A Fond Farewell.

IMG_7967.JPG

It is with true bittersweetness that I announce my departure from Rogue Riverkeeper. After 9 years advocating for the river I love and call home, it’s simply time for me to do something new and allow for new energy to do great things for the Rogue.

I want to thank you for all your support over the years and encourage you to continue to support this amazing program and mission.

Saying goodbye has not been an easy decision.
I have dedicated the last decade of my life to Rogue Riverkeeper’s mission and vision, since 2012 when I came to this organization as a River Guide turned Campaign Organizer. Before my time here at Rogue Riverkeeper and as a professional guide on the Rogue, I knew it was not enough to just work on the river. I had to work to protect it as well. From working to stop suction dredge mining to building Rogue Riverkeeper's membership to helping pass legislation to add more Wild & Scenic tributaries to the Rogue, I have learned so much and grown as an advocate for this river that I love. Thank you for supporting me and this program along the way.

We have accomplished so much together! Thanks to you, we’ve achieved a lot for clean water and the Rogue. Your time, energy, donations, and passion have been instrumental in helping make a difference for the Rogue. Here are just a few of the things we’ve done together for clean water, native fish and healthy communities over the last nine years:

The Rogue will need your voice. Rogue Riverkeeper is in good hands with our amazing new Conservation Director Emily Bowes, support from KS Wild staff, and a new Program Director coming on this fall. I am confident that the new team will do amazing things for clean water and our communities. But your support will be crucial in the months and years to come.

As climate change continues to threaten the Rogue Basin, drought will have impacts on our waterways like we’ve never seen. This summer, we’ve challenged a proposal by Hellgate Jetboat Excursions to dredge 9 sites on the Rogue due to low water conditions. We’ve partnered with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to monitor fish passage and barriers in a nearly dry Bear Creek. And our Water Quality Monitoring program has been tracking high bacteria levels in low water streams so you know where it is safe to recreate. Rogue Riverkeeper will be working closely with partners across the watershed and state over the next several years to identify solutions to these climate driven challenges. I hope you will be there to support them.

It has been an honor to work with this program and to serve as your Rogue Riverkeeper over the years. Our lives are made up of multiple chapters and it is simply time for me to turn the page. I will not be far and I will always do all that I can for the river and its communities.

Thank you for everything.
For the Rogue...always and forever,

Robyn

P.S. I also want to thank my KS Wild and Rogue Riverkeeper family for their insane passion, knowledge, dedication, hard work and incredible support over the years. Thank you to: Joseph, Alexi, Holly, Michael, Emily, Brandy, Jessica, Allee, Rich, George, Lesley, Forrest, Sara, Stacey, Gary, Morgan, Tim, Tracy, Shannon, Laurel, Jeff, Manny, Jesse, Amy, Katie, Joe, SJ, Shelley, Bob, Laurel, Stu and countless others who’ve been there along the way.

Rogue Riverkeeper