On May 22 the Columbia County Environmental Management Council presented its Good Earthkeeping Award 2017 to two close friends of the Roe Jan Watershed Community.

In the individual category the award went to Colleen Lutz. She was cited for her work on the Ancram Conservation Advisory Council, and also for her work on the Ancram planning board. As one of the key members of the RJWC, Colleen organizes our WAVE sampling. Her 2016 WAVE report can be found here.  Colleen was one of the key players in the RJWC’s 2017’s Student Sampling day, showing the students how to collect and identify macroinvertebrates in the Roe Jan.  In the Ancram CAC’s nomination, they noted “Colleen is a quiet, patient and gentle force of nature for natural resource protection in our community.” We couldn’t agree more. Congratulations Colleen.

The EMC’s Earthkeeping award for a group went to the Columbia Greene chapter of Trout Unlimited, one of our close partners and an early strong supporter. At the national level TU is an unwavering voice for the Clean Water Act, and locally that has translated into work on fish stocking, culvert replacement, stream restoration, and more. Their on-the-ground knowledge helps channel state funds to the most pressing local needs. And of course, TU is interested in fishing, and they are deeply involved in helping the next generation to be both good anglers and good stewards of the environment. The award was accepted on behalf of the chapter by president Vince Dubois and Wendover (Wendy) Neefus.