IAN helps kick off a Report Card for the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers

Participants stand around Bill Dennison who has his back to a wall. The wall has values of the watershed (such as history, beauty, and water supply) written on white index cards. Below each index card are multi-colored post it notes. People are smiling anAt the beginning of March, IAN staff traveled to Concord, Massachusetts to initiate a report card for the Assabet, Sudbury, and Concord Rivers with OARS, a non-profit whose mission is to protect, improve, and preserve the rivers, their tributaries, and watersheds. Two one-day workshops were held at Great Meadows National Wildlife Refuge overlooking the Sudbury River. The first day was with a fairly large group of stakeholders and the second day was with a smaller, more technical group to prioritize data needs. Participants discussed values of, and threats to each river, and identified potential indicators of river health. The remainder of the week was spent with the OARS staff to conduct report card training sessions, and kickoff their report card process. IAN will continue to work with, and support the OARS staff as they work to develop the report card over the next 12-18 months.