California State Parks and SYRCL kicked off the river season on Memorial Day weekend with the launch of the River Ambassadors’ 2021 presence at the South Yuba River crossings. River Ambassadors are volunteers who use a friendly, non-confrontational approach to educate visitors about river rules and ethics while recreating on local beaches and trails. Each weekend, in addition to picking up litter, dismantling fire rings, and helping to call for emergency services when necessary, they are greeting river visitors and handing out free bandanas that were produced by the South Yuba River Public Safety Cohort. District 1 Supervisor Heidi Hall and I co-lead the Cohort, a group of government agencies and organizations that manage land and visitor safety in the Yuba River corridor. The bandanas, which are orange this year, include a map of the river corridor and public safety messaging in both English and Spanish.
The River Ambassadors are a critical part of protecting the Yuba and they still need volunteers for this river season. For more information and to sign up for volunteer dates, visit yubariver.org.