GEORGIA Adopt-A-Stream Volume 13, Number 1, January / February 2006 Allison Hughes, Mitch Russell, and Harold Harbert, Editors Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division In 2005, Georgia Adopt-A-Stream lost two State Coordinators to managerial positions and gained one energetic replacement for both of them. Allison Hughes, the new State Coordinator is excited to take on the challenge of 2006. Despite changes in the coordinator positions, the program didn't skip a beat. In fact, 2005 saw improvements in every major category. Here are some stats on a successful year. The past year was also highlighted by some creative collaborative projects that brought citizen's attention to the need of reducing stormwater runoff. Through a website and the publication of a brochure, homeowners and private organizations were encouraged to offset stormwater impacts caused by impervious surfaces by constructing demonstration rain gardens. With the assistance of our 38 active trainers, For the second year, Georgia Adopt-A-Stream over 1,200 citizens of Georgia received QA/QC partnered with Georgia Project WET to produce certification for biological and chemical the Health Water, Healthy People workshop. monitoring. There were This dynamic workshop also 114 chemical and certifies volunteers as biological trainers Project WET certified. The new facilitators and Adopt- certifications registered A-Stream trainers. In 55 new groups and 119 addition to preparing new monitoring sites trainers in the science both numbers represent and philosophy of two fold increases from volunteer water quality 2004. Our 100 plus monitoring, the active programs program provides conducted over 750 excellent training for monitoring events in communicating with 2005. Presently the bimonthly A successful streambank stabilization project protecting an urban stream in DeKalb. and educating diverse audiences. newsletter is distributed Georgia Adopt-A- to some 4,500 Georgia citizens. In addition, the Stream agreed to partner with the Georgia River Adopt-A-Stream and Rivers Alive website has Network (GRN) to present the Watershed Track received over 90,000 hits in 5 years. at the 2006 GRN Conference. Changes in the In 2005, we witnessed the beginnings of the creation of a format for displaying our volunteer data on Google Earth (see article on page 2). We're already planning changes to expand this coming year include a partnership with GRN to assist with Paddle Georgia 2006 by conducting training workshops and helping to coordinate monitoring activities while paddlers are in route. format and increase our capacity to display other Another significant undertaking included types of information. revisions to our benthic monitoring protocol. These include the creation of a new key and biological index score. Although these changes won't take affect until 2006, most of the groundwork was completed in the past year. Expect these changes to be implemented soon! More benthic monitoring changes will take place in the coming year, as we finalize and implement methodologies for the monitoring of nonwadeable streams. In 2005, we also acquired IDEXX equipment for bacteriological monitoring. Expect us to expand our monitoring capabilities significantly as we incorporate these new ideas to our monitoring repertoire. Old alliances and partnerships remain intact. These include a dedicated number of talented trainers and the continuation of lasting local and community Adopt-A-Stream programs. The Regional Training Centers Joe Richardson at Savannah State University, Mary Sweeney Reeves at the University of Georgia Marine Extension Service, Becky Champion at Columbus State University, and Hap Tietjen at Georgia Southwestern State University maintain strong relations with the State Program, providing key technical and logistical support. The Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Advisory Board 20 members strong provides program guidance, assists with recruitment and expansion, supplies technical expertise, fosters partnerships, develops support for a statewide program and helps implement the goals of Georgia Adopt-A-Stream. With 100% turnover in the Adopt-A-Stream staff, more program changes are undoubtedly in store for 2006 and beyond. However, there's one facet of the program that will never waiver, that is our program's commitment to provide better resources for citizens to protect local waterways. During Rivers Alive 2005, 153 groups totaling 24,595 volunteers collected 684,341 lbs of trash from 2,916 miles of Georgia waters. The most common items collected were: styrofoam, beverage bottles (glass and plastic), aluminum cans, cigarettes, food wrappers and plastic bags. Not only were there volunteers from Georgia removing debris from our waterways, but also several organizers in Columbus reached across the Chattahoochee River to Alabama. The cleanup in Barbour County, AL reciprocated the support, partnering with volunteers in Quitman County, GA. There were a number of cleanups that spanned the GA/SC border as well: Lake Hartwell, Lake Tugalo, and Savannah River north of Augusta. Volunteers drive Rivers Alive, and without them it would not be the success that it is today. Hope you join us in 2006 for the 15th annual Rivers Alive cleanup! There's a new tool to help you analyze your data. On the AAS website we've linked a bookmark to the USGS topological maps. By activating this layer, you'll have access to all USGS perennial streams, contour lines and landuse coverage. Also note that the AAS bookmark on Google Earth has been updated and is now available for use on MAC computers. Now there is a bookmark for sites with data and another for sites without data. If you're using an outdated version, download the updated bookmark from our website. Note that all future changes will automatically update when you activate the link. Adopt-A-Stream Calendar of Events The following workshops, taught by certified AAS trainers, provide training in visual, biological and chemical monitoring of streams. Teachers may receive 1 PLU credit for participating please go to the AAS website under Teacher Corner for more details. Please call to register for a workshop. What Biological Biological Watershed/Visual Chemical Chemical Biological Chemical Biological Who Savannah Riverkeeper Coastal Adopt-A-Wetland Clayton Co. AAS Clayton Co. AAS Coastal Adopt-A-Wetland Cobb Co. AAS Coastal Adopt-A-Wetland Clayton Co. AAS When Feb 18 Feb 18 Feb 18 Feb 25 March 4 March 11 March 11 March 11 Where Augusta Skidaway Island Newman Wetlands Newman Wetlands Skidaway Island Cobb Co. Brunswick Newman Wetlands To Register 706.364.5253 912.598.2348 770.690.6972 770.690.6972 912.598.2348 770.528.1482 912.598.2348 770.690.6972 Workshop information is updated weekly on our website at www.riversalive.org/aas.htm QA/QC Recertification: All QA/QC volunteers must renew certification on a yearly basis. This can be accomplished by participating in the second half of our regular chemical or biological workshop. ! The Adopt-A-Stream program relies heavily on our certified trainers from the North Georgia mountain streams to the coastal waters. These trainers have trained over 1,200 QA/QC volunteer monitors during 2005. We would like to thank our active trainers who led at least one workshop during 2005: Chandra Brown Dave Butler Frank Carl Azarina Carmical Deanna Conner Duncan Conttrell Ellie Covington Angela Davis John Davis Rose Duncan Sue Eggert Ruth Eilers Lori Forrester Larry Golsen Caberon Kerr Chris Kodani Eric Lindberg Jenifer McCoy Ruth Mead Michael O'Shield Katie Owens Richard Owens Dave Patterson Robert Phillips Ben Porter Jennifer Porter-McLaurin Brenda Rashleigh Joe Richardson Anna Salzberg Terry Shuler Sharon Smith Mary Sorenson Mary Sweeney-Reeves Cynthia Taylor David Wenner Brian Wiley Trevor Williams NALMS: 15th Annual Southeastern Lake & Watershed Management Conference: March 8-11 www.nalms.org * Columbus, GA * Early Bird Deadline: Feb 15 Environmental Education Alliance: Conference: March 17-19 www.eealliance.org Norcross, GA * Discount registration fee for students * Early Bird Deadline EXTENDED: Feb 17 Fifth Annual Parks & Greenspace Conference: March 27 www.parkpride.org Atlanta, GA River Rally: May 5-9 www.rivernetwork.org/rally/ Breton Woods, NH * Early Bird Deadline: April 7 5th National Monitoring Conference: May 7-11 www.tetratech-ffx.com/nwqmc06/ San Jose, CA * Early Bird Deadline: March 31 Paddle Georgia: June 24-30 * www.garivers.org Coosa & Etowah Rivers from Dawsonville to Rome Teacher Scholarships Available - Contact Joe Cook @ joe@joecook.net The Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Newsletter is published six times per year. For more information about the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream program or to contribute to the newsletter, call or write to: Georgia Adopt-A-Stream Environmental Protection Division 4220 International Parkway, Suite 101 Atlanta, GA 30354 (404) 675-1635 or 1639 www.riversalive.org/aas.htm Printed on recycled paper