These victories raised citizen empowerment and provided new funding to expand HRFA influence along the Hudson. Robert Boyle had called for a "Riverkeeper" in a book, arguing for someone "on the river the length of the year, nailing polluters on the spot...giving a sense of time, place and purpose to people who live in or visit the valley". Thus, he was inspired in meeting John Cronin, an area local who had worked aboard the "Clearwater", a replica of the Hudson River sloop that fostered education and the restoration of the Hudson. Cronin worked in the Clearwater Pipewatch project, inspecting companies for Clean Water Act (CWA) violations. His first assignment entailed an adhesive tape manufacturing company. As a result, the company was convicted of twelve violations of the 1972 CWA. Initially uninspired by citizen participation in environmental fields, Cronin was transformed by this outcome. "I wasn't a scientist. I wasn't a lawyer. As just an average, everyday citizen, I was able to get a polluter charged". After his legal forays, Cronin became a lobbyist at the Center for the Hudson River Valley and then worked as a political aide; educating himself on government structure. Still, he did not forget the Hudson and after a couple years returned to the river to become a commercial fisherman. Cronin boated much of the Hudson and fostered an admiration for the river from his experiences with local fishermen. After facing multiple struggles as a fisherman, he found love in the river's beauty and bounty, but also hardship in its daily trials. His passion developed beyond simple environmentalism to encompass a deeper respect for a mutual coexistence between himself and the river.