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2011 Field Data Presentation and Triathlon. Programs Adopt-A-Stream Bioreserve Water Quality Monitoring. Adopt-A-Stream. 1) Engaging and teaching residents through experiential learning. 2 ) Collecting data on our streams to assist in proper watershed management.
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2011 Field Data Presentation and Triathlon
Programs • Adopt-A-Stream • Bioreserve • Water Quality Monitoring
Adopt-A-Stream 1) Engaging and teaching residents through experiential learning. 2 ) Collecting data on our streams to assist in proper watershed management.
Adopt-A-Stream Parameters • Stream temperature • Stream habitat • Benthic macroinvertebrates
Summer Temperature • 13 participants • Attrition: 2 thermometers gone to the big equipment shed in the sky • Attrition: 0 volunteers lost • 12 sites fully monitored • Average Maximum: 76.8°F • Average Minimum: 66.3°F Yee-haw! I feel great! Goodbye… cruel world…
What a difference a dam makes!! Average Min: 57° F Average Max: 69° F Boyden Creek: Delhi Road (upstream) Huron River Drive (downstream) Average Min: 75° F Average Max: 86° F
What Do We Measure? • Stream transects (pebble count, depths) • Stream width (active edge and water’s edge) • Number of pools, riffles, and their lengths
What Do We Assess? (judgment calls!) • % of stable habitat • Embeddedness • Bank stability • % bare banks • Plant abundance in stream and banks • Riparian corridor width • Bank angles • In-stream plant abundance
Stream Habitat 2011 • 11 sites assessed (see table) • 40 volunteers • For all 70 sites (based on most recent assessment) • Average: 65 of a possible 100 • Best:87 (Pettibone Creek @ Livingston Rd, North of Milford) • Worst: 44 (Millers Creek at Plymouth Road, Ann Arbor) • Theoretical Worst: Concrete pipe full of clay in downtown New York City
Site Highlights Chilson Creek @ Chilson Drive DEQ Score: 80/100 • Variety of pools, riffles, and bends • Stable hydrology • Stable banks • Wide and healthy riparian zone • Undisturbed channel • High amount of sand holds the score back a bit (some human-caused, a lot natural)
Site Highlights Willow Run – new in 2011 • Vegetated, stable banks and wide riparian zone • High amounts of sand and fine sediment, with little rock or gravel • Uniform habitat - mostly straight flat water • Downstream of dams that trap nasty assortment of toxic pollutants • Very poor insect community DEQ Score: 57/100
Stonefly Search and River Roundups! Half of the January 2011 Stonefly Search Group
In 2011… • 411 Volunteers • 3,000 Volunteer Hours • 124 samples taken from 70 stream locations • For details about sites, www.hrwc.org or ask Paul
The Good, the Bad, and the Scary Three stories of River Roundup data Odontoceridae – One recorded location in the Lower Peninsula… found by us on the Huron River in Indian Springs Metropark in Fall EXTREMELY SENSITIVE – Only found in the most pristine waters Last seen at this location: 2007 The good!
The Bad: Davis Creek Three stories of River Roundup data Doane Road Pontiac Trail Doane Road Pontiac Trail Walker Creek- 8 Mile Silver Lake Road
The Scary Three stories of River Roundup data MONSTER radioactive predaceous diving beetle of doom!! Watch your feet At Mill Creek @ Fletcher Road Normal predaceous diving beetle
How are the data used? • Volunteers are the “eyes on the river”!Reporting immediate problems • Allows for tracking long-term trends • Report in watershed management plans to prioritize restoration and protection needs • Scientific basis for advocating local protection policies
Bioreserve Project ASSESSANDPROTECTthe watershed’s natural areas Direct limited funds to STRATEGIC LAND PROTECTION and restoration Establish PARTNERSHIPS to direct focus on most important natural areas for the Huron’s health
Bioreserve Parameters • Wetlands • Forests • Grasslands
Assess and Protect • 180 people trained • 213 properties assessed • 674 ecosystems assessed • 112 acres of land protected (2 properties) Photo: Ann Arbor NAP
“Strategery” Focus preservation decisions for all watershed Conservancies, Greenbelt, Washtenaw County, Scio, Ann Arbor, Webster Townships Assess existing protected properties for Livingston, Legacy and Southeast MI conservancies, University of Michigan, HCMA Provide conservation planning and GIS support for Southeast MI and Livingston conservancies Photo: Ann Arbor NAP
Flickr Photo Stream Over 200 plants (500 to go!) Photos: Ann Arbor NAP
2011 Highlights 37 volunteers 55 properties assessed 4 properties working on conservation easements/ donations
Field Assessments Webster Township, Washtenaw County
The Best Sites = highest scoring Bioreserve sites
Wetland Highlights Lyndon, 282 Detroit Board of Education: Partnering with Legacy for Permanent Preservation Sharon, 303 Meyers: adjacent to Sharon Hollow Preserve Sylvan, 585 Brooks: our own Dave Brooks Webster, 211 UMich: Mud Lake Bog Sharon, 576 Irwin: MNFI preserve for Karner Blue Butterfly Sharon, 582 Mann: Washtenaw County interested in parcel Milford, 46 Gasior: Six Rivers negotiating with adjacent land owners
Forest Highlights Green Oak, 1617 SMLCNichwaugh Lake Superior, 493 SMLC LeFurgeWoods SMLC will use assessments for baseline reports Webster, 518 Nordblom Existing Legacy Land Conservancy easement
Grassland Highlights Superior, 481 SuperiorTwp: Cherry Hill Preserve Very few grasslands!
Water Quality Monitoring Program Collect water quality information from tributaries to the Huron River to evaluate sources of problems and measure the degree of management success
Outline • What was measured? • Where? • Important results • How are the results being used? • What’s next?
What was measured in 2011? • 46 volunteers – THANKS! • 325 sample sets collected • Nutrients (Phosphorus, Nitrogen) • Sediments (Total Suspended Solids) • Bacteria (E. coli) • Other (Dissolved Oxygen, pH, Temperature, Conductivity) • 65 flow measures • 80 investigative samples • 8 storm samples
33 sites overall • 19 new sites added 2010-11 • 17 creeks, 3 river sites Existing sites New sites
TP Results 1995 2003-06 2008-11 Huron River City of Ann Arbor Ford Lake Belleville Lake
TP Change by Site Ann Arbor [1]Two-sample T-tests, assuming unequal variances were run on LN-transformed TP data for the time periods indicated.
TP in Livingston County(mg/l) South Ore South Ore 2010 2011 Woodruff 2010 2011 Chilson 2010 2011 2010 2011 Huron River Huron River Davis 2010 2011 2008 2009 2010 2011 2008 2009 2010 2011