Adopt-a-stream, Vol. 5, no. 2 (Mar./Apr. 1998)

GEORGIA
Adopt-A-Stream
Volume 5, Number 2, March/April 1998
Eve Funderburk and Michele Droszcz, Editors

Department of Natural Resources Environmental Protection Division
Moving Downstream
It seems like spring is a time of change at Georgia Adopt-A-Stream. Two years ago in April, I came on board here to help Laurie Hawks with this rapidly growing program. As of this April, I will move from Georgia Adopt-AStream to the coast of Alabama to serve as the Watershed Project Coordinator for Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Fairhope, Alabama. Michele Droszcz will continue as the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream coordinator and a new co-coordinator will be hired very soon to help her with volunteer support and training and management of all that goes on day to day here! Thanks for making the past two years so enjoyable and rewarding. I know Georgia's streams, lakes, wetlands, and rivers benefit daily from all the work our volunteers do. Thanks for taking time out to make a difference!! Michele's phone number will be 404-656-0099 and her email address is michele_droszcz@mail.dnr.state.ga.us -- drop her a message if you have any questions.
( Thanks again and keep up the good work!!
Focus on Coastal Georgia

There is so much going on in the coastal plain of Georgia this spring and summer. The Coastal Resource Division is working on a Coastal Ark program which focuses on increasing public awareness and knowledge of environmental issues facing coastal Georgia, and provides the public with information they need to make informed decisions. The Ark itself is a mobile classroom designed to deliver coastal information directly to local communities. It's equipped with state-of-the-art technology and displays, wetland related displays and presentations, and a clearinghouse of information on wetland management tools and techniques for elected officials, government regulators, and building inspectors. If you are interested in becoming a Partner in Conservation and cruising on the Ark, contact Janet Evans with the DNR Coastal Resource Division at 912-264-7218.

Georgia Adopt-A-Stream is also very interested in supporting and recruiting groups in the southern area of our state. With four Regional Training Centers below the fall line (Columbus, Milledgeville, Savannah, and Valdosta) and a strong community program in Savannah-Chatham County, interested groups will not have to travel far to get training.
If you are interested in forming a community program and would like some guidance and or support, please give us a call (404) 656-0099 or -0069.

The Environmental Education Alliance of Georgia (EEA) will have a two day conference March 6 and 7 in

Savannah, GA. The conference, "Current, Connections and Cetaceans," will provide a chance for environmental

educators to network, train and discover coastal resource opportunities. The conference is hosted by the Oatland Island

Education Center, a unit of the Savannah-Chatham County public schools. Conference highlights include long-term care

of birds of prey, Wassaw Island Wildlife Safari, and the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge. For more information on

EEA or the upcoming National Association of American Environmental Educators conference September 4 - 8 in Atlanta,

please contact Deron Davis, Dunwoody Nature Center, PO Box 88834, Dunwoody, GA 30356, email

deron@mindspring.com, or phone 770-394-3322.

Adopt-A-Lake Update
Congratulations to the Georgia Lake Society

(formerly Georgia Lake Management Society) for another successful Adopt-A-Lake workshop. This

training followed their 1998 Annual Conference in LaGrange, GA on February 13. Four teachers, two students, two interested citizens and two GLS board members attended the workshop at West Point Lake. More good news -- the Georgia Adopt-A-Lake second edition training manual will be available very soon. If you are interested in getting an Adopt-A-Lake group together and going through training, contact Marty Williams at The Wilcom Group, PO Box 440885, Kennesaw, GA 30144, phone number 770-427-8794 or voice mail 404-681-6356. Marty is offering a FREE Secchi disk (compliments of LaMotte Company) to the first Adopt-A-Lake group to get registered and to organize a sampling time. FYI - the Georgia Lake Society's new address is PO Box 440994, Kennesaw, GA 30144. Got a lake? Get involved!!
What's up with Wetlands?
The first Adopt-A-Wetland workshop will be held April 18 at the Georgia Wildlife Federation's Alcovy River wetland site. For more details or to register (space is limited!), call Michele Droszcz at 404656-0069. A BIG congratulations to Rome Middle School for being the first official Georgia Adopt-AWetland group. Dr. Ann Spears, principal at RMS, Martha Little, City of Rome Adopt-A-Stream, and Eve Funderburk, Georgia Adopt-A-Stream/Wetland Cocoordinator presented teacher and organizer, Jack Chestnut with a recognition certificate at the unveiling of their site February 6, 1998. Judging from their outstanding work as a stream monitoring group, the Burwell Creek Wetland area will be in great hands!
Also, the new Alcovy Greenway Monitor will be on board very soon at the Georgia Wildlife Federation. The monitor will be responsible for establishing landowner communication and wetland and watershed stewardship along the Alcovy Greenway. The monitor will also offer workshops, recruit community participation in watershed decision making, exchange information with the GA EPD in development of river assessment criteria, and be a partner in the Adopt-A-Wetland program.
Field Conservat

ion Project Completed on the Conasauga
by George Ivey This fall the Conasauga River Alliance
completed its first streamside management project on Don Ritchie's cattle farm near Sumac Creek in Murray County. The project began by designing a conservation plan and creating a cooperative management agreement for the property. Then the real work started. First, the cattle stream crossing was targeted- excavating and sloping a small area on each side of the stream, installing a layer of geotextile fabric, and then covering the fabric with crusher run gravel. This crossing will greatly reduce erosion, sediment and nutrient problems that can occur when cattle access a stream. Next, Mr. Ritchie installed fencing along the rest of the stream in order to maintain a good vegetated buffer. A mixture of wildlife grasses will be planted in the streamside area to provide added benefit for wildlife.
Like all Alliance efforts, this stream crossing was a team effort. Staff from the Nature Conservancy and the Natural Resources Conservation Service helped with both design and implementation and the Limestone Valley Resource Conservation and Development Council provided cost-share assistance for the project. "It's a small but very visible farm," said Conasauga River Field Representative George Ivey, "so, it's a great way to show other people our cooperative work with landowners. We hope more farmers will follow Mr. Ritchie's lead in protecting water quality in this important watershed."
Project WET Newsletter
Don't miss out on the fabulous Project WET newsletter ... learn what teachers around the state are doing, helpful hints, and when the next workshops will take place. To get on the mailing list, call Petey Giroux at 404-651-9998 or email at petey_giroux@mail.dnr.state.ga.us.
Community Watershed Workshop
Georgia Adopt-A-Stream, the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, DeKalb County Parks and Recreation, City of Atlanta, and the Peavine Watershed Alliance will come together March 10 to kick off the first of 4 Watershed Workshops in 1998. If you live in the metro Atlanta area and would like more information, please call us at 404-656-0099 or -0069. The meeting will be from 6 p.m. - 8 p.m. at the DeKalb County Extension Building. Dinner provided courtesy of the Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper.

Local Happenings...
The Rockettes, monitors of DeKalb County's Rock Creek, noticed something was amiss with their stream during a recent visual survey. After tracking the discolored and odorous water upstream, Bill Pardue discovered the source of the spill. Part of a lift station, a holding tank, of sewage was overflowing at a substantial rate at an apartment complex. Bill returned home and called the DeKalb County Water Department to report the problem. Confusion over how to access the property for correcting the spill arose as it was occurring on private property. Bill and the homeowner adjacent to the stream kept watch until the sewage spill was stopped a day later. Thanks to the quick and knowledgeable actions of Bill and his Adopt-A-Stream group, the spill was discovered and halted. Visual surveys are a vital piece of surface water protection. Through simple observation, a problem can be identified and corrected. Great work Rockettes!!
Z Grant Money Awarded Z
Congratulations to Jud Ready and the Underwood Brook Georgia Tech Adopt-A-Stream group. They received a $600 grant from Trout Unlimited to get started in water quality monitoring. Underwood Brook is a tributary to Peachtree Creek which flows into the Chattahoochee River. This money will go to purchase supplies for chemical and biological monitoring. Thank you Trout Unlimited and Greg Moran for your generosity!!
PASS on Clean Water
The Georgia Forestry Commission, US Forest Service, National Resource Conservation Service, Upper Chattahoochee Riverkeeper, and Georgia Adopt-A-Stream are working cooperatively to target volunteer monitoring groups in the Soquee River Watershed who wish to participate in a streambank stabilization program. Plans are underway to supply trees to Adopt-A-Stream groups and offer training for successful streambank stabilization and habitat enhancement projects. Watch for announcements and updates as this program gets into full swing!
Watershed Stewardship Seminar
Two days of tours and seminars will begin March 11 for farm families in the Little River Rooty Creek Watershed in Eatonton, Georgia. To ensure that rural water supplies remain safe for farm families to drink, sustainable agriculture seminars like "Watershed Stewardship" aim to enlighten, educate and help producers make wise decisions. This two day seminar will cover water quality issues, suggest a variety of solutions, and enlist community input. Participants will learn the nuances of the latest farm programs, which agency to work with, and what to expect. Best Management Practices and funding sources will be presented. Neighboring farmers will demonstrate successful management practices that are both profit-friendly and water-friendly. Georgia Adopt-A-Stream will host day two, March 12, introducing how volunteer monitoring is used to assess the health of streams through visual, chemical and biological surveys. For more information, contact Lisa Kelley, Georgia Extension Service, 706-542-2154.
Resource Round-Up
New Resources from EPA courtesy of The Volunteer Monitor Newsletter, Fall 1997: Volunteer Stream Monitoring: A Methods Manual - 210 page manual from EPA introduces the reader to
streams, watershed survey methods, and monitoring techniques of macroinvertebrates, habitat, water quality, and physical conditions. A chapter on data organization and presentation is included. For a copy, contact Alice Mayio at (202) 2607018, mayio.alice@epamail.epa.gov. The manual will soon be available on the EPA homepage at www.epa.gov/owow/monitoring/vol.html.
Catalog of Federal Funding Sources for Watershed Protection - one page fact sheets on 52 funding sources (grants and loans). Available at www.epa.gov/owow/watershed/wacademy/fund.html or order publication # EPA 841-B97-008 from NCEPI at 800-490-9198.
Top 10 Watershed Lessons Learned - 59 page book distills the experience of dozens of watershed practitioners across the country into 10 lessons. Examples: Partnerships Equal Power, Plans Only Succeed if Implemented, and Build

on Small Successes. For a copy call 800-490-9198 and ask for publication # EPA 840-F-97-001 or check it out on the web at www.epa.gov/owow/lessons.
Georgia Environmental Protection Division has published an informative handbook on regulations which affect your streams entitled, "Environmental Management Requirements for Stream and River Corridors in Georgia." If you are interested in receiving this publication, please call the NonPoint Source Program at 404-656-4887 or email kathy_manley@mail.dnr.state.ga.us.
QA/QC Alert!!
Don't forget to come to a workshop to receive your annual recertification for chemical or biological monitoring. Recertification gives you a chance to ask any questions you may have as well as learn what's new at Adopt-A-Stream. We need you to receive recertification each year to ensure data is being collected in a consistent manner throughout the state.
1998 Adopt-A-Stream Training Workshops The following workshops introduce volunteers to specific water quality monitoring techniques and background information. Call to reserve your space in the following workshops. Space is limited!

What Level I/Chemical Citizen Watershed Workshop Biological Level I/Chemical Adopt-A-Wetland

When March 7 March 10 March 21 April 4 April 18

Where Atlanta Atlanta Fernbank Science Ctr. Newman Wetl. Ctr. Covington

To Register 404-656-0069 404-656-0099 404-656-0069 404-656-0069 404-656-0069

If you would like an Atlanta workshop schedule for the entire year, please call 404-656-0099 or email us.
Mail Bag
Do you want to continue getting the Georgia Adopt-A-Stream newsletter? If not, please let us know!! We need to remove those folks who have moved or no longer wish to receive our bi-monthly newsletter. Unless we hear differently, we will continue to send you our newsletter. We will be glad to remove your address - please call (404) 656-0099, write or email at michele_droszcz@mail.dnr.state.ga.us

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 7 ML King Dr. SW, Suite 643 Atlanta, GA 30334 404-656-0099