Over the course of the summer and fall, the Stewardship Journal has featured first-hand accounts from NLRA’s 2022 AmeriCorps Watershed Stewards, Jenna Detar and Anthony Jaster, as they come to know and work to protect Newfound Lake and its watershed. This week marks the completion of Jenna and Anthony’s five-month AmeriCorps service term, and as NLRA’s Conservation Program Manager and the AmeriCorps site supervisor, I’m writing the final entry in this season’s Stewardship Journal to reflect on the 2022 Watershed Steward program and highlight some of Anthony and Jenna’s many accomplishments.
The Watershed Steward program is a partnership between NLRA and the Lakes Region Conservation Corps—part of the federal AmeriCorps agency which provides support for impactful service at local levels. The national presence of AmeriCorps allows us to recruit service members from far and wide, and I am continually impressed by the willingness of AmeriCorps members like Anthony and Jenna to travel thousands of miles and spend five months of their lives with NLRA protecting a lake they knew nothing about before reading the position description. We can all take something away from their “jump in and get things done” attitude. In return for their service, AmeriCorps members receive housing assistance, a living stipend, and an educational grant upon completion of their service term. Taking into account these modest benefits, it’s clear that our watershed stewards serve because of their deep passion for conservation.
Over their service term, watershed stewards further all aspects of the NLRA’s initiatives, gaining experience in watershed management, public engagement, environmental education, and watershed science. You likely saw them at Grey Rocks Conservation Area checking boats for invasive aquatic species on the weekends; maybe you got your hands dirty with them at an NLRA Volunteer Day; or perhaps you joined them for one of their twice-monthly Guided Exploration events. Regardless of the task at hand, watershed stewards expand NLRA’s reach and impact.
The Watershed Steward program is designed to serve the goals of its participants as well. They perform a wide variety of conservation tasks aimed to deliver professional and personal growth. Stewards are mentored on an individual level, and get a chance to design their own programs and service-term projects that incorporate their interests and expertise. Through her Women in the Wilderness series of Guided Explorations, Jenna worked to close the gender gap in outdoor recreation, educating and empowering women to get outside and get involved in conservation. In his service term project, Anthony applied his recent degree in fisheries management to take an in-depth look at Newfound’s fish population, highlighting the important connections between aquatic food webs, water quality, and on-shore land use practices.
Jenna and Anthony have each spent over 900 hours supporting the mission and work of NLRA. As we wish them well on their next steps, they leave the watershed knowing that their time, energy, and the impact they’ve made are valued by many.
Here is a short list that just scratches the surface of what Jenna and Anthony have helped us accomplish during their time with NLRA:
- Adding hundreds of data points to our long-term record of lake and tributary water quality.
- Keeping invasive aquatic plants out of Newfound Lake by conducting over 1800 courtesy boat inspections at Grey Rock Conservation Area.
- Helping over 60 residents and visitors develop deeper connections to local environments through their guided explorations and educational programs.
- Working with the Hebron Conservation Commission to improve trails and build a new footbridge in the Hebron Town Forest.
- Engaging with conservation partners locally and state-wide supporting volunteer and community service opportunities
- Supporting access to the outdoors and promoting biodiversity by stewarding and maintaining Grey Rocks Conservation Area.
- Contributing to the success of the Weed Stampede – our first ever complete volunteer-based survey of Newfound Lake for invasive aquatic plants.
It’s been a summer full of noteworthy accomplishments, but the most important accomplishment is also the easiest to overlook when immersed in our daily routines: that Newfound Lake, with its clean waters, healthy ecosystems, and forested watershed, remains a high-value resource. Protecting such a pristine resource is a privilege that many lake communities do not have. While other lake groups work to restore ecological function, control invasive species infestations, and manage harmful algal blooms, we have the increasingly rare opportunity, and weighty responsibility, of stewarding a healthy ecosystem into the future.
From beachgoers to birders, it is clear that the stewardship ethic is a common thread stitching together our vibrant community, allowing us to better do our work and recruit high caliber folks like Jenna and Anthony. As we said goodbye to this year’s watershed stewards, I know the work they have done has made a real difference, helping to protect a resource held dear to everyone in the Newfound community.
Thanks again, Jenna and Anthony!
