Hoosier Riverwatch - Riffles & Pools, Spring 2020

Indiana Department of Environmental Management sent this bulletin at 03/24/2020 03:58 PM EDT

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Cover Photo


Pictured here are Earth Day preparations at White River State Park in April 2013. Earth Day plans for April 2020 have been moved to Saturday, July 18
(11 AM-4 PM) at nearby Historic Military Park, due to COVID-19 precautions. Hang tight for now and we will see you in the creeks again soon.

Greetings Riverwatchers!

The most common feedback on the evaluation forms from Hoosier Riverwatch workshops is that the most valuable part (or the aha! moment) is the “hands on.” People LOVE spending time in the water, turning over rocks, and looking for bugs. They even enjoy running chemistry samples, taking flow readings, and cooperating with others to get the job done. Why? Because it is like play. It is the closest thing to recess they have encountered in a long time.

For now, though, we are all being asked to keep “hands off,” “wash often,” and not congregate or carry out unnecessary tasks. Therefore, while IDEM staff continue to carry out essential, pubic health focused field work, the Hoosier Riverwatch staff encourage all of our valuable volunteers (monitors, instructors, and YOU dear reader) to hunker down and wait for the all-clear from those in authority.

Download the PDF version of Riffles & Pools for the full article.

Watershed Success Stories: Buck Creek-Busseron Creek

The 9th installment of the stories of watershed success efforts collected by IDEM staff and grant recipients over the years:

The Buck Creek-Busseron Creek watershed is in Sullivan County in southwest Indiana. The watershed contains 2 miles of Busseron Creek, along with 37 stream miles of two major tributaries of Busseron Creek: Robbins Branch (10.3 stream miles) and Buck Creek (27 stream miles).

Download the PDF version of Riffles & Pools for the full article.

Riverwatch Instructors’ Retreat and Meet

It is always inspiring to spend time with our wonderful, talented HRW instructors. They bring much to the table with regard to professional training and expertise, as well as experiences in classroom and field with Riverwatch. On March 6, instructors gathered from around the state to attend a half-day retreat in Indianapolis. They met with IDEM’s HRW staff to wrap up the 2019 season and prepare for workshops in 2020.

Download the PDF version of Riffles & Pools for the full article. 

Upcoming Workshops

A Hoosier Riverwatch Basic Training workshop introduces you to hands-on water quality monitoring methods. You will learn about aquatic habitat, chemical, and biological assessment techniques. Sessions are held in- and out-of-doors. All interested persons, age 18 and over, are welcome to attend. Once trained, certified educators are qualified to teach these methods and topics to their students.

Download the PDF version of Riffles & Pools for the full article.