Eleven citizen scientists met June 3 to practice and fine tune the data collection system being used as part of the "Taste of the Rifle" assessment. Habitat, macroinvertebrates, depth, width, velocity and temperature were recorded as our chapter prepares to help the DNR gather information on the entire Rifle River watershed. With a great deal of help from Kristen Thomas, Michigan Trout Unlimited Biologist, the team refined the methods used to collect data.
April Simmons, DNR Fisheries Biologist, designed the program to get an general overview of the Rifle River as a whole. Information gained from this assessment will be used to design and prioritize projects.
Running from July 15 until the beginning of September, our members will follow the protocol established by April. More than 30 sites have been identified for measurements; with the first step for each site being a fish count done by the DNR. Once that portion has been completed, April will give the GPS coordinates of the segment to be measured and our chapter will send members out to complete that section of the survey.
We would love extra hands for this; each segment needs a team of 4-6 people to take the measurements accurately and quickly. Each segment will take 2-3 hours to survey.
Please contact Laurie Seibert at president@mershon-neumanntu.org if you can give any time at all to this project. Dates for site visits will be determined at the convivence of available people. The data sheets to be used for the project are available on this site under the "Publications" tab.
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