Partial funding of SYRCL’s River Ambassadors Means Decreased Presence at Crossings and Higher Need for Volunteers

For the past fourteen years, if you have been to Highway 49 or Bridgeport Crossing on a Saturday or Sunday between Memorial Day and Labor Day, you have probably talked to, been given a dog waste or trash bag by, or been educated about State Park information from a River Ambassador.

This May, SYRCL’s River Ambassador program will begin its fifteenth year stationed at South Yuba River State Park crossings educating the Yuba’s visitors and serving this community. SYRCL’s River Ambassador program was created to meet the growing number of visitors to the Yuba River and the demand this put on California State Parks. That visitorship and its demands have continued to increase, especially post-COVID and with the rise of social media.

SYRCL is so grateful for the partnership with State Parks and the ways in which River Ambassadors and California State Parks support each other. This partnership is one of the reasons River Ambassadors is much more than just a program where staff and volunteers hand out trash bags. Of course, River Ambassadors are there to pass them out to every person they see come into the park, and it is actually staggering the amount of trash they pick up just in the parking lots during their shifts, but the program goes beyond that.

With climate change and increased wildfire risk, SYRCL staff and volunteers are there on the ground educating the public about general fire safety and how a lit barbeque could mean an ignited canyon. Countless visitors come to the river to hike or swim with no prior research; SYRCL’s River Ambassadors are the friendly faces they see right when they walk in the park to let them know, among other things, that Point Defiance Trail is a difficult hike even without the scorching summer temperatures and to make sure they have plenty of water, or that it’s not safe to swim in the river when it is fifty degrees and flowing at 1,000 CFS.

When an emergency happens, SYRCL staff make sure emergency services can get on site as quickly as possible. River Ambassadors also collect data about visitors and provide this information to local entities to inform infrastructure changes and programmatic development. Additionally, there are bilingual staff stationed at Bridgeport to ensure messaging can reach English-speaking and Spanish-speaking visitors.

This year, though, SYRCL’s River Ambassadors program will look different. Due to decreased funding, instead of being at 49 Crossing and Bridgeport Crossing on Saturdays and Sundays during the summer, River Ambassadors will only be present at crossings on Saturdays. SYRCL would like to thank Nevada County for the funding they have provided for the program, as without this support, River Ambassadors would not even be able to be at river crossings on Saturdays this summer. SYRCL would also like to thank the California State Parks Foundation for their past support. Depending on volunteer support, SYRCL does plan to have River Ambassadors at both crossings. If SYRCL does not get enough volunteers, though, River Ambassadors can only be present at one of the crossings. With the sheer number of visitors at the river and the importance of this program, it’s imperative that River Ambassadors is at both crossings at least one day out of the weekend.

This is where you come in:

If you have been wanting to volunteer but have not yet, if you used to be a River Ambassador but have not done it in a few years, or if you volunteer for SYRCL’s other programs, but have not yet tried your hand at being a River Ambassador, this is the moment to get involved. We need you at the river with SYRCL this summer to make sure visitors and our community stay safe and the Yuba remains beautiful.

You can volunteer once or as many times as you want. You do not need prior experience to volunteer; we will train you! All you need is a love for the river, a desire to teach others about river safety and stewardship, and transportation to the crossings.

If you cannot volunteer, please consider donating to the South Yuba River Citizens League or becoming a member. Programs like River Ambassadors depend on our donor and member base to keep operating. Your giving also supports our important meadow, forest, and riparian restoration projects which conserve the state’s water resources, sequester carbon, help mitigate wildfire risk, and provide improved habitat for sensitive native species. Donor and membership contributions additionally fund education programs which reach thousands of students annually, connecting them with nature and creating future environmental stewards in the wake of the climate crisis.

For questions about the River Ambassador program, please reach out to SYRCL’s Education and Outreach Coordinator Caitlin Martin at caitlinm@yubariver.org.