NCAMN Takes on New Stream

What better way to cool off on a hot day than to go play in the creek?

Ten members of the NCAMN's Stream Team did just that on Thursday, July 22nd, as a practice session for team members who wanted more hands on training in gathering stream team data.

We met at the edge of Little Pigeon Creek as it flows over Country Road 27 in Baxter County just north of Midway.  One by one our cars pulled over and lined up along the edge of the gravel road.  A couple of us brought our waders, most had water shoes, but Deb's bright yellow galoshes were the envy of all as we collected at the bank and organized into bug kickers and chem samplers. 

It is a typical Ozark stream – wide, shallow and flowing gently over bedrock as trees lean gracefully over providing dappled shade.  It is that scene that  beckons visitors to take off shoes and wade barefoot and one of the reasons many of us moved from various parts of the country to live in the Arkansas Ozarks.

What was not seen as we gathered in this idyllic setting was that about ten feet from where we stood a smaller steam flows into Little Pigeon Creek.  This joining stream  wanders through a large salvage yard that lies  less than half a mile upstream and is one of the reasons team leader Ed Metcalf felt that this would be a worthy data collection site.

Stream Team members were joined by new area resident and entomologist Dr. Sandy Garrett of Harrison.  Even though Sandy is recovering from recent surgery and couldn’t get her foot wet, her enthusiasm was not damped  as she set up her ID station at the edge of the water and announced the scientific names of the various macro-invertebrates that we seined from the creek. What a comfort to have an expert among us!

NCAMNer and Stream Team enthusiast Lynn Green was first on the scene.  Lynn has put together a mobile lab complete with lab table, stool, sorting trays and electric microscope capable of taking photos of the samples. With Lynn and his equipment set up, we felt like we were way ahead of the game.

We split into two groups.  Dwan Garrison, retired chemistry teacher, NCAMNer and sponsor of the Flippin High School Stream Team, took several members upstream to work on the chem data.  Ed Metcalf, NCAMN Stream Team leader and experienced bug kicker, took the bug kickers downstream to see what macro-invertebrates were hiding there. 

Those who have waded in Ozark streams know that as inviting as they look, the big flat rocks are not where you want to walk … but at our location, there was no gravel ...only bedrock.  Rose was the first to go down.  At least she made it look like she slipped, but some of us think that she really just wanted to cool off.  Walking over bedrock through knee high water carrying a large tub of supplies is not easy, and Ken Johnson who came to the rescue more than once, is the reason that Dwan did not dump the chem tub .  (Thank you Ken!)

This was our first experience with our new Hach kit and it's supporting equipment, all of which we precariously balanced in the branches of an overhanging tree.  The creek bank was much to lush (translate: thick with ticks and chiggers) to set up shop there.  We managed to run all the chem tests without a slip or spill.  The trip from that location to downstream of the inflowing stream proved more challenging than we would have liked, but we made it without  spilling the tub of equipment.  Meanwhile the Bug Kickers reported that the “pickings were slim” for macro-invertebrates at their current location … downriver from the incoming (salvage yard) stream.

 

A fresh group of trainees joined the chem group , now downstream from the previously mentioned incoming stream.  We were still working on the bedrock under-surface, but the water was now less than a foot deep.