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No one goes looking for the title of hero. Hero's are recognized by others for their actions and usually respond that they were just doing their job and had the opportunity to accomplish an extraordinary deed. Earlier this year Robert Ruffner, executive director of the Kenai Watershed Forum (KWF), was chosen by the River Network, a national nonprofit organization based out of Portland, Oregon to receive the 2008 River Network Hero Award, for his accomplishments in Alaska. "I have to admit that the while experience was rather humbling, the award came from an organization that I highly respect so it was very meaningful to me," Ruffner told the Dispatch.

Last week KWF and staff called their volunteers and supporters together for one last bit of autumn fun and celebration. It has become a KWF tradition to gather in the fall to review the summer's accomplishments, express appreciation to those involved, and to discuss projects for the coming year. "Looking back at the last ten years we have made some remarkable steps in accomplishing our mission, and the last year in particular has been a phenomenal year in the things we have been able to accomplish by working together with all stakeholders toward common goals," said Ruffner.

KWF began Kenai River water quality testing several years ago and found that an estimated 200 hundred gallons of gasoline were going into the river a day during the summer, primarily due to the use of two stroke outboard engines which put the river in a threatened category. "Once the state and local government agencies understood what the issue was they were able to come together and work out a solution that by all appearances has worked very well. Our testing this summer by two independent labs show that we are no where near exceeding state standards any longer, so I feel we have made some great steps and we look forward to continuing to do this type of work, there are still lots of things that need to be done like working on roads and how they interact with salmon bearing streams will be very important and is gaining attention and recently got some local support from the Borough government which will make a difference, so over all we are very pleased with what has happened this past year," reported Ruffner.

Ruffner also said that they would be extending their interest and testing to other streams throughout the peninsula that haven't had as much attention as the Kenai River but are also Salmon bearing streams in the watershed, "We intend to work borough wide and look at other streams and see if there is something that needs to be done, there may not be anything that needs to be done and that would be great, but we feel we should be checking and monitoring across the entire peninsula."

Since its inception the KWF has been headquartered in the Blazy Mall in Soldotna, but due their steady growth KWF has been looking for a new location, "For a couple of years our board has been looking for a permanent home for KWF and looked long and hard and found a place here in the heart of Soldotna right on the river where Soldotna Creek runs into the river which will afford us some great educational opportunities for school kids to learn about the river and come here and visit a stream that runs into the Kenai where they can see and learn about the watershed concepts, so it'll be a perfect place for us, but we do have our work cut out for us as the building is in need of some serious renovations. It'll take awhile, but we're excited about the opportunity to turn it into a first class building to house the services we provide to the community," explained Ruffner. The building is the former D.O.T. house located next to Soldotna Creek Park. To learn more about the 2008 River Network River Hero Award visit the river network web site at www.rivernetwork.org. For information about other accomplishments of the Kenai Watershed Forum, visit their Web site at www.kenaiwatershed.org.

River Hero, KWF Executive Director Robert Ruffner and daughter Taylor at fall picnic