Best way to relax after a busy week? River Monitoring!

What happens when you mix a couple cups of water with an assortment of bugs and a batch of 6^th graders at 67ish degrees for 2 hours? A fabulous Bonner field trip! ….and that’s all it took to turn a stressful school week into a happy Friday. Who wants to sit in a library writing up reports when there is an opportunity to listen to a kid try to explain how gills work? As one Bonner student put it, “Fish breathe with gills in their neck – like lungs only with water.” Sure, but what happens when they find out that mayfly gills are not on their neck. “Whoa! You mean they breathe from their butt?!” Well, not exactly their butt. *review head, thorax, abdomen* Yes, the biological station is always filled with exceptional comments and critiques. At the end, which was their favorite bug – “Mayflies, they swim like mermaids” and what did they learn – “That there are a lot of different things living in the water.” And we saw plenty of diversity (yes, word of the day) in our samples: lots of stoneflies, mayflies, a few caddis flies, a crayfish, and a tiny fish about the size of your small finger. It always amazes me how much these kids learn and remember. I always like to ask them what they learned from the previous station(s) and they don’t even hesitate in answering and sometimes they beat me to the end of the question. "What is the veloc-"-"3.2 feet per second"! "And what about dissolved ox"-"10 drops"! How’s that for efficiency? They waste no time, especially if they see a pair of waders. But equally important in helping these amazing kids learn about the awesomeness of the stream monitoring. A big part of the fieldtrip success is WEN's awesomely awesome team with Josh and Molly and me! They made this field trip even more amazing, like the cherry on the top of an ice cream cone, or like finding a grumpy little someone in their little stone case! …and you all keep asking why I’m still volunteering.

  Al Pack

WEN Volunteer since 2007

13th Annual Water Summit: More details to come

Why Monitor Rivers?

Because it is important to understand what is in our rivers and how they are changing!  According to a recent Missoulain article, the Glacier Stonefly is at risk of becoming endangered due to the effects of climate change.

Read it HERE

The Stonefly needs clean and cold water, so it is known as an indicator species for healthy rivers.

Heading Up the Blackfoot

This past Sunday Stream Team had an amazing afternoon taking data on the Blackfoot River at the Angevine site. While our volunteers, Rob and Pam, started on chemistry, Maria, Steve and myself started setting up to gather stream flow data.  The weather turned out to be a pleasant surprise.  Standing along the Blackfoot, next to the cast of the mountain shadows, the sun lit up the water and made the scenery almost as pleasant as the warmth on my cheeks.  I stood up on a rock to get a better view of the river, watching it curve with the mountain line, and could not have been more happy that I had gone out to do Stream Team that day.

Once we were done measuring stream velocity and dissolved oxygen, we were ready to start collecting insects! As the waders collapsed around the shape of my legs, the water actually felt good, cooling me off from the warm weather.  After a couple of good collections we were ready to start sorting and identifying.  We found numerous stoneflies and caddis.  In fact, many of the stoneflies we found were the biggest I had ever seen, it was very exciting! 

The river had a wide variety of insects and many healthy indicator species. The chemical and physical aspects of the stream also were in healthy conditions; we were very satisfied with the day.  Our day was one of the best Stream Teams yet this year, and I highly suggest anyone interested to get involved, because otherwise you'll be missing out on great days such as this one!

Megan Girsch
WEN Autumn 2010 Intern

WEN teaches the Swan Valley School about stream health

The keystone of The Watershed Education Network (WEN) is its School Stream Monitoring Program.  In this program, WEN teaches students about the importance of watershed health and how to monitor their local rivers.  We recently taught the Swan Valley School and took them out to the river for hands on learning.

We were very excited to take Swan Valley School out to Glacier Creek. The morning started bright and early for the long drive out, and we could tell it was going to be a great morning.  After an almost two-hour drive, we arrived at the stream, parking beside an old rusty bridge, with the river flowing swiftly below.  The kids were unbelievably great, very eager to learn and participate. The groups at each of the stations were a mixture of 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders and they worked so well together—the older students took on leadership roles, helping the younger students and I think it was really beneficial for the group as a whole.

It was my first time running the physical station and it was a lot of fun!  The kids had a blast throwing the sticks in the water to measure velocity.  Once all of our data was collected, the high number of positive indicating insects collected, combined with our high oxygen content and pristine clear, cold water, we knew Glacier Creek was a promising supply to the Swan River.

The trip ended at the school, where Josh gave a wonderful presentation to the 4th grade classroom about what makes a healthy stream, including what types of conditions are ideal for our native trout populations. The students were then allowed to ask questions, and the only question was directed toward Josh, asking, “do you like healthy foods?” Confused, Josh replied with a “yes” and the student told him, “because Lunchables are 100% healthy!” The students then filed out of the room to the cafeteria, where they would be treated to their much anticipated lunch after a long morning as watershed scientists.


—Megan Girsch
WEN Fall UM Intern

For more information about the School Stream Monitoring Program or WEN, go to montanawatershed.org or email water@montanawatershed.org

WEN mointors Streams accross Montana

Along with providing resources for our community and local schools, the Watershed Education Network also monitors local streams for stream health. Our Stream Team has an awesome time this past Sunday!  It was a beautiful day for monitoring our local rivers.  This fall, our Stream Team will be monitoring a different river every Sunday afternoon.

August Winner

Congratulations to our August Blog Winner... Kristin Gardner! Kristin has won $500 to support her monitoring efforts and student education and outreach programs. Well done Kristin!

Keep up the great work everyone!
 

World Water Monitoring Day is September 18!

To order your free test kit, participation certificates, fact sheets, puzzles and worksheets; please call us at 406-994-6425 or emails us at kwatson@montana.edu.

 Students Make Valuable Contribution to World Water Monitoring Day

More and more, students are leading the efforts to protect their local environment.  Living in a world shrunken by technology, they have a better understanding of the interdependence of important natural resources in a larger, global setting.

Since 2002, many youth have demonstrated their growing knowledge while participating in World Water Monitoring Day (WWMD). Observed officially each year on September 18, WWMD presents an important opportunity for young people to become involved in safeguarding natural resources on a local, national and international scale. Students around the world from Argentina to Zimbabwe have paid their local waterways a visit in order to test four basic indicators of water quality. Dissolved oxygen, pH (acidity), temperature and turbidity (clarity) are important, yet basic indicators of the water’s quality.

While engaged in this annual event, students can learn more about the watersheds in which they live, how watersheds work and how protecting their waters can have beneficial impacts downstream. Teachers and students often use their data to discuss impacts in their local watershed and compare their findings with others. The Water Environment Federation and the International Water Association serve as the primary coordinators for the program. A complete list of sponsors and partners is found on the web site.

For more information, visit the World Water Monitoring Day website at www.worldwatermonitoringday.org.

Field Sketching

Does anyone have lesson plans to practice field sketching in the classroom? I am looking for tips to add depth to field sketches. The target group is middle school and we would take a few class periods to introduce the material before we go into the field. Rai Hahn Fairfield Middle School

IBM Commercial: Smarter Water Management

How much water does it take to make...

How much water does it take to make a sheet of paper? A cup of coffee? A kilo of beef? You would be surprised! [Look for answers at the end]!

"Left to its own devices, the earth has a near perfect, self-regulating water system. But when man interacts with water, we change it, redirect it or otherwise alter its state!" With advances in technology — sophisticated sensor networks, smart meters, deep computing and analytics — technology giant IBM is helping clients and partners make smarter decisions about water management. By monitoring, measuring and analyzing water systems, from rivers and reservoirs to pumps and pipes, we can better understand the issues around water and help and support the effective management of this precious resource.

Dr. Cameron Brooks, director of Smarter Water Management in IBM's Big Green Innovations group, will provide a keynote presentation at the 2010 Watershed Symposium. Cameron is leading a team of technical experts and business development executives who are leveraging IBM’s information management, advanced analytics and technology services capabilities to develop water management solutions for government, utility and enterprise customers.

The 2010 Watershed Symposium will take place September 7-9, 2010 in Helena, Montana at the Red Lion Colonial Hotel. Diverse participation by 200 folks from across the state is anticipated. Additional information and online registration is available at www.mtwatersheds.org

Answers:
One sheet of paper= 10 liters of water
One cup of coffee = 140 liters of water
One kilo of beef = 15,500 liters of water

WOW! For more facts, check out IBMs Smarter Water website www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/water_management/ideas/index.html

Madison Stream Team Completes First Round of Sampling
With the conclusion of sampling on the West Fork of the Madison yesterday afternoon, the Madison Stream Team can proudly say they have successfully completed their first ever sampling on 5 area streams- O'Dell, Moore, North Meadow, South Meadow, and West Fork. These committed volunteers accomplished this task with professional and at the same time hilarious attitudes! I am very proud of their hard work!!

UPPER GALLATIN PUBLIC MEETING TO DISCUSS THE RESULTS OF A 3-YEAR WATER QUALITY STUDY

Blue Water Task Force is hosting a public meeting on Wednesday, August 25th from 7-9pm at Bucks T4 in Big Sky to discuss the results of a 3 year water quality study (Total Maximum Daily Load "TMDL" assessments). We would love to hear your input! Public input is an important part of the TMDL process. Refreshments provided! Any questions, please contact Kristin Gardner at (406) 993-2519 or kristin@bluewatertaskforce.org.

Big Sky Watershed Team Announcement

The Montana Watershed Coordination Council, Montana Conservation Corps, and Montana Association of Conservation District are announcing the AmeriCorps Big Sky Watershed Team. This program will potentially partner AmeriCorps volunteers with grassroots natural resource organizations across the state. For a fraction of the typical cost, you’ll be able to add the functional equivalent of a high-skill, full-time employee to expand the scope, reach, and effectiveness of your organization.

These AmeriCorps members will serve for 1700 hours (~11 months) and can help your organization in any number of ways. Depending on your specific needs, this could either include your water monitoring program or expansion into other natural resource issues. Members can grant write and fundraise, recruit and train new volunteers, perform community outreach and communications work, or develop and execute new educational programs.

The Big Sky Watershed Team can potentially be ready to place volunteers with community organizations in the fall of 2011. If you are interested in hosting an AmeriCorps volunteer within your organization, we would like to talk to you to learn more about how this new program can help you execute more on-the-ground natural resource projects.

Please contact Rabi Vandergon, who is helping develop the program, at either 406-444-0504 or Rvandergon@mt.gov.

July Raffle Winner

Congratulations... Todd Wester!!!

Todd has won $500 for his school's monitoring program! Thank you to all of our contributors this month! August brings more opportunities to contribute. Keep up the great work everyone!

The data used for this drawing is posted below. Please note that the results were sorted by number value for ease of selection. If you have a alternative mode of choosing a winner, I welcome your input!

Name        Date of Entry           Random Number
wen           7/28/2010 11:28     0.005617
hahn          7/27/2010 9:09       0.032676
bone         7/28/2010 9:58        0.143205
gardner     7/27/2010 11:33      0.458383
wen          7/28/2010 1:53        0.557884
sullivan      7/28/2010 6:31        0.719309
mcbroom  7/26/2010 3:52        0.728855
madison    7/28/2010 11:30      0.829847
hahn          7/29/2010 5:59        0.83114
sullivan      7/28/2010 3:20        0.885402
sullivan      7/28/2010 6:33        0.942142
wester      7/26/2010 12:21     0.998896

Posted on behalf of Bill Tramp, Science teacher at Custer County District High School

7/30/2010

For the first time in over 100 years, fish are able to bypass Twelve Mile Dam and migrate upstream. When the Twelve Mile Dam was built for irrigation it blocked fish migration and during irrigation season, many downstream migrating fish were diverted into the irrigation canal and onto fields.

Thanks to the efforts of local, Roger Muggli and the US Fish and Wildlife Service among others two structures were built to help fix this problem. The first was a fish diversion that diverts downstream migrating fish around the dam and back into the Tongue instead of the irrigation canal. The second structure is a boulder filled channel that allows fish to swim around the dam and get upstream.

These projects are good models for what can be done with diversion dams like the ones on the Yellowstone at Glendive and Forsyth.

Water Curricula

http://www.eeweek.org/resources/water_curricula.htm

Click, print, read, make "I heart NEEF" t-shirt (optional)... have time left in your planning period to catch your breath! :)

macroinvertebrate identifications

Hey bug lovers-
I have been fielding quite a few questions this summer about insects (and non-insects) that people are seeing while out in the field this summer. I would like to help ya'll out as much as possible with identifications of problematic specimens. SO..... If you are out in the field collecting I offer these hints that will help while collecting specimens.
1)Things you'll need:
Vials, EtOH( or some other alcohol), thermos of hot water, paper, pencil
2)What to do:
Once you have your specimen of interest dip it in the hot water, this is a flash kill that prevents the specimen from "thrashing" in EtOH , possibly damaging important morphological characters. This is also a more humane way to kill an insect, as opposed to suffocating it to death in alcohol!
3)Place specimen in EtOH and label
The label should be placed inside the vial with the specimen and should include:
location ( as much info as you have) i.e. Creek name, Lat/Long, description (eg. downstream of hwy 200 bridge near hwy post 123),Date(VERY IMPORTANT), and your name.

If you cannot send the specimen, or do not wish to euthanize it for science, please take pictures.

Hope this helps
Collect often!!! and I am always willing to help with problematic specimens

Sean Sullivan
Invertebrate Taxonomist
Aquatic Ecologist
Rhithron Associates, Inc.
www.Rhithron.com

Stream Team Statistics

This summer, Watershed Education Network staff, volunteers and interns have been participating in weekly Stream Team trips around the Missoula area. At each stream site, the group collects water quality data that includes dissolved oxygen content, air and water temperature, pH and macroinvertebrate group taxa scores on the Pollution Tolerance Index. Pictures and data from some of our summer Stream Team adventures follow.

Rattlesnake Creek- 6/16/2010- 1:40 P.M.
Site: Tom Greene
Dissolved Oxygen: 10.5 mg/L
Air Temp: 11.5 degrees C
pH: 7.4
Macroinvertebrate count:
Mayflies (155)
Stoneflies (7)
Caddisflies (4)
Midges (4)
Snipeflies (1)
Aquatic Worms (3)
Leaches (2)
Black Fly Larvae (1)
Pollution Tolerance Index (PTI) Score: 21 (Potentially Good Water Quality)

Clark Fork River
- 6/23/10- 2:25 PM
Site: Easy Street Access
Dissolved Oxygen: 11 mg/L
Air Temp: 22 degrees C
pH: 7.7
* Water too high to sample aquatic macroinverts

Grant Creek- 7/21/2010- 1:30 PM
Site: Bench Bridge
Dissolved Oxygen: 11.5 mg/L
Air Temp: 28 degrees C
pH: 7.4
Macroinvertebrate count:
Mayflies (267)
Stoneflies (8)
Caddisflies (17)
Craneflies(1)
Aquatic Worms (4)
Flatworms (3)
Pollution Tolerance Index (PTI) Score: 14 (Potentially Fair Water Quality)


If you are in the Missoula Area and would like to volunteer with our Summer Stream Team, please email water@montanawatershed.org and check out our calendar for dates/times.

Water Monitoring with SKC and gida Student Scientists

Watershed Education Network recently joined Salish Kootenai College hydrology professor Tony Berthelote in welcoming students from Minnesota's Gida-Manoomin camp to Montana. Students from the camp, whose projects include helping with restoration of native wild rice to lakes on the Fond du Lac Reservation in Minnesota, took a core sample from Lake Josephine (GNP) with scientists from the LacCore program. The students examined sediments deposited in Josephine from the eruption of Mount Mazama (what is now Crater Lake, OR) in 5700 B.C. After touring the Going To the Sun road, WEN and gida returned to the Flathead Reservation to perform water monitoring tests at Mission Falls in the Mission Mountains. The falls were rushing from snow melt water, and the sun was shining. It was a beautiful day for hands-on exploration of the stream. Students learned how to test velocity, PH and dissolved oxygen content, and counted and identified macroinvertebrates, while their instructors participated in a GLOBE training session. Here are some pictures from the trip:

Identification of macroinvertibrate

While working with a group of teachers, we collected a pond sample and found a macroinvertibrate that I didn't know the name of. It was about two cm long, clear transparent yellow, funnel shaped at both ends, and had a couple of pairs of dark brown organs. If anyone can give me any information I would appreciate it. Thank you. Allen Bone

Summer and Fall Sampling Event Support

Hello student groups! This message is for you...

If you plan to do a summer or fall sampling event with your students, let us know! We have funds available to support your transportation, monitoring equipment, substitute teacher fees, expert speaker honorariums, etc. Thanks EPA!!!

Yay K-12 monitoring!!!

Seasonal Water Quality Data Collection in the Upper Gallatin Reveals a More Complete Picture of Stream Health

The Blue Water Task Force (BWTF) is a nonprofit watershed group located in Big Sky, Montana that has been running a successful volunteer water quality monitoring program since 2000. BWTF collects water chemistry data four times a year representing four distinct hydrologic/biologic regimes (winter baseflow, summer baseflow, high flow, pre-snowmelt). In addition, BWTF collects and analyze aquatic insects twice a year in April and September.

Macroinvertebrate Data Request- Fairfield HS

Posted on behalf of Rai Hahn, 7-12 Grade Science Teacher, Fairfield PS

We are evaluating the macro-invertebrate populations on the stream between the Dearborn and Two Medicine Rivers along the Rocky Mountain Front. Does anyone have data they could share with us? Rai Hahn and Triston Isakson, Fairfield High School.

Water Monitoring in Lewis and Clark County

Posted on behalf of Jennifer McBroom, Lake Helena Watershed Group Coordinator

The Lake Helena Watershed has formed a volunteer monitoring group and is expecting to go out in August for their first sampling event. Some of the creeks that the monitoring group will sample are, Skelly Gulch, Lump Gulch, Jennies Fork and the Middle Fork Warm Springs Creek. We are sampling for nutrients and total recoverable metals such as Zinc, Silver, and Arsenic. We will also use our YSI meters to measure pH, DO, temperature, and specific conductance. Wish us well, because we also measuring discharge with our yard stick and tennis balls! We will keep you informed of our progress!

Thanks,
Jennifer

Water Monitoring at Livingston Public Schools

Posted on behalf of Todd Wester, Director of Curriculum and Instruction, LPS

July 20, 2010

“Where have all the bugs gone?” Livingston, MT school students aim to find the cause and a solution to the disappearance of a once-diverse and abundant population of stream-bottom dwelling insects, crustaceans, mollusks, flatworms, and segmented worms from Fleshman Creek, an urban stream that flows through their south-central Montana town.

New to Blogging?

Ah technology...

Here's how to:

Post a comment
1. Sign in
2. Click on the title of the post e.g. "Data Ahoy"
3. Type your comment in the comment box
4. Select your name from the drop down box (comment as:)
5. Click the "post comment" button at the bottom

Make a new post
You must be an "author" to make new posts. If you are interested in being a regular contributor or making new posts please email me and I will add you to the list. We are limited to 100 authors, so unfortunately this is a necessary gate keeping step.

Data Ahoy!

Did you know that your local water body may already have years (and in some cases... years and years and years) of data collected? The Clean Water Act Information Center (link also posted to the right) has Excel sheets full of historical data from monitoring events around the state. DEQ has also made this information really user-friendly by creating a series of drop down boxes that allow you to search by county, TMDL planning area, water quality category, etc. Gotta love that!

WELCOME!

Mission: This blog was designed to help make monitoring fun and easy! Post questions, events, stories, etc. to help foster our water monitoring community.

About us: We at MT Watercourse (housed at Montana State University in Bozeman) have been involved in water monitoring since the 1990s. Now, we have support from a variety of private and public funds to help YOU with your water monitoring efforts! Learn more about us here.

Every month, blog participants* will be entered in a raffle to win $500 for their water monitoring program. The more you blog, the more chances you have to win. Thank you for the funds, EPA! A new winner will be randomly selected on the first of every month starting in August. Check out the blog to see if you won!

Ready... set... BLOG!

You can be entered in the raffle by:
1) Posting an event, question, reply or story to this blog
2) Attending or hosting a water monitoring-related event (just blog a line that you attended)
3) Monitoring (again, just blog a line that you monitored your stream)
4) Submitting your data (just blog it!)
5) Adding a friend or colleague to our blog (just blog a line that you added someone)
6) Participating in our monthly water monitoring conference call (coming in August)

If you have other ideas on ways to participate please let us know... via this blog, of course!

*You knew there was a catch right? You must be a MT resident or perform monitoring activities in MT, and the funds must go towards a water monitoring related purpose. A winner will be chosen from the previous month's contributors (August winners will be based on July participants and so on.) Each contribution counts as one entry in the raffle. That's not too unreasonable right?