10/9/2014 Stream Team Oct 2014

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Butler County Stream TeamOctober 2014

Volunteer Stream Monitoring in Southwest OhioNext Sampling Day - October 11

Water Plant TourDon't forget to sign up for the water plants tour. We willbe visiting the Drinking Water Plant followed by theWaste Water Plan in Fairfield on Oct 30. We will meet inWaterworks Park, Groh Lane, Fairfield, at 12:15 and thetwo tours should be over by 2:45. Add your name to thesign up list at http://doodle.com/buqp3iidf9eikcqw

Great Miami River CleanupSaturday, October 25See if you can find theweirdest garbage alongthe Great Miami Riverduring this fun annualclean up event. Thereare multiple locationsfrom Middletown to theOhio River. Find outmore and even pre-register at

www.greatmiamirivercleanup.org

Acton Lake TourThank you to Mike Vanni and Terafor taking us out on the lake toshow off their research. Youmissed a fun boat trip! If there isenough interest, we can perhapspick a date in the Spring foranother trip.

Upcoming EventsSampling SaturdaysWe only have two more samplingSaturdays left this calendar year

Oct 11Nov 8

Great Miami RiverCleanupSaturday, October 25 from 9 am -12 noon. See website for detailsand to register.

Water Plant TourOct 30, 12:15 - 2:45, Fairfield. Seeinfo on left.

Conservation District'sOpen House andElectionsButler Soil and Water District ishaving their Open House onMonday, November 10, from 3 - 7pm. Join Lynn and the otherconservation district staff to learnabout this years project. ButlerCounty residents and landownerscan also vote in the Board ofSupervisor Elections. More infoabout the candidates will beposted on the District's website asthe election draws closer.

Potluck / Data SharingBreakfastMark your calendars for datasharing breakfast to be hold onthe February sampling date of Feb14.

Volunteer Spotlight

Alex DeValle andTaylor Myatt

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Leaves and Yard WasteKelly CroutIt’s that time of year again! The leaves are changingcolor and starting to fall. That means that an increase inyard clippings and leaves will be collect from your yard.Although we want our lawns to be clean and look nice—we must be conscience of what happens to that organicwaste. The best option would be to compost all of thematerials, though its understandable that some peopleare a little icked outby some of thecritters that can livein there. Anotheroption is to bag upyour grass andleaves for the trashcollectors. The mainthing is to stop yourorganic waste fromentering the storm drain or your local stream. I knowthat I am not the only sampler that sees people dumpingtheir grass clippings and leaves in the creek.

When organic matter goes into a stream it increases thenutrient load (phosphorous, nitrates, etc.) This increasein nutrients can negatively influence the fish andmacroinvertibrates that live in the stream. The increasein nutrients can also negatively impact the overall healthof the stream itself and can cause a depletion ofdissolved oxygen as well as increasing turbidity in thestream. These nutrients can cause an increase inbacteria and even cause algal blooms. An increase inorganic matter in streams can also cause an oily sheenon the surface of the water—people can often mistakethis organic sheen for oil spills. The oil sheen is from thebreakdown of the organic matter (like leaves and grassclippings). The easiest way to determine if the sheen isfrom oil or organic matter is to disturb the water’ssurface. If the sheen swirls back together then it is oil,but if it breaks apart and stays apart then it is from

Alex and Taylor are the gradstudents that do a lot of the behindthe scenes work at the lab. If youvisit the lab, Alex and Taylor willtrain you on a test and help youwith any issues. They also spenda lot of time taking care of themonotonous jobs such ascounting bacteria colonies.

Alex: Iamcurrently asecondyearMastersstudent atMiami

University's Institute for theEnvironment and Sustainabilitywith a concentration in appliedecology and conservation. Iobtained my bachelor's Degreefrom Kent State University in Mayof 2012. This past summer Iinterned at the Clermont Soil andWater Conservation District. Ihelped sample East Fork (Harsha)Lake to monitor harmful algalblooms. The samples I collectedwill be analyzed for indicators ofharmful algal blooms and thetoxins they produce. The data willbe used by the USGS to create apredictive model of HABs.Molecular methods in addition tothe data I collected will be used tobetter understand the link betweencyanobacteria type andabundance, environmental andwater quality factors, and theoccurrence of toxins.

Taylor: I am a 1st yeargraduate student in the Master ofEnvironmental Science program atMiami University with aconcentration of Applied Ecology

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organic matter or other natural sources.

There is nothing wrong with wanting to keep your lawnlooking nice, but remember to also keep your localstreams clean as well.

If you would like to find out more about composting,please visit the Conservation District's website.

Storm Drain LabelingThe fall is a great time of year to get out and label stormdrains in your neighborhood. If you are interested inreceiving the supplies for your neighborhood, pleaseemail Beth Downs, who was just hired to replace AmyCameron at the Conservation District. Many of you mayknow Beth as she was the Graduate Student LabManager for Stream Team a few years ago.

Lending Library TitlesWe all have lots of books that we would love to share withsomeone who has similar interests. So we thought this mightbe a way to share them with people we know like streams! Ifyou have books, DVDs or other things - especially about water- that you would like to contribute, feel free to bring themalong anytime. Or, if there are particular books you would likeus to buy, let us know and once a year or so we can add a fewto our collection. Here's our list to date: *A Guide to Common Freshwater Invertebrates of NorthAmerica *A Guide to Ohio Streams *After the Storm - DVD *An Introduction to the World's Oceans *Bugs of the Underworld: a fly fisher's guide to the naturalhistory of aquatic insects (DVD - available on request) *Exploring the World Ocean *Fostering Sustainable Behavior: An introduction tocommunity-based social marketing *Guide to Aquatic Insects & Crustaceans *Gulf Hypoxia: Action plan 2008 *Handbook for Developing Watershed Plans to Restore andProtect Our Waters *Introductory Oceanography *Life in the Soil: A guide for naturalists and gardeners *Marine Ecology *Migratory Shore and Upland Game Bird Management inNorth America *Monitoring Guidance for Determining the Effectiveness ofNonpoint Source Controls

and Conservation. In 2012, Iobtained a Bachelor’s degree inEnvironmental Biology from MountVernon Nazarene University inMount Vernon, Ohio. Myundergraduate backgroundincludes an independent researchproject analyzing the Black Fly(Simuliidae) population in Ohiowatersheds. This project includedmacroinvertebrate sampling,specimen preservation, habitatevaluation, and biotic indices ofstreams. I was also a laboratoryassistant in the department ofbiology for 3 years. After obtainingmy degree, I worked as a ziplinetour guide giving nature tours inthe tree canopy for a summer. Ithen joined the Davey ResourceGroup where I became anInternational Society ofArboriculture (ISA) CertifiedArborist. I worked for 20 monthson the Asian Longhorned-BeetleEradication Program in Bethel,Ohio as a surveyor, tree climber,and foreman of the climbing crew.I am currently a GraduateAssistant at Miami Universitywhere I participate in the ButlerCounty Stream Team Labperforming stream water qualitytesting. I expect to finish mydegree in 2016. My personalinterests include cycling, birdwatching, hunting, backpacking,and various other forms of outdoorrecreation.

Crisis SpotCrisis Spot emails can be sent toTeresa Barnes atBarnesT@bceo.org

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*Oceanography *Ohio Vernal Pools: Diamonds in the Rough (DVD - availableon request) *Our Waters, Our Health *Pond and Brook: A guide to nature in freshwaterenvironments *River of Words *Stemming the Tide of Coastal Fish Habitat Loss *Swamp and Bog: Trees, shrubs, and wildflowers of easternfreshwater wetlands *The Colorado: A river at risk *The Evolution of North America *The Face of the Deep *The Mill Creek: An Unnatural History of an Urban Stream *Watersheds: A Practical Handbook for Healthy Water

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E-mail: ies@muohio.edu / Website: www.butlercountystreamteam.orgCopyright (C) 2010 Butler County Stream Team All rights reserved.

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