GEORGIA Adopt-A-Stream Volume 18, Number 3 May-June 2011 Allison Hughes, Tara Muenz, Editors Got Freshwater Wetlands? Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division Cypress wetland in southwest Georgia, Baker County May Is American Wetland Month but Wetlands Need You All Year! The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and its partners in the federal, state, nonprofit and private sectors celebrate wetlands by participating in American Wetlands Month in hopes of inspiring people to work throughout the year to protect, preserve and expand wetlands. The EPA encourages citizens to learn about wetlands through exploring a wetland near you and taking an active role in the protection and restoration of wetlands. How Can I become Involved in Protecting Georgia's Freshwater Wetlands? Georgia has a wide range of freshwater wetlands, including riverine-associated wetlands and three types of depressional wetlandscypress/gum ponds, limesink depressions and Carolina bays. The United States Fish and Wildlife Service's National Wetland Inventory provides information to the public on the status and extent of wetlands across the nation. This searchable database can help you locate a wetland near you. Find it at www.fws.gov/wetlands. Another way to discover these amazing places and help in their protection is by collecting data through initiatives like the Adopt-A-Wetland Program in the Georgia Environmental Protection Division. This volunteer program instructs citizens through a 3-hour workshop on how to monitor and identify wetland soils, vegetation and hydrology. Also available is training in Project WET's `WOW! The Wonders of Wetlands' curriculum. This curriculum has more than 50 lesson plans which focus on wetland functions, values, and protection. Using these hands-on, experiential activities helps students make connections with wetland science and protection. Please join us in an effort to better understand and protect these very important ecosystems! We have many workshops scheduled, some of which will be a joint AdoptA-Wetland and WOW! Workshops. A list of workshops can be found at www.GeorgiaAdoptAstream.org under `Announcements.' National Wetland Inventory Map 2011 AAS Confluence Makes Great Strides for Volunteers Just when you thought we couldn't top last year's event, hello Confluence 2011! On March 26th at the Gwinnett Environmental and Heritage Center in Buford, Georgia Adopt-A-Stream held its 2nd Confluence. Over 180 Adopt-AStream volunteers, 36 speakers and 8 vendors attended to learn, grow, share and meet one another. It was wonderful to see so many attendees from different backgrounds come together in the same place which made it a very special event for all. Among the highlights was the conference facility itself, a LEED certified building (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) which offered not only a wonderful space for the conference, but set a tone for what the AAS community is all about, reducing our water footprint. We had initiatives to reduce waste and also to properly dispose of unwanted items through an on-site recycling event sponsored by Forsyth County. We promoted opportunities for citizens to get to know one another through the Basin Breakout Sessions, where volunteers could meet others in their watershed and share experiences and river stories. Volunteers attended sessions on various topics including the Federal Clean Water Act, streambank restoration, macroinvertebrate identification and many others. For those of you who missed Confluence, images can be found on our Facebook Page and we hope to post the presentations on our website in the coming months. We at the State Office really enjoyed seeing everyone and look forward to hearing your thoughts on what you would like to see for 2012. Stay tuned for next year's date decision, and as always, we appreciate all that you do! Thank You to Our Confluence Sponsors Thank you to our Confluence Sponsors Confluence Level Sponsors Watershed Level Sponsors We would also like to thank our fiscal Partners: Keep Georgia Beautiful Foundation The Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia See What the Confluence is All about! "It is happy and encouraging and invigorating!" "We are all connected" "More than met my expectations" "Everybody can contribute to healthy waters no matter how small" Eco-Friendly Conference Center Share Experiences & Knowledge Hands-on Experiences Volunteer Presentations Basin Breakouts Meet AAS Trainers Learn from the Experts AAS Awards Ceremony AAS Now Receives a Discount on Monitoring Equipment! Please visit our calendar of events at www.GeorgiaAdoptAStream.org for upcoming monitoring workshops and Adopt-A-Stream events. 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 404.675.6240 www.GeorgiaAdoptAStream.org Geo-nBelwuAes!AleSStti@gerngbauyeppefdmo.roaroilguinrg Dragonfly Riffle Beetle Dobsonfly Stonefly Net Spinning Caddisfly