'Tis the season for winter bug collections!
Biological collections (aquatic macroinvertebrates and fish) are one of the most exciting parts of being a Blue Thumb volunteer. Bug collections are completed during two index periods: the winter index period (January 1-March 15) and the summer index period (June 1-September 15). These are periods when macroinvertebrate communities are most stable.
Our biological collections are important. Biological collections give us insight into long-term conditions in the stream and can alert us to the effects of harmful parameters for which we do not monitor, or to synergistic effects, i.e. the combined effects of several stressors.
Kim, Candice and Briant must assist volunteers with LOTS of bug collections in a fairly short window of time. They are juggling their schedules, your schedules and everchanging weather conditions. You can help minimize the stress of collection season by responding quickly to your field person when he or she reaches out to schedule a collection. Kim, Candice and Briant are willing to communicate with you in the way that is easiest for you. Please let them know if you prefer email, phone calls or texting. Respond to your field person, schedule a bug collection, and explore what is happening in your creek!
Rebecca Bond
Blue Thumb Director
Anyone wonder where the creek fish go during the extremely cold weather? I was pondering this during a recent bug collection at a shallow, sandy creek called Little Deep Creek near Weatherford. It’s a beautiful creek with good fish habitat, and there were tons of fish swimming all around when I was there in the summer. Yet, not once did I see any fish in the riffles, runs, or pools we waded through during that cold day. Where did they all go? Certainly, fish will seek shelter in the deepest pools where environmental conditions are more stable. In ideal circumstances, fish can continually swim up or downstream until they find comfortable refuge in these deep pools. This was likely the case for the fish at Little Deep Creek because there was sufficient water for free movement to refugia. A suitable refuge will vary between big and small fish and species to species, but generally, pools with a combination of ample water-depth, woody debris, roots, rocks and boulders, or a warm spring-seep will provide shelter from the frigid cold. However, many small creeks are ‘intermittent’, meaning that they do not have substantial water flowing year-round and rely on precipitation for water flow; Here, fish can become trapped in isolated pools that may or may not be optimal for survival – tough luck! Likewise, there are ‘perennial’ streams which have water flow year-round, but human activities like water withdrawals or dams greatly limit movement to optimal refugia. In either case, fish that get stuck in pools that do not provide good shelter will more likely perish in the icy cold. The truth is that creek life is rough for fish during weather extremes. You might consider this next time you are out at a creek in the winter and wondering where all the fish went!
Briant Nguyen
Field Educator
If Soil Health is on your mind a lot, that is OKAY.
Revisiting The Value of Healthy Soil - Better soil health comes naturally over time when these principles are followed:
- Do not disturb the soil, such as by tilling or frequent chemical use.
- Keep the ground covered with plant material (no bare soil).
- Keep a plant growing in the soil year-round to feed root sugars to microbes.
- Strive for diversity of plant, livestock and wildlife species.
- Integrate rotationally-grazed livestock for nutrient addition and cycling.
- Make management decisions that fit your unique location and context.
If you are an urbanite, you will want to make some “logic jumps” when you read the list of principles above. For the most part though, the logic jumps are pretty easy. Let’s have a little discussion on the “Integrate rotationally-grazed livestock for nutrient addition and cycling.”
In our cities and suburbs, livestock will not be seen grazing in our yards. If you are an agricultural producer and you have cattle, you will benefit from paying attention to rotational grazing practices that mimic what we know about this continent and large herbivores (in this case, primarily buffalo) that roamed here in the not-too-distant past.
History and research have come together to provide excellent lessons on land stewardship for those with keen eyes willing to take a closer look. Over the last thirty years, there has been a new appreciation growing for how our continent worked while the North American human population was smaller, and many Oklahoma farmers and ranchers are uniting for larger crop yields, healthier cattle, support for pollinators, eking the good out of every tenth of an inch of rain, and sharing land with wildlife. If you want more on this, ask for an article in the March edition of From the Water’s Edge.
Back to the cities and suburbs and the lack of large herbivores on the lawn – we can manage our yards to mimic nature with mowing. Be willing to mow a little less frequently and adjust the mower blade for slightly taller grass. Don’t apply pesticides (herbicides, insecticides, arachnicides, etc.) Allow a diversity of plant species to grow in your yard. Eliminating pesticides and allowing grass to grow a little taller starts you on the way to having a yard that contains healthy soil. This healthy soil will soak in water and begin the move toward a yard that “gives back” instead of requires extra time, extra money, and offers no creatures food or hiding places.
Our farmers and ranchers are working toward healthier soils because it is better for the earth, better for their animals, and better for their bottom line. Many of them are excited about the wildlife that they see on the land because they are farming with nature instead of against it.
Consider the principles of healthy soil as outlined above. There are people who work in the local conservation districts and for the Oklahoma Conservation Commission who are eager to help you do good work on your property.
Cheryl Cheadle
Volunteer Coordinator
EPA provides most of the funding that supports the Blue Thumb program. For volunteers who have a 2024 Blue Thumb calendar on hand, if you open the calendar and look at the inside front cover on the left, you will find some information under the Blue Thumb logo. It really isn’t all that many words, but it is an important message.
The Blue Thumb Water Quality Education Program exists because of federal funding through Section 319 of the Clean Water Act. Section 319 is the part of the act that addresses nonpoint source pollution. Money comes to the Oklahoma Conservation Commission via the Oklahoma Secretary of Energy and Environment via Region 6 of the Environmental Protection Agency.
Not the whole Blue Thumb Program runs on federal money, though. There is state money as well, and very importantly, the hard work accomplished by volunteers is used each year as “match” to go along with those federal dollars. For every hour contributed by a Blue Thumb volunteer, approximately $27 is considered a matching contribution. Where did this number come from? A quick Google of the worth of volunteer time provided this.
As well as simply providing a review of the monies that keep Blue Thumb afloat, perhaps this article will help to explain why the Blue Thumb staff members are so intent upon the accurate capturing of volunteer hours. It is a bit of a circle – we get money for a program that garners Oklahoma credible data, and the work to collect that data and to educate about stream protection keeps that money coming down the pike. A good ending here is simply to say THANK YOU for the things you do for Oklahoma’s water.
|
