South Branch Watershed Association Names William Kibler as Executive Director

William Kibler has been named Executive Director of the South Branch Watershed Association (SBWA), according to James Hill, president of the non-profit environmental organization’s Board of Trustees. Mr. Kibler has replaced Don Einhorn, who relocated to New Hampshire.

“Bill brings his 10 years of experience as an environmental attorney to SBWA,” Hill said. “He previously practiced law in Syracuse, New York, and in Boston, focusing on environmental, land use, and international law. We are confident that under Bill’s leadership, SBWA will continue to grow as a resource for the residents of our region, where the organization is recognized by municipalities, schools, and citizens as a provider of meaningful water based programs.” 

Kibler said, “I am excited to join SBWA at a time when both great challenges and opportunities present themselves to the environmental community. Our region is facing unprecedented development pressure, which places ever-increasing stresses on our streams and aquifers and on the ecosystems they support.  The protection of water quality and supply is one of the principal topics covered in the Highlands Task Force Action Plan.”

The South Branch of the Raritan River has its source in the Highlands region at Budd Lake, the largest natural lake in New Jersey.  Two of the largest reservoirs in the State, Spruce Run and Round Valley, are located in the South Branch Watershed Area. 

“Watershed organizations have played, and continue to play, a vital role in raising public awareness of these essential systems and the steps that can be taken to protect them,” Kibler said.  “SBWA was founded 46 years ago on the principle that the key to conservation lies in educating and engaging the public.  That principle is as important today as it was then, perhaps more so.”

Mr. Kibler and his wife, Susan, live in Califon, where he also serves on the Califon Fire Company. He is a 1985 graduate of the US Military Academy, West Point, where he majored in environmental science, and later served as a Corps of Engineers officer in the first Persian Gulf War.  He graduated from the Syracuse University College of Law in 1995.

SBWA is a non-profit environmental organization based in Flemington, New Jersey, that is dedicated to protecting surface and ground water in the 276 square mile watershed of the South Branch of the Raritan River. Established in 1959, SBWA works with municipalities, schools, community groups, and citizens in Morris, Hunterdon, and Somerset Counties to protect natural resources through education and outreach. Programs offered by SBWA include volunteer stream monitoring, stream clean-ups, informational workshops, community well testing, technical assistance, and in-school and in-field environmental education.  SBWA also serves as a clearinghouse for public information regarding local environmental issues.

For more information visit SBWA’s website at www.sbwa.org, or call 908-782-0422.

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