Kids in the Creek!

On May 5, 6 and 7 approximately 300 high school students found themselves on the scenic grounds of the Entiat Fish Hatchery for the annual Kids in the Creek event (KITC). KITC is a hands on outdoor education program in which high school biology students study  stream ecology on the Entiat River. Thousands of North Central Washington students have experienced this unique learning opportunity since its inception in 1992.

Each day at KITC students are split into six teams which rotate between six learning stations throughout the day. Each station is led by resource professionals (Cascade Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group, Chelan County Natural Resources Department, United States Forest Service, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Team Naturaleza, Wenatchee School District, Trout Unlimited, Ponderosa Community, AmeriCorps and the Public Utility District) and focuses on key components of stream ecology.

Invertebrate Investigators- At this station the students dawn baggy, clown-sized waders and take to the stream with nets to collect macro invertebrates. Using microscopes, students compare their samples with identification charts to determine which species they’ve found and get an indication of stream health.

Riparian RX- Students at this station take a walk through the Entiat River’s riparian zone learning about adaptation, the function of riparian zones, stream bank restoration and flora and fauna interrelationships. Students are exposed to field techniques and tools used to determine ground cover, canopy cover and overall riparian health.

Habitat Sense – At habitat sense students examine physical aspects of the river and discuss what good fish habitat looks like. These attributes include riffles, glides, pools, substrate and embeddedness.

Fish Health- As the station title suggests, the focus here is fish health and the environmental factors that affect fish. Students also learn about fish anatomy and environmental stressors.

Stream Flow- At this station students use mathematical equations they’ve learned in the classroom to calculate the stream flow of a side channel of the Entiat River. After calculating the flow, the students discuss what varying flows mean for the ecosystem, especially at extreme high and low flows.

Water Quality- Here, students learn to measure the pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen and temperature of a river. They then use these measurements to discuss and quantify stream health.

Upon completing each station, at the end of the day, each team is charged with coming up with a management plan for a swath of riverside property. These plans are then presented to peers and several resource professionals who critique each plan.

This year’s KITC was a huge success. Everything went just as planned and everyone involved learned something they could take with them. A few of the participating Wenatchee High School students were asked what they learned at KITC. This is how one replied: “it is important to us to have healthy streams…we really affect our watershed.”

Cascadia would like to thank Entiat Fish Hatchery for providing a beautiful venue, Alcoa and South Douglas Conservation District for their funding, and the Entiat Volunteer Service group for all their hard work and support. We would also like to thank all the resource professionals who came out to share their knowledge with the next generation of land managers!

Below are more Wenatchee High School students’ replies when asked what they learned at KITC.

* How important riparians are; why it is important to us to have healthy streams; how we really affect our watershed.

* Learned it's hard to catch a fish; fish are good at hiding; construction sites are way too dirty.

*That fish need healthy/non-polluted water to live; all streams have different habitat for different bugs; that biologists have very hands on jobs.

* It's very important to keep our environment clean for the Wenatchee watershed.

* That learning can be fun; you don't always learn in classrooms; hands on is good.

* How much the scientists care; how interesting macroinvertebrates are; how fun it was.

* It was fun to learn more stuff about the land; I thought it was going to be boring but it was fun; that fish and trees need to be helped and saved from being turned into stores and homes.

Today's snowpack in North Central Washington is 31% of its 29 year average (ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/data/water/wcs/gis/maps/wa_swepctnormal_update.pdf).

Wenatchee River Appreciation

Heading into what is sure to be a warmer than usual spring and summer and with such a measly snowpack in the mountains, Cascadia Conservation District and a group of well-intentioned community members headed to the banks of Brender Creek for our annual Wenatchee River Appreciation event. This year’s event was all about repairing the disturbed riparian area along the Wenatchee River tributary.

The banks of Brender Creek, adjacent to the former Cashmere mill site, has been one of Cascadia’s project sites over the winter and into the spring. It’s a site that has seen extensive cleanup efforts over the last few years, with the Port of Chelan fronting the bill for removal of debris and pollution accumulated over years of mill activity, with the intention to sell the land. 

With funding from the Department of Ecology, Cascadia and partnering agencies Chelan County Port District and Cascade Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group provided about 250 plants (ponderosa, Oregon grape, mock orange and golden currant), planting equipment and refreshments for volunteers. Clad in dusty work clothes and worn leather gloves, nearly 30 community members came out to help plant throughout a couple hundred yards of the Brender Creek riparian.

With so many eager hands getting plants in the ground, the event lasted about two and a half hours, culminating in a raffle in which two Wenatchee High School students won photographs by local artist and Cascadia Project Manager Michael Cushman. Cascadia would like to thank Cascade Quality Water and Crunch Pack for providing refreshments.

Today’s snowpack is 31% of the 34 year average (ftp://ftp.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/data/water/wcs/gis/maps/wa_swepctnormal_update.pdf).

What Cascadia Does

“Oh yeah, the conservation district… That must be, uh, some interesting work?” Verbatim, my loquacious uncle’s reply when I told him what I’ve been up to and where I’m working. Like most, my uncle had no idea what a conservation district is. Surprisingly, I’ve had a hard time getting people to understand just what a conservation district does. There is no easy elevator speech for conservation districts. So I’d like to use the next few blog posts to highlight some of our programs.

 Officially, from the National Association of Conservation Districts’ website,"Conservation districts are local units of government established under state law to carry out natural resource management programs at the local level. Districts work with millions of cooperating landowners and operators to help them manage and protect land and water resources on all private lands and many public lands in the United States" (http://www.nacdnet.org/). In short, it is an organization that seeks to help people take care of the land and environment around us. Cascadia’s landowner assistance program is one of several ways we do this.

A hedgerow, planted to attract pollinators and other beneficial insects.

 The landowner assistance program is for landowners in Chelan County, excluding those within Wenatchee and Chelan city limits, who are looking for technical and/or financial assistance in installing best management practices (land use practices which mitigate environmental degradation). This could mean replacing outdated irrigation, restoring buffers or riparian zones or even soil testing. Because of this area’s predominant agriculture industry, its proximity to anadromous fish habitat and its proclivity for wildfires, much of our landowner assistance is for landowners with streamside, farmland, orchard or forested property. That said, if your land does not fall in one of these categories, it does not disqualify you for such assistance.

An excellent example of landowners who not only took advantage of our landowner assistance program, but also became role models for environmental stewardship, was highlighted in a blogpost of ours from November 21, 2011.

If you’d like more information on landowner assistance you can call us at (509) 436-1601, email us at www.cascadiacd.org or just come by our office at 14 N Mission St. Landowner assistance is only a fraction of what we do here at Cascadia, so please come back next week for a look at the Family Forest Fish Passage Program.

With all of the warm weather and rain we’ve had in the last week, today’s snow pack in our area is a measly 63% of the 34 year average.  

Beavers

I was wandering around the woods the other day and came across a beaver dam. It wasn’t the first I’ve seen. It won’t be the last. It wasn’t even an impressively large dam either. I stopped though. I stared and I contemplated. I realized something. Beavers are cool. They construct. They shape and morph the world around them to meet their needs. Many animals simply react to the world. A deer runs when it feels threatened. It will wander around looking for food, never choosing one location as “home.” Of course other animals build dens and nests, and they may often return to them time after time. But they choose sites that fit what they need.

A beaver changes the environment around it to make a better home for themselves. They build dams to flood the area around their lodge in order to protect themselves. They build their structures using a mixture of logs, sticks, and mud. They gnaw a ring around a tree until it weakens enough to collapse. (Their teeth continually grow, making it a necessity for them to gnaw on something.) Once a tree is felled they set upon it and bite it into smaller, usable pieces. Dams are built from the bottom up. First, sticks are stuck into the bottom to provide a foundation. Next, they add sticks slowly raising the height of the dam. Mud is added to fill any gaps that might let too much water through. They continue this process of sticks and mud until the dam has reached its desired height and is strong enough to hold back the flow of water.

A beaver dam near human housing.

Beavers build dams for their own sake. But the ecological effects of these dams spread beyond them. Their dams provide a whole list of positive changes in an ecosystem. Let’s look further.

Beaver dams have the ability to flood their surrounding areas. Spreading water out over the landscape has the potential to create or increase the area of wetlands (basically an area that retains standing water throughout the year). Why are wetlands good? Wetlands are one of the most important types of ecosystem on the planet. They filter the water that comes through, removing sediment, excess nutrients, and other contaminants. Wetlands provide habitat for many species of plants, animals, insects, and bacteria. Many of which wouldn’t survive without access to wetlands.

Wetlands trap and store water. These are important effects. This helps control flooding by trapping water during periods of high flow, especially during spring snow melt. Later in the summer when the water flow drops this stored water is slowly released back into the stream system. In this way wetlands help lower the flow of water during high water times, and also raise the flow of water during low water times. They balance the flow of water throughout the year.

A crosscut of a beaver lodge. Beavers

build dams to create a pool of water deep enough 

that it doesn't freeze solid in the winter so they can 

enter their lodges all year round.

Flooded areas help recharge groundwater by increasing the surface area of water in contact with the ground. This increase in groundwater helps plants grow along the stream which in turn increases the stability of stream banks and decreases erosion.

Beavers create fish habitat. The dams slow the water down, allowing the fish to have an easier time swimming, and the pools are deep enough to not freeze. This provides winter habitat for certain fish species. (This slower water speed has added benefit of reducing streambank erosion.) The random assortment of sticks and logs in and around the dam provide protection for young fish from predators. Dams also catch plant material, which in turn can help increase the presence of aquatic insects, food for the fish. The increase of plant growth along the streambank helps shade the water. This helps keep the water cool for the fish in the hot summer.

Beavers gnaw around a tree fairly evenly
until it weakens enough to fall.

Trapped plant material plus any excess nutrients in the water can lead to increase in the amount of bacteria in the water. Bacteria usually seem like a bad thing, but in this case they’re doing a favor by removing excess nutrients in the water. Excess nutrients lead to an increase in algae present, which clouds the water. Fish prefer clear, cool water that’s free from algae and other growths. These bacteria can also metabolize some of the pollutants that may find their way into the water.

I often hear about the negative things beavers do. They remove trees near their water sources. While that is true, the damage can be mitigated by wrapping the trees with wire mesh. Also, many of their favored species of trees to use for dam building and for eating will resprout from their roots. So even if the tree is cut down by a beaver, a new one will often sprout from the roots. Beaver dams don’t block the passage of fish as much as it would seem. Many fish are able to jump over the beaver dams. Regardless of the direction they’re traveling.

The negative effects we associate with beavers are more a matter of human perception than anything else. We look at what they do in a negative light because it interferes with what we want to do in an area. Decreases in the number of fish are more from human impacts than they are from a beaver dam blocking the stream. Fields flooded by a beaver dam may indicate that the field was too close to the stream to begin with. Plant enough trees that beavers prefer and they’ll probably leave your prized tree alone. 

Beavers are cool. There are so many positive benefits from their presence that it seems silly to not embrace them. Current beaver counts in North America range anywhere from 10 to 15 million, which is decent considering they were nearly wiped out for their pelts in the 19^th century, but that number is still a fraction of the nearly 100 million that are estimated to have been present at one time. Beavers are second only to humans in their ability to impact and shape their environment. Next time you see a beaver dam or lodge think about the positive impact of them on the ecosystem.

Reflections on the Chumstick Riparian Restoration Project

IRMS 8th Graders: In their own words

This October, Cascadia and Icicle River Middle School (IRMS) teamed up to do a riparian clean-up and restoration project near Leavenworth, WA.  For all the details of this project, see our October post "Getting Youth Involved."

Everything appeared to go well and the kids seemed to have a good time, but I have been eager to know what bits of knowledge the students retained or how they truly felt about the project.  This week, I was able to swing by the school and pick up the envelope containing a stack of student reflections.  The variety of responses- thoughtful, insightful, entertaining- were wonderful to read, and I thought they should be shared. So, without further ado: 

Reflections...

On riparian areas and their function:

"I learned that Riparian was a habitat near water."

"By growing trees the creek will have more shade.  When the water is colder there is more oxygen for the fish.  I learned that what I just said is called a riparian habitat."

"I learned that if there is more roots in the soil there would be less of a chance of erosion.  So that’s why we took out the blackberries and put in more plants...  Also I learned if the water is colder it produces more oxygen for the fish to breathe."

"I learned that having the right habitat is very important because if you don’t many things can go wrong.  For example, it there aren’t the right plants there that are tall with deep roots, the river won’t get shaded and the roots won’t hold the dirt down."

"I also learned that there’s a lot of value to a riparian environment, fishes enjoy it, you can have fun, and [it’s] a good way to relieve stress."

"Helping the ecosystem was fun because it was “hands on” science."

"I also learned that teamwork, friendship, and care and respect for nature will help not only the environment (as in the creek and such), but give wild animals a home, whether they are 600 lbs. elk, or 16 oz. fish, they need us, and we need them."

On pollution and cleaning up:

"I really loved the restoration project because it felt good to help clean up the environment.  Also it felt good when [we] crossed the creek, got really dirty, and pulled out two tires."

"We had to go in the stream and take rocks out to help the stream flow better.  And that was hard work.  I was the muscle man so I had to take out all of the big rocks."

"I also learned that there is a lot of pollution in the most unexpected places..."

"I learned that grass is heavy.  And we needed to get all the garbage out of the water so the fish will come back."

"One memory from there that I’ll keep forever would have to be when… I found a huge piece of machinery in the ground.  It took like twenty minutes just to get it out of the ground, even with six other people helping me."

"…I learned that even though we can’t always see it, and we don’t really realize it, there was pollution there, and how to quickly remove it."

On Himalayan blackberry:

"I learned that blackberry bushes have one big root but not many small ones.  Blackberry bushes don’t prevent erosion so we had to take the bushes out and plant different plants with smaller (but a numerous amount) roots."

"...I learned about just how overtaking they are.  The stuff was everywhere on the hillside and it was pokey and very stringy too." 

On planting and proper planting technique:

"I thought it was super fun cleaning up, but planting was more fun because we really helped the hill from eroding.  We also planted some trees and bushes that poked me, but it was all worth it." 

"I enjoyed planting the trees because when they grow and [I] see them I’ll be like I planted one of those trees!"

"…my group planted 7 trees and that made a big difference because we will have more wild life." 

"I learned that the hole you dig for a plant has to be twice as wide as the roots and just as deep as them.  I enjoyed planting plants because I can’t wait to see them in a year or so."

"If you put too much dirt or soil on top of the plant, the plant will die because its roots will grow to the surface and not into the ground."

"...I thought it was dig a hole and put [a plant] in it… With the little [plants] you have to protect them from other animals, like deer.  I learned now how to plant really well.  I can do this at home and plant a lot."

"I enjoyed planting the plants and found it interesting the materials used to keep them in the ground.  Everything was biodegradable."

And other thoughts and wisdom:

 "I like working in the wilderness helping make a change in the habitat.  I hope someday the salmon will be able to swim freely in the stream."

(It's happening! Check out the video of salmon in Chumstick Creek!)

"…I learned that that’s kind of what I want to be when I’m

 older."

"I learned to check where the bank ends before I got too close to the creek.  Once I fell in the creek, I learned not to go back."

"I personally really enjoy working outside as opposed to writing papers in class all day."

  "The ladies there were real nice and gave us hot cocoa..."

"In all, it was a great trip, a few unfortunate people fell in the creek, but a good time was had by all."

Thanks again to the IRMS 8th graders for all your great contributions! 

And thank you for reading!

Your Friend in conservation,
Julia

Riparian Restoration Project with Icicle River Middle School: This Just In!

This video was just sent to us from the Fishburnes, hosts of our Chumstick Creek restoration project with IRMS 8th graders!
(For more details, see the previous blog post "Getting Youth Involved").

I believe these are coho salmon, due to the historic data (Chumstick creek used to host an abundance of coho) and also due to the light lower gumline seen on the most brightly colored salmon. If I'm wrong, please do correct me!

Very cool!

Getting Youth Involved

We’ve been busy and have been having lots of fun this fall!

Wenatchee River Salmon Festival

Cascadia headed up to Leavenworth, WA, during the last days of September to take part in “Salmonfest,” an annual celebration marking the return of the salmon to our rivers and streams. 



Students take part in Rolling Rivers, an interactive
watershed model.



During the two schooldays of Salmonfest, 3rd and 4th grade classes came from all over north central Washington to learn about the cultural, economic, and environmental significance of Pacific salmon.  Cascadia ran the Rolling Rivers watershed model, which is essentially a large sandbox with two outflows (“headwaters”) at one end and a drain (“the ocean”) at the other.  Water flows from the headwaters down to the ocean, carving out channels and responding in a variety of ways as objects are added or taken out of the system, much like real rivers.


http://beavercountyconservationdistrict.org



Students learned that watersheds are all the land in an area that drains into the same water body (see diagram, right) and demonstrated good and bad land use practices- in terms of stream/fish health and water quality- by designing two watersheds to reflect those factors.  The ultimate test came at the end, when the two teams had a salmon rely race. They attempted to be the first to “run” their “salmon” (a small fish-y figurine) upstream to the spawning grounds, problem-solving their way around dams, culverts and other fish passage barriers in their rivers, as well as dodging potential predators as represented by heron, sheepdog, and Godzilla figurines.

Building healthy watersheds in the Rolling Rivers display.

On the weekend, the event is open to the public, and people from across the state and of all ages and backgrounds came to learn and play at the Rolling Rivers display.  I got a kick out of the fact that Rolling Rivers really does offer something for everyone!

Thank you to our partners at this event:

Cascade Columbia Fisheries Enhancement Group

Chelan County Natural Resources Department

Trout Unlimited- Washington Water Project

Upper Columbia Salmon Recovery Board
Yakama Nations Fisheries




Riparian Restoration Project with Icicle River Middle School

Pulling invasive vines off of native vegetation.

This October, local landowners, Icicle River Middle School (IRMS), and Cascadia joined forces for a riparian clean-up and restoration project near Leavenworth, WA. 

Riparian zones are the areas of land around streams, lakes, etc. that are directly influenced AND directly influence the adjacent water body (see diagram, below).

 



http://www.globalforestwatch.ca/index.htm

 

John and Wendy Fishburne own a beautiful piece of property along Chumstick Creek, a historic salmon stream.  After a public works project in 2009 that replaced the large culvert (a major fish passage barrier) with a bridge at North Road, and several projects in the last decade (implemented by Cascadia and Chelan County Natural Resources Department) that replaced upstream culverts with bridges, there is a much greater possibility that the stream will again support healthy salmon populations. (For more info, visit the Chelan County Natural Resources Department website at http://www.co.chelan.wa.us/nr/default.asp).

WCC crew teaches students how to dig out Himalayan
Blackberry "hubs" (taproots).

The Fishburnes have been working with Cascadia since 2008 to devise a management plan for their section of riparian area and the adjacent hillside on their property. The Old Chumstick Hwy (now an overgrown footpath) cuts right through the project site, and there were still significant remains of the consequent dump site. From the beginning, the Fishburnes envisioned this restoration project as a learning opportunity for local youth, and this fall we were able to make that wish a reality!



Student with his find, unearthed out of a historic garbage cache.



Through Hana Butler at the WSU Chelan County Extension office, Cascadia connected with Jodie Tremberth, the 8th grade science teacher at Icicle River Middle School in Leavenworth. We worked together to coordinate a two-part implementation scheme that would get the 8th graders out to do some good work, enjoy the fall sunshine, and learn a bit about conservation in the process.



Bagfuls of invasive weeds were hauled out of the
 project site.

During the two-day clean-up event, over one-hundred 8^th graders from IRMS removed old garbage caches from the hillside, learned how to dig out invasive Himalayan blackberry roots with the help of the Washington Conservation Corps (WCC) crew, and hauled bags of invasive weeds out of the project site.  Perhaps the most exciting find was a several-hundred-pound engine part a group of students and teachers managed to drag up the hillside and into the awaiting dumpster.

 

A planting team takes a break amongst newly planted native
trees and shrubs.

Students returned to the site the following week to plant native vegetation. They worked in groups to plant a variety of native trees and shrubs, staked weed matting over the ground around each plant to keep competition with weeds to a minimum, and covered smaller plants with browse guards to prevent excessive grazing by deer and other wildlife.

Over the two-week period, the students learned about the importance of riparian areas for fish and overall stream health.  Positive riparian effects include bank stabilization for decreased erosion, shade for cooling water temperatures, and filtration of pollutants by root systems resulting in improved water quality.

We had beautiful fall weather for all the field days, and other than a few run-ins with ornery stinging insects, we had a blast!  It was really rewarding to overhear the students say things like, “This is the best field trip ever” and, “I want to do this for a living!”

The students plan on returning to the Fishburnes’ to help Cascadia with monitoring the success and progress of the planting site. We are looking forward to it!

Students worked in teams to drag invasive weeds
 and debris to the dumpster.

Thank you to:

John and Wendy Fishburne

Washington Conservation Corps crew led by Jake Hanson

Icicle River Middle School Principal Kenny Renner-Singer

Icicle River Middle School “8^th Grade Team”- Matt Duffy, Todd Gilbert, Jodie Tremberth, and Beau Snow

Dave Holland, Department of Ecology

Kevin Powers and Hana Butler, WSU Chelan County Extension

And a big thank you to the Icicle River Middle School 8^th graders for their hard work and enthusiasm!