Barbara Skuly ‘92 (New England, MS) was recently featured in an article in the Keene Sentinel titled “Three Decades on the Ashuelot: A River Conservationist’s Perspective.”
While studying in Antioch’s MS in Resource Management and Administration program, Skuly’s master’s project focused on the nomination of the Ashuelot River into the NH Environmental Rivers Management and Protection Program, which protects designated rivers for their natural and cultural resources. Each protected river has a local advisory committee to oversee and steward the river on a local level. Upon graduation in 1992, Skuly utilized her time to work on environmental projects, including the newly formed Ashuelot River Local Advisory Committee (ARLAC), and in 2006, devoted her service to ARLAC as the committee chair.
In the article Skuly notes that no matter what connection you have with the river, caring for it is crucial. “The River provides an aesthetic, it provides wildlife habitat. It flows from up in Washington and empties into the Connecticut River. All the things that happen along that river corridor end up in that river. We need to take care of it, not only for ourselves but also for the biota, the aquatic life, and the mammals and creatures that live all up and down the corridor itself. We also have to take care of the forests along the way, because those act to help filter the water that comes from the land and flows into the river. It provides many uses… we don’t want to lose that, we want to maintain that healthy system, not only for the system itself, but for the people who are using it and surround it.”
