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Dear Friend,

In a world where so much seems to be measured in dollars and cents, (or Euros or Kenyan Shillings or Peruvian Sols), we quantify our work differently.

As I think about this year’s winners of the Hero Awards, people who have stayed with our movement for at least 20 years, I measure their impact in eelgrass, divers, storm drains, lawsuits fought; in swimmers, in float trips, in test strips, in alewives.

Garry Brown,
Orange County Coastkeeper
Mark Rasmussen,
Buzzards Baykeeper
Travis Williams,
Willamette Riverkeeper
Bob Shavelson,
Cook Inletkeeper
Helena Kralova,
Morava Riverkeeper

Just a taste of what these Hero Award winners have accomplished:
* Orange County Coastkeeper Garry Brown’s efforts resulted in 40,000 students ([link removed]) connecting to the environment through hands-on field trips.
* Buzzards Baykeeper Mark Rasmussen’s work led to the protection of 7,000 acres ([link removed]) of land throughout the watershed.
* Willamette Riverkeeper Travis Williams’ vision has resulted in thousands of people ([link removed]) taking paddling trips on the Willamette, learning to love and protect the river.
* Cook Inletkeeper Bob Shavelson’s advocacy has helped bring together Alaskans from all walks of life in opposition to the proposed Pebble Mine ([link removed]) .
* Helena Kralova, our much loved and much missed Morava Riverkeeper, taught a generation of students in the Czech Republic how to monitor water quality. Helena, who died of cancer in 2019, worked on issues including flood control and river restoration, and river cleanups.

(How about the eelgrass, divers, and storm drains? Orange County Coastkeeper worked to plant 1,280 square meters of eelgrass, trained 130 volunteer divers to plant kelp, and advocated for $58 million in stormwater capture systems.)

But measurements don’t tell the whole story. Many of their achievements are unquantified, and unquantifiable. Waterkeepers, like all activists, throw off sparks; we may never know where those sparks land.

In her book, “Hope in the Dark,” the author Rebecca Solnit recounts a story from the Women Strike for Peace movement, a group focused on winning a ban on above-ground nuclear testing after radioactive fallout showed up in mother's milk and baby teeth.

One woman recounted protesting outside the White House in the rain, feeling futile and foolish. “Years later,” Solnit writes, “she heard Dr. Benjamin Spock — who had become one of the most high-profile activists on the issue — say that the turning point for him was spotting a small group of women standing in the rain, protesting at the White House. If they were so passionately committed, he thought, he should give the issue more consideration himself.” The U.S, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union signed a treaty banning above-ground nuclear tests in 1963.

I include this here because, as you all know too well, our struggles are long.

Read more about the struggles and successes of these Waterkeeper Heroes. ([link removed])

In thanks to Mark, Garry, Travis, Bob, and in Helena’s memory, I urge all of us to remember that our longest struggles might turn out, over time, to be our most rewarding.

Sincerely,
Marc Yaggi
Executive Director

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