November’s AW Volunteer of the Month is Lynne Westerfield!
Lynne is being recognized as a thank you for all her efforts in developing the AW 2005 River Stewardship Survey, and as a bribe for all the analysis work ahead on the survey. She swears that she is “really excited” about doing the statistical analysis, but we are not taking any chances.
Lynne approached AW earlier this year about doing some volunteer work while she wraps up her masters degree at the University of Idaho. We took her up on her offer almost right away, and began running with a new idea – a survey designed to describe the paddling community and answer current and relavent river management questions. Lynne’s masters research addresses recreational user perceptions and values on the Clearwater River, near her homes scattered around Idaho. Lynne’s expertise proved invaluable as we worked with her to develop a survey that was scientifically rigorous and objectively worded. Soon she will begin running statistics that we have never heard of, yielding what we are certain will be fascinating and useful results.
Volunteers like Lynne vastly expand the number, quality, and impact of the projects American Whitewater is able to tackle. We appreciate her contribution, and the contributions of the many more out there that contribute their time and energy to river stewardship projects.