For new Riverkeeper, job means returning to familiar waters

Emma Gerald Boyer spent her childhood summers sloshing through the marshes of Murrells Inlet.

For the last few weeks, she’s been getting reacquainted with the waters of Horry and Georgetown counties.

“I’m glad to be back,” said Boyer, 31, who was formally introduced as the new Waccamaw Riverkeeper Friday. “I’ve done a lot of moving around, and I’ve always wanted to be able to be back in here in the South, using my education, using my experience, working in a place that is just so near and dear to me.”

The Riverkeeper is a full-time paid advocate for the Waccamaw River and adjacent land in the Winyah Bay watershed, which covers northeast South Carolina and southeast North Carolina.

Boyer technically started on April 22, but she’s spent most of the last month learning from the Riverkeeper she’s replacing, Paula Reidhaar.

After more than a year on the job, Reidhaar is leaving to take an environmental education position in Jacksonville, N.C. Her last day will be May 22.

“What I’m excited about is they found someone who could crosstrain with Paula before she left,” said Bo Ives, president of the local Sierra Club chapter. “I was afraid they were going to have to do another search.”

Ives also chairs the Keep Horry County Beautiful Committee, a group that worked closely with Reidhaar to clear litter from the county’s boat landings.

“Paula just jumped in whole hog and formed a huge partnership,” Ives said. “I hope that Emma will be as enthused about the Keep Horry County Beautiful program.”

Judging by Boyer’s background, persuading her to work with conservation groups shouldn’t be a tough sell.

A Charleston native, Boyer’s family often took summer vacations to Murrells Inlet. She grew up shrimping, waterskiing and fishing along the Grand Strand. The daughter of a nurse and a research pathologist, she was attracted to science and the outdoors at an early age.

Her work history includes multiple positions in multiple states. She was employed with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources as a technician in a shellfish lab. She studied shorebirds as part of a Clemson University project. She’s also taught biology.

Boyer is the fourth Waccamaw Riverkeeper and she comes to the program after earning a master’s degree in environmental science and policy from George Mason University in December

She’s happy to finally be settling down, especially in her home state.

“I always wanted to come back here and apply everything I’ve learned,” she said.

In her new role, Boyer will work with Coastal Carolina University on water testing.

“One of her major focuses is going to be getting up to speed with our volunteer water quality monitoring program,” Reidhaar said. “That’s one of the key pieces. … For the next probably few months or so she’ll be working on that quite a bit.”

Reidhaar suspects her successor will take a similar approach to the job.

“She definitely has goals towards getting out in the field more,” she said.

Along with water testing, Boyer expects to be filling out grant applications, speaking at government meetings and teaching school groups about conservation.

And don’t be surprised to catch the Riverkeeper with a paddle in hand.

“I want to be on the river,” Boyer said, “as much as possible.”

This story was originally published May 15, 2015 at 7:10 PM with the headline "For new Riverkeeper, job means returning to familiar waters."