Local water expert Steve Swanson has recently been hired as executive director of the Blue River Watershed Group, and the nonprofit also has a new Vista volunteer to help with administration.

Summit County is invited to meet the new staffers at The Boatyard today between 5-6 p.m. The meet-and-greet session will be followed by a board meeting.

The watershed group has been focusing on the Snake River in recent years. A comprehensive watershed plan for that basin could help guide a cleanup of abandoned mines that degrade water quality from Peru Creek down to Keystone.

For more information, go to http://www.blueriverwatershed.org/.