AAS October-December 2021 Newsletter Subscribe Past Issues https://mailchi.mp/41b2655427f6/aas-january-march-2021-newsletter-2... Translate October-December 2021 Newsletter View this email in your browser IN THIS ISSUE: Stream Habitat Survey Board Member Highlight: Callie Moore Confluence 2022 Announcements Program Updates Riffles Around Us Stream Habitat Survey Valuable Insight into the Health of your Stream Chris Kodani, Associate Professor of Biology, Clayton State University 1 of 11 1/18/2022, 1:17 PM AAS October-December 2021 Newsletter Subscribe Past Issues https://mailchi.mp/41b2655427f6/aas-january-march-2021-newsletter-2... Translate 2 of 11 In 2021, there were over 24,000* data points entered into the AAS database. The vast majority were chemical observations with over 17,000 data points, then bacterial with around 5,000, and macroinvertebrate with nearly 4,000. The small remaining percentage were in-stream habitat observations, with only 1,000 data points. Although the survey is supposed to be completed once yearly, I would urge volunteers to do the Stream Habitat Survey up to 4 times per year because it is that important! There are 10 parameters to evaluate as part of the Stream Habitat Survey. Bank stability, vegetative protection, and riparian zone width describe how the land is interacting with the stream right at your sampling site. Diversity of instream habitats (riffle/run/pool), channel flow status, channel alteration, and channel sinuosity provide insight about how the water is moving within the stream itself. Lastly, the bottom of the stream has 3 exciting parameters to scrutinize: epifaunal substrate, embeddedness, and sediment deposition! Because it is so systematic and thorough, completing the Stream Habitat Survey gives you heightened awareness of what's happening around, throughout, and within your adopted stream. On top of that, when you submit your completed survey data to the Adopt-A-Stream database, it can help your fellow researchers (myself included) to study all the many factors which can 1/18/2022, 1:17 PM AAS October-December 2021 Newsletter https://mailchi.mp/41b2655427f6/aas-january-march-2021-newsletter-2... Subscribaeffect oPuarssttrIsesaumess and the biological communities which inhabit them. Translate A stream's water quality index, calculated from the macroinvertebrate form, is only weakly related to imperviousness. Would habitat be a better fit? From Kodani, Christopher H. (2021) "Macroinvertebrates, Watershed Imperviousness, and a Water Quality Index: A Confluence of Georgia Adopt-A-Stream's Volunteer Data," Georgia Journal of Science, Vol. 79, No. 2, Article 3. Full article here. 3 of 11 For example, habitat may be the single most important factor in determining the health of a stream's macroinvertebrate population. Up until recently, I believed that the watershed's imperviousness was overwhelmingly the most important factor. For context, impervious surfaces such as roads, parking lots, and sidewalks hold contaminants, do nothing to filter the water, and are usually devoid of temperature-lowering trees, so it's reasonable to expect to find only the most tolerant macroinvertebrates in urban watersheds. I utilized data from the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream database to support my hypothesis; however, when I actually analyzed the data, I was shocked --watershed imperviousness was clearly a factor, but it just wasn't as strong as I had supposed it to be (see graph above). If the watershed can't completely explain a stream's macroinvertebrate diversity, then something else is neededbut what could that something else be? The answer might be habitat! I spoke with Bob Bourne, a veteran Adopt-A-Stream trainer from Cobb County, who stated that "visual assessments are essential in evaluating macroinvertebrate populations, and along with basic chemical analysis can provide a good picture on the stressors that may be influencing the macroinvertebrate populations." A large part of the connection between habitat and macro populations comes down to dissolved oxygen (DO), which we all know is a necessity for our favorite stream critters. DO is introduced into a stream largely due to turbulent mixing (riffles) and is inversely related to temperature. But what determines the presence of riffles and the temperature 1/18/2022, 1:17 PM AAS October-December 2021 Newsletter https://mailchi.mp/41b2655427f6/aas-january-march-2021-newsletter-2... Subscriboef thePaswt Iastseure?s Habitat! Additionally, anybody who has conductedTranslate macroinvertebrate monitoring knows that diversity of macroinvertebrates is what boosts their adopted site's Water Quality Index. For there to be a diversity of macros, there needs to be a diversity of habitat, be it the rocks on the bottom (stoneflies might live there), the woody debris (mayflies like this), or even an undercut near the roots of a tree (a favorite crayfish haunt). Because the Stream Habitat Survey relies upon the judgment of the monitor, one of the best ways to learn how to monitor instream habitat accurately and consistently is to seek out the guidance of somebody who does this on a regular basis. Michael Kahle, who is also an experienced trainer from Cobb County, sheds some wisdom on navigating the subjective nature of the protocol: "I'll use Habitat Parameter 3 (Riffle/Run/Pool) as an example. If the reach shows all three habitat types available, we know the rating should fall between 7 and 10. Now we can assess the quality of those three habitat types within that grade range to determine the quantitative score. Maybe the reach has all three types but the riffle quality is low, resulting in a 7 or 8 rating. This is usually the ah-ha moment. When the form is broken down this way the lightbulbs turn on." One way to get first-hand experience with the Stream Habitat Survey is to attend the workshop during the 2022 Adopt-A-Stream Confluence! You just might get to meet dozens of experienced trainers, like Bourne and Kahle, and make friends with hundreds of new and experienced volunteers at beautiful Unicoi State Park. Registration for Confluence opens soon- consider signing up for the Habitat Assessment workshop and learn how to gain incredible insight into the health of your waterways! *As of the most recent data pull in January 2022 4 of 11 1/18/2022, 1:17 PM AAS October-December 2021 Newsletter https://mailchi.mp/41b2655427f6/aas-january-march-2021-newsletter-2... Subscribe Past IssueBs oard Member Highlight Callie Moore MountainTrue Regional Director Translate 5 of 11 Originally from Nashville, Tennessee, Callie used a LaMotte dissolved oxygen test kit for the first time in the summer of 1988 at a TVA-sponsored training camp for its former Student Water Quality Monitoring Network. After camp, she remembers very clearly going into her chemistry teacher's classroom and asking what she should major in to do stream monitoring for the rest of her life. In 1990, there weren't too many options in the environmental field yet, but four years later Callie graduated from Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC with a B.S. in Environmental Health and a minor in organic chemistry. After offers for positions in local health departments or with companies that wanted to her to handle all their environmental permitting, she realized that she would need a master's degree to land a solid water job. Callie received an M.S. in 1/18/2022, 1:17 PM AAS October-December 2021 Newsletter https://mailchi.mp/41b2655427f6/aas-january-march-2021-newsletter-2... SubscribWe ater RPeasstoIusrscueessfrom Indiana University's School of Public and EnvironmentaTlranslate Affairs in 1997. Starting off doing professional water quality monitoring with the Tennessee Department of Environment & Natural Resources in Chattanooga, Callie soon realized that while collecting data was great fun (especially macroinvertebrates!), she didn't want to turn it over to someone else for analysis and problem solving. She moved to watershed planning with the North Carolina Department of Environment & Natural Resources, but she noticed that the people at the local level were the ones really getting things done. So, in 2003, she moved to Georgia to become the first full-time executive director of the nonprofit Hiwassee River Watershed Coalition, a position she held for 17 years until the coalition merged with a regional environmental nonprofit called MountainTrue. Now she is a regional director for MountainTrue, and is still hosting a robust AAS team in the Hiwassee & Nottely watersheds. "Not only does Georgia Adopt-A-Stream allow individuals to participate in the work of keeping our rivers, streams and lakes clean in a meaningful way," said Callie, "it provides local governments, nonprofits and the state with valuable data that they simply would not have without it. While the state may sample the Hiwassee River once every five years and the City of Hiawassee might sample a few streams that feed their drinking water supply periodically, they aren't going to have the capacity to sample every major tributary of Lake Chatuge & Lake Nottely, for example. But AAS volunteers do that. Every month, all year long." Callie is thrilled to now have the capacity serve on the AAS Advisory Board in addition to being a Community Coordinator. Confluence is Coming Back In-Person! 6 of 11 1/18/2022, 1:17 PM AAS October-December 2021 Newsletter Subscribe Past Issues https://mailchi.mp/41b2655427f6/aas-january-march-2021-newsletter-2... Translate 7 of 11 This March, pack your bags and head to the North Georgia mountains to join us for Confluence 2022! We are so excited to have our beloved conference (cautiously) back in-person once again at Unicoi State Park and Lodge. Confluence 2022 will take place on March 18th-20th, and will feature a Friday social, interactive talks and activities, the awards ceremony, AAS Jr. and more! Registration will be open in February, but here are a few actions you can take now to get ready for this fun and informative weekend: Lodging Rooms are available at the Unicoi Lodge, and conference attendees can stay for a reduced group rate; however, be aware that rooms go quickly, and cabins even quicker! You can book today with no charge and cancel up to three days before your stay. Additional booking information can be found on the Location and Lodging page of the AAS website. Adopt-A-Stream Award Nominations Do you know of an active Adopt-A-Stream trainer, volunteer or watershed group that exemplified the five goals of our program in 2021? Nominate them for an 1/18/2022, 1:17 PM AAS October-December 2021 Newsletter https://mailchi.mp/41b2655427f6/aas-january-march-2021-newsletter-2... SubscribAeAS awPaarsdt Itsosduaeys! For full descriptions of award categories and nominations, goTranslate to the AAS Awards Nomination page on the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream website. Don't be afraid to nominate yourself! The deadline to submit nominations is January 21st, 2022. Water Science Poster Session The Water Science Poster Session provides a platform for students and volunteers to share their water science research or projects with the water quality monitoring community. Presenters can be students (high school to graduate-level) as well as AAS volunteers. To enter, all participants must submit a short abstract of their research to aid the selection committee in the decision making process. More information, as well as the Poster Session Guidelines and Abstract Submission Form, can be found on the Water Science Poster Session page of the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream website. The deadline to submit abstracts is January 21st, 2022. Program Updates Submit Your 2021 AAS Data! 8 of 11 We sincerely appreciate all of your monitoring efforts throughout 2021, and we want to make sure that your hard work is accounted for! With the new year 1/18/2022, 1:17 PM AAS October-December 2021 Newsletter https://mailchi.mp/41b2655427f6/aas-january-march-2021-newsletter-2... Subscribuepon usP,awsteIsassukesthat you please submit any unentered data from this past yeaTrranslate as soon as possible so that we can ensure that our annual analysis is as accurate and inclusive as possible. Data can be submitted via the Adopt-A-Stream website. Please send any questions or concerns about the data submission process to AAS@dnr.ga.gov. Thank you again for all your hard work in 2021, and we are looking forward to seeing what we can accomplish together in 2022! Upcoming Workshop Opportunities 9 of 11 Get certified or recertified in an AAS monitoring program! While virtual options will still be available, in-person workshops are returning for those that feel comfortable attending. You can find workshop opportunities near you on the workshop calendar on the AAS website or contact us at AAS@dnr.ga.gov to set up a workshop in your area. Welcome New Adopt-A-Stream Groups! These groups monitored for the first time in October-December 2021. Welcome to the AAS team! 1/18/2022, 1:17 PM AAS October-December 2021 Newsletter https://mailchi.mp/41b2655427f6/aas-january-march-2021-newsletter-2... Subscribe HPEaLsPt IINssGueKsEEP GWINNETT CLEAN AND BEAUTIFUL Ogeechee River at Kings Ferry West Fannin 5th graders Cobb PD Community Affairs Unit Fran Darnall Christine Brackenrich Exploring Nature Together Translate Nature School Fox Creek Drive in Rain Tree Forrest Marietta Turkey Feather Tybee Island Maritime Academy Georgia River Network Paddling Trips Various dates and locations throughout 2022 AAS Confluence 2022 Adopt-A-Stream's annual volunteer water quality monitoring conference March 18th-20th, 2022 Unicoi State Park and Lodge Visit our online calendar for monitoring workshops and AAS events! If you'd like to become an AAS trainer, please contact the State Office for workshop information. 10 of 11 1/18/2022, 1:17 PM AAS October-December 2021 Newsletter https://mailchi.mp/41b2655427f6/aas-january-march-2021-newsletter-2... Subscribe PasCtopIsysriguhets 2022 Georgia Environmental Protection Division, All rights reserved. Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list. Translate 11 of 11 1/18/2022, 1:17 PM