A STREAM SAMPLING EVENT WITH LITTLE FORKS CONSERVANCY 

Volunteers gathered at the Gladwin Conservation District’s Community Garden on Saturday, May 17th for a Citizen Scientist event organized by The Little Forks Conservancy of Midland, MI. The purpose of the event was to collect insect nymph and larva to help The Little Forks Conservancy determine the water quality of the Cedar River. The Cedar River is a part of the Cedar River Watershed which drains into the Tittabawassee River Watershed, the Saginaw River Watershed and eventually into the Saginaw Bay. The main stem of the upper Cedar River is the only designated Blue Ribbon Trout Stream* to reach the Saginaw River Watershed. Tracking the water quality and health of the Cedar River is part of the Michigan Clean Water initiative (MiCorps). MiCorps was created by a Michigan Executive Order to “assist the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) in collecting and sharing water quality data for use in water resources management and protection programs.” MiCorps collects water quality data from multiple volunteer groups and uses this information to support conservation efforts like the development of nature preserves and installing measures to prevent pollution in certain stretches of a river. 

As part of our commitment to address river water quality, we sponsored the event and worked alongside citizen scientists from all over the state to collect samples from 6 different sites along the Cedar River. Each team was charged with collecting samples along a 300-foot stretch of the river edge. Samples are taken using a dipping net scraped along the riverbank just under the water surface. The contents of the net are then dumped into a bucket and sprayed out of the net to ensure no macroinvertebrates are missed. The samples were then poured onto a large shallow tray and picked through. Teams were only allowed to collect samples for 30 minutes and pick through samples for 30 minutes. Many different macroinvertebrates were collected. The conservationists at The Little Forks Conservancy look for indicator species like hellgrammites, club tail dragonfly, and stonefly larvae to determine the health and water quality of the river. Indicator species nymph and larva are important to note because they are highly sensitive to their environment and will not survive in certain water conditions. An indicator species which is present, absent, or abundant reflects a specific environmental condition of the Cedar River. 

Results were processed the following Monday, May 19, at The Little Forks Conservancy lab in Midland, MI. Rivers are Life joined The Little Forks Conservancy staff, Citizen Scientists, and stream biology specialist Bruce Mcculloch to sort through the samples and identify the kinds of macroinvertebrate collected per site. The collection from Saturday totaled 223 specimens. The team is excited to report that based on the initial identifications, the Cedar River overall has excellent water quality. 

*Designated trout streams that must have excellent water quality, trout habitat, and support a wild trout population