The Altamaha Riverkeeper advocacy organization says that its part-time Oconee River project director, Ben Emanuel, will leave at the end of October to join American Rivers.
Emanuel’s efforts in the Oconee River basin have included working with the Athens-Clarke County government and with local business leaders on water conservation and efficiency and smart land-use planning, according to a Riverkeeper release.
In 2010, he spearheaded a community response to a severe toxic chemical spill in Athens’ Trail Creek following a fire at a chemical plant.
Emanuel now joins American Rivers as associate director of water supply in American Rivers’ Decatur office. He will work in collaboration with the Flint riverkeeper.
Altamaha Riverkeeper Executive Director Deborah Sheppard said the organization will continue its work in the Oconee, a tributary of the Altamaha, and hopes to raise enough money to maintain a staff position in Athens.
The Altamaha Riverkeeper organization is without a riverkeeper to lead field work and act as a spokesman for the river.
The most recent riverkeeper, Sonja Cox, left the job after just a few months, and Sheppard says the organization needs to raise more funds before it begins its second major leadership search in as many years.
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