Dear Stream Team Family,
Our hearts have been so full lately with all the Texas Stream Team activities flourishing across the state. We have so many new citizen scientists joining us, conferences taking place, new trainers getting established, and more trainings happening since - dare I say it - the start of the pandemic. And boy does it feel good to (mostly) get back into the swing of things!
If you have been interested in becoming a certified citizen scientist now is a great time to join Texas Stream Team. Big welcome to our newest trainers:
- Bill Balboa, The Matagorda Bay Foundation – Probe Core
- Adam Berglund, San Marcos River Rangers – E. coli Bacteria
- Amesha Morris, The City of Arlington – Standard Core
- Kimberly Wagner, Angelina & Neches River Authority – Standard Core
Please refer to our Trainers page to get in contact with a trainer near you.
In other news, our GIS & Data Management Associate, Laura Parchman, will return soon from medical leave. We ask for patience during this time as a few processes continue to be somewhat delayed as she catches up on things, including:
The rest of this newsletter features partner spotlights, resource updates, monitoring tips, trainings, and much more! Continue reading for the latest insight into all the things happening currently in the world of Texas Stream Team.
Sincerely,
Aspen Navarro
Watershed Services Program Coordinator
|
|
WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU!
|
|
Texas Stream Team Book: The Power of Citizen Science
We are excited to announce that we are in the process of putting together a Texas Stream Team book that will highlight the program’s history and our wonderful citizen scientists along with their local impact stories. Through a collection of essays, Texas Stream Team staff will showcase the power of citizen science through the art of storytelling by highlighting dedicated Stream Team volunteers and the diverse springs, streams, rivers, lakes, and bays they work to monitor and protect across Texas.
The stories of the dedicated men and women serve as an incredible example of what is possible through local and citizen-driven environmental conservation. We are proud to be able to compile this collective information of our programs’ success over the course of our 31-year history. Texas Stream Team citizen scientists can submit their stories by completing our brief survey by June 30, 2022.
|
|
Upcoming Trainings
Standard Core – San Marcos
July 24 | 10:00am –1:00pm learn more >>
Advanced – Waco
August 13 | 10:00am – 2:00pm learn more >>
Standard Core – San Marcos
August 28 | 10:00am – 1:00pm learn more >>
Standard Core – San Marcos
September 25 | 10:00am – 1:00pm learn more >>
|
|
Are you looking to become a Texas Stream Team Trainer?
Reach out to the trainers hosting a training of interest to start your trainer training journey. Make sure to review and download our Trainer Enrollment Form first to track your progress!
|
|
|
New Colorado River Watch Network Coordinator
Texas Stream Team would like to give a shout out to Dani Apodaca to congratulate him on his recent retirement from the Colorado River Watch Network (CRWN) at the Lower Colorado River Authority (LCRA)! For many years, Dani had been running a one-man show to help Texas Stream Team coordinate citizen science efforts for the entire Lower Colorado River Basin that spans 600-miles from the Hill Country to the Gulf of Mexico. Accordingly, Dani was named the recipient of the 2022 Golden Secchi Award for his outstanding contributions to the Texas Stream Team program.
Although we are sad to lose Dani, we are thrilled to welcome Susan Meckel in her new role at LCRA as the CRWN program coordinator and leader. Susan’s expertise, skills, and passions truly make her a custom fit for this position as she strongly believes that citizens are the eyes and ears out in the watershed who can bring important issues to light. Susan plans to start trainings and growing citizen science monitoring in the basin over the next few months and can be reached at Susan.Meckel@lcra.org.
We wish Dani the very best in this new chapter!
|
|
Monitoring Group Spotlight: Presidio River Rangers - Big Bend Conservation Alliance
|
|
|
The Big Bend Conservation Alliance’s (BBCA) Presidio River Ranger program is an excellent example of how Texas Stream Team can be used as a teaching tool to inspire and empower the next generation of conservation leaders. We spoke with BBCA’s Presidio Community Connector, Elvira Hermosillo, to hear how the Texas Stream Team partnership is helping them engage students in the environment and protect water quality throughout the Big Bend region. Read more>>
|
|
|
Remembering Sky Lewey
By Jenna Walker
Texas Stream Team said farewell to a dear friend and partner at the end of May. Sky Lewey was a spunky, trailblazing, force of nature. I first met Sky about 10 years ago while attending a forestry conference in Austin. I was fresh out of graduate school and just getting my feet wet, so to speak, as an eager new watershed coordinator working for the Waco Water Utility. I made sure to attend the session of this legendary Sky Lewey I had been hearing so much about. Read more>>
|
|
|
MONITORING TIPS & UPDATES
|
|
NEW Core Electronic Monitoring Form
Citizen scientists monitoring Standard Core or Probe Core tests can now ditch the paper and start entering data electronically - check it out!
|
|
Although we aim to provide citizen scientists more efficient methods for submitting data, we continue to accept monitoring forms via:
- Mail or hand delivery
- Email by taking a picture or submitting a PDF copy of the form
- Waterways Dataviewer Account
- You or your Data Coordinator can enter your data online.
- Electronic Monitoring Form
Texas Stream Team’s new Core Electronic Monitoring Form is available for all citizen scientists to submit data directly to us without requiring an account to do so. For detailed guides on how to enter data using the Core Electronic Monitoring Form, please click the buttons below.
|
|
Monitoring In Times of Drought
With drought conditions intensifying throughout the state, we can expect a reduction of water and/or drier conditions. If your monitoring site is experiencing a shortage, pay particular attention to field observations. Collecting as much information about your site as you can during drought helps explain what is going on in the water and can give us a closer look to changes in the surrounding environment. These records assist Texas Stream Team with tracking water conditions throughout the year, while also elucidating data gaps. Remember to be sure to include in the comments of your monitoring form the severity of the drought or water levels and any other important observations.
|
|
TEXAS STREAM TEAM DATA SHOWCASE
|
|
Texas Stream Team is very fortunate to have 30 years (and counting) of wonderful and dedicated citizen scientists that help us gain a better understanding of our Texas water bodies through water quality monitoring. Because of our amazing citizen scientists, we hold a plethora of data and want to start showcasing this data in our newsletters every quarter to show data trends, tips, updates, and more!
|
|
Shoal Creek Watershed Data Summary Report
|
|
|
Texas Stream Team staff analyze data collected by citizen scientists in a select watershed and prepare Data Summary Reports every quarter throughout the year. Data Summary Reports highlight trends, environmental factors, citizen scientist activities and more within the selected watershed. The most recent report focused on the Town Lake-Colorado River Watershed, also referred to as Shoal Creek, within Austin, Texas, in Travis County.
|
|
|
Texas Stream Team citizen scientists monitored standard core water quality parameters and E. coli bacteria at five sites in the Shoal Creek Watershed from August 1995 to August 2021. All five sites were located on Shoal Creek. Parameters monitored included water and air temperature, specific conductance, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, pH, transparency, total depth, and E. coli bacteria. Monitoring for the Advanced Texas Stream Team parameters nitrate-nitrogen and orthophosphate did not take place consistently on Shoal Creek during the period of record.
For more information and findings read the entire Shoal Creek Data Summary Report here.
|
|
|
Photo caption: Texas Stream Team monitoring sites on Shoal Creek in the Shoal Creek Watershed.
|
|
Texas Stream Team Presents at JASM 2022
The Cypress Creek watershed has experienced rapid growth and development and historical water quality monitoring has shown increasing E. coli bacteria concentrations. Some sources of fecal contamination in surface waters include discharge from wastewater treatment plants, malfunctioning on-site septic systems, domestic and wild animal feces, and stormwater runoff. For almost a year, Texas Stream Team has been conducting an intensive study to sample for the presence of E. coli Bacteria and optical brighteners in the lower Cypress Creek watershed in Wimberley to detect the presence of sewage leaks or failing septic systems in the upstream watershed.
This spring, Texas Stream Team staff, Sandra Arismendez and Desiree Jackson, traveled to Grand Rapids, Michigan to present on this year-long project at the second gathering of the Joint Aquatic Sciences Meeting (JASM), the world’s largest gathering of aquatic scientists, students, practitioners, resource agency staff, and industry representatives. The JASM 2022 meeting is designed to bring together deep, multidisciplinary subject-matter expertise to collaboratively educate one another and solve the complex environmental problems facing our society and our planet today. Texas Stream Team research assistant, Desiree Jackson, presented the research poster “Development of a Concurrent Citizen Science E. coli and Optical Brightener Monitoring Prototype as a Pollution Screening Tool”.
|
|
|
|
Desiree Jackson presenting research poster “Development of a Concurrent Citizen Science E. coli and Optical Brightener Monitoring Prototype as a Pollution Screening Tool” on May 16th at 2022 JASM.
|
|
|
The poster presentation was well-received by conference attendees, and questions and recommendations were documented to improve future presentations on the research study. Many conference attendees working in wastewater treatment look forward to additional results from this study and would like to see an oral presentation with more definitive results from Texas Stream Team at the 2024 JASM. The conference sessions were also informative, and staff were able to glean ideas to implement to improve upon our research. The event was beneficial to Texas Stream Team as staff were able to network with national and international researchers to inform them about the program and water research in Texas. For more information on the study, please click on the button below.
|
|
July 12 | Online
August 4 | Wimberley
August 11 | Online
|
|
In a significant decision governing water rights issues, the Supreme Court of Texas has ruled in a McLennan County case that state district courts – not the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality - has jurisdiction over water rights ownership disputes in Texas. Read more>>
At the bottom of the cave is a river about 10 feet wide, named the Sirion as a tribute to J.R.R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth river of the same name. Read more>>
Swimming holes are a summer tradition for some, but one that might be hard to find in Austin. Two iconic swimming holes on the Barton Creek Greenbelt are Campbell’s Hole and Twin Falls. Both of these are currently dry, likely caused by a lack of rain in central Texas. Read more>>
Move over David Attenborough and Barack Obama, there’s a new wildlife narrator on the job, and he’s here to both celebrate and conserve what makes Texas unique. Narrated by none other than Matthew McConaughey, Deep in the Heart is a visually stunning celebration of diverse landscapes and remarkable wildlife behavior that cannot be found anywhere else in the world. Read more>>
Electric vehicles and other new technologies rely on rare metals and minerals. Mining companies say mining the bottom of the ocean will be needed to get these important minerals. Read more>>
|
Wildfires are a natural phenomenon that can have regenerative properties for ecosystems. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), these fires have become more severe and harmful to vegetation, wildlife and water… Read more>>
The idea is to capture carbon dioxide and store it in old oil and gas wells under the sea. Read more>>
Beavers have long been considered pests by landowners and government agencies. But now, many are starting to embrace them. Learn more>>
The effort to remove an invasive plant called hydrilla from the San Marcos River is almost complete. Conservationists with The Meadows Center are working to remove the last, dense stand of hydrilla. Read more>>
A&M researchers say more-robust testing is needed to understand just how much human feces ends up in Gulf waters. Read more>>
|
|
To acknowledge our citizen scientists’ commitment to our program, Texas Stream Team is returning to an old tradition of introducing new citizen scientists to welcome them to the team as well as formally announce a farewell to our retiring citizen scientists.
We want to acknowledge your commitment to our program! Please reach out to us if you will be retiring from your service to Texas Stream Team at TxStreamTeam@txstate.edu.
|
|
|
|
|
|
New to Texas Stream Team? Join Us!
|
|
|
Are you interested in partnering with Texas Stream Team? Let us know!
|
|
|
The following staff assisted in the preparation of this newsletter and are acknowledged for their contributions:
Authors: Sandra Arismendez, Kaylee Boggan, Claudia Campos, Desiree Jackson, Madison Mitchell, Aspen Navarro, and Jenna Walker
Designer: Anna Huff
Editors: Anna Huff and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Partner Contributors: Elvira Hermosillo – Big Bend Conservation Alliance
|
|
|
|
Mailing address:
601 University Drive
San Marcos, Texas 78666
|
|
|
|
Visit us:
201 San Marcos Springs Drive
San Marcos, Texas 78666
|
|
|
|
|
|
