by Miranda G. McLeod
Staff Writer
Neil Armingeon’s office is much more than just the 10-by-10 room the two-man St. Johns Riverkeeper organization takes up. His office is the 310-mile stretch of the St. Johns River, and his goal is to educate the community on the importance of the river while advocating for its protection.
Armingeon is the St. Johns Riverkeeper (both a title and the name of the organization) which started in Jacksonville in 2001. Armingeon joined the organization in 2003.
For years, groups of concerned citizens have formed organizations to protect their respective rivers. One of the first was started in the 1970s by citizens concerned about the health of the Hudson River in New York. Citizens looked for polluters and became a formalized group in the early 1980s.
The St. Johns Riverkeeper continues in the tradition of the Hudson Riverkeeper, using both the law and science to confront polluters to reassert community control over waters that have been damaged by years of pollution and neglect. In 1999, St. Johns Riverkeeper was licensed and is based on a similar philosophy, one that is rooted in a sense of public ownership of local water bodies.
Armingeon, who patrols the waters at least once a week, worked for the Unites States Geological Survey for 10 years doing water quality work before becoming the Riverkeeper. He feels it’s his job to help people understand water quality issues of the St. Johns.
“The big issue is that the river is Jacksonville’s greatest natural resource. It’s key to the economy. We have got to have a healthy river,” said Armingeon.
There are a few ways the Riverkeeper plans to do that. Armingeon says reducing nutrients in the river would be a big first step, but “all of us are a part of the problem.”
“We need to go to a higher level of treatment. We have to do more to reduce the impact,” he said.
There are a few misconceptions, says Armingeon, about the St. Johns Riverkeeper. An important one, he says, is that the Riverkeeper is not a government agency. “It’s a private, nonprofit. We receive no funding from the City. We are totally dependent on the community.”
More than 1,200 people are members and provide most of the funding for the organization, which also receives grants.
“The toughest part of our job is making a budget,” said Armingeon. “The community has to endorse and support our work or we’re not going to be around. There are lots who help us keep our doors open.”
The Riverkeeper organization also offers eco-heritage cruises to keep citizens informed and supplement its budget. The three-day, two-night trips address the ecology and pollution problems of the river through authors, historical re-enactors and Armingeon, who speaks at many events around town.
“We immerse the people into the river,” said Armingeon, adding the eco-heritage trips have already sold out for the spring.