadfast in its life-giving mission to the sea, mesmerizing thousands of visitors with its emerald pools and serene beaches. With increasing visitation to the river, SYRCL is working with California State Parks to ensure the Yuba isn’t “loved to death.”  We’ve seen firsthand how more people could lead to more trash, glass, and fire risk.

This is where River Ambassadors enter the scene.  
By approaching visitors in a helpful, non-confrontational way, they educate river goers to think about the environmental impact of their visit. River Ambassadors are members of our community who donate their weekends to promote eco-friendly recreation.

Their key messages are:

Pack it in, pack it out & remember to recycle
Pick up after your pets
Prevent injuries, no glass on the river
It only takes a spark – please no fires

This year, we are promoting a message of extreme caution to protect visitors. This year’s high flows and cold water are a serious safety concern. We will be reminding people to be safe and not to swim.

River Ambassadors team up with California State Parks to educate the public about the impacts of trash, dog waste, broken glass, and wildfire on the South Yuba River from Memorial Day through Labor Day at three crossings:  Purdon, Highway 49, and Bridgeport.

Learn more about River Ambassadors

In the past seven seasons, the River Ambassador team has had face-to-face contact with more than 48,700 visitors to the South Yuba River State Park, collected 35,700 pieces of trash, and removed 4,300 piles of dog waste.

The River Ambassador program concludes with SYRCL’s Yuba River Cleanup on Saturday, September 21, 2019. Since 1998, the Yuba River Cleanup has picked up 233,600 pounds of trash and recycling from the river. The River Ambassador program was created as an extension of the Cleanup—with the goal of promoting yearlong stewardship so less litter would be left behind in the first place.

Interested in volunteering as a River Ambassador? Our next training is coming up in June. To sign up, contact Andrea Tineo, Stewardship Coordinator at atineo@yubariver.org or 530-265-5961, ext. 212. More at River Ambassadors.

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