Russell Forester

OARS: For the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers

Our mission is to restore and protect the health of the Sudbury, Assabet, and Concord Rivers, their tributaries and watersheds for public recreation, water supply, and wildlife habitat. We work to increase public awareness of the essential environmental services our rivers provide to our communities, engage the public in stewardship, and provide education on the challenges facing our water resources and solutions. Established in 1986 as the Organization for the Assabet River by a group of concerned citizens, OAR added the Sudbury and Concord rivers to its mission in 2011, becoming OARS. Currently the organization has some 900 members, 150 active volunteers, a 10-member Board of Directors, and 3 staff. Together with our volunteers and partners, OARS has made significant progress over the past 36 years towards achieving our mission. OARS' approach is to: • Collect data and advocate for additional information gathering in order to insure that decisions affecting the rivers are based on scientific research; • Work collaboratively with local and state governmental officials, community members, and others toward solutions that will help the rivers achieve their "fishable and swimmable" state standard; and • Raise awareness of the rivers' natural beauty, habitat value, and physical importance to the watershed communities, governments and other stakeholders as well as bringing attention to the threats to the rivers' water and habitat quality.