Along the Northbank Riverwalk overlooking the river, Lisa Rowe Rinaman was introduced Friday as the next St. Johns Riverkeeper.
She will succeed Neil Armingeon, who will retire Jan. 31.
“Today is a passing of the torch,” Armingeon said.
Rinaman praised Armingeon’s accomplishments during his nine years as the first Riverkeeper and called him a great friend and passionate advocate.
She said her life has revolved around the St. Johns River since the first time she saw it 12 years ago.
Rinaman said her first date with her husband was a kayak trip on the river, where she fell in love with both. She said her two sons were enthusiasts who didn’t understand what they were seeing the first time they saw green algae and fish kills — two of the river’s ailments.
“Our work has just begun,” she said at the announcement of her appointment.
John Ragsdale, a board member and chairman of the search committee, said that the candidates came from many backgrounds — law, science, engineering, public policy and others — but that Rinaman stood out throughout the process.
For the past two years, Rinaman has been a part of the Riverkeeper’s Water Policy Group and she said her first goals would be to assemble a group of experts on the technical and legal aspects of the river as well as assemble stakeholders and continue to work on strategic alliances.
Beyond that, she said she will continue to try to raise awareness of the river’s issues and advocate more people to use it.
She also will spend “as much time as possible with Neil” until he retires, she said.
Armingeon said he will remain in Jacksonville but isn’t sure what he will do, although he could undertake completion of a project that’s been neglected for years.
“When I took the job nine years ago, I had been working on this wooden sailboat for 12 years,” he said. “I haven’t had the time to touch it, so now it’s been 22 years and I think I’ll probably finish that up. Time just gets away from you.”
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