The River Mile Network
An Education Program of the National Park Service
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The leaves have really fallen. Now is the time to plan for your spring field expeditions! Join us for crayfish sampling or water quality monitoring training and prepare your students and staff to collect and share data. Need financial help to participate? We can help schools in the Columbia River Watershed and EPA Region 10!
Have a great day!
Janice Elvidge
Executive Director
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The River Mile Community Gathering |
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Agonistic behavior between the native pilose and non-native virile crayfishes
Wednesday November 17, 2021
3:30 to 4:30 PM Pacific Time
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Presenter:
Doreen Cabrera
PhD Candidate at Brigham Young University
Pilose crayfish (Pacifastacus gambelii) are endemic to the western United States, however, this little-known species is facing threats by the non-native virile crayfish (Faxonius virilis). We sought to study the competitive interaction between these crayfish to understand whether virile crayfish have an aggressive advantage over pilose crayfish and thus leading to their displacement.
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How's My Waterway: Exploring Your Local Waters
Kiki Schneider
Wednesday December 15, 2021
Note earlier date!
3:30 to 4:30 PM Pacific Time
Presenter:
Kiki Schneider
IT Specialist
US Environmental Protection Agency
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This session will focus on EPA's newest water data tool called How's My Waterway. This user-friendly app makes complex water data easily accessible to anyone. We encourage educators, the public and individuals working in the water sector to learn HMW so they can use it as a tool to help teach/assess water quality, restoration and environmental stewardship and make science based decisions.
How's My Waterway provides a comprehensive overview of water quality data and information in the United States on three different scales: community, state and national. HMW pulls in data from several sources with the goal of answering questions about aquatic life, eating fish, swimming, drinking water, restoration and protection. How's My Waterway can be accessed here: mywaterway.epa.gov
The main goals of the session are to: Provide the public with usable, meaningful information that is user friendly and easy to understand. Communicate progress that states, tribes, and EPA are making towards restoring or protecting water quality. Engage the public in understanding impacts on water and issues related to water. This session will feature a demo of the tool, and Q and A at the end by those who helped develop the tools.
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2021 Virtual Conference
November 11-20
Wisdom from the Field, Stories from the Heart: Equitably Supporting Communities with Environmental and Sustainability Education
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The 2021 Online Conference is an opportunity to join together with others who work for environment, equity, and economy throughout Washington State to network, learn, and share.
The keynote presenter will be Robin Wall Kimmerer. Robin Wall Kimmerer is a mother, scientist, decorated professor, and enrolled member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. Author of the New York Times Best Seller Braiding Sweetgrass and Professor of Environmental and Forest Biology at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry.
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Upper Columbia / Okanagan River 2021:
“One River, Ethics Matter”
The 2021 river ethics conference is hosted by the Okanagan Nation Alliance and the University of British Columbia’s Okanagan campus. The OREM series is facilitated by the Ethics & Treaty Project.
kł cp̓ə lk̓ stim̓ iʔ ntytyix
BRINGING SALMON HOME
Making things right for future generations
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Dates/Time: Nov 17 – 18, 09:00 AM Pacific
Virtual (via Zoom)
The 8th annual “One River, Ethics Matter” conference will focus on the Indigenous-led work of restoring ntytyix (salmon) to the Okanagan River and the Upper Columbia. This gathering takes place as globalization, the COVID pandemic, and the climate crisis make the interconnectedness of all our actions and our relations ever-more evident. This year’s conference focuses on providing salmon and hope for our common future.
ONE RIVER: The Okanagan Nation Alliance (ONA) has been participating in “One River, Ethics Matter” since the first session in Spokane in 2014. These gatherings have been opportunities to feel the reality of ONE RIVER, the impacts of the Columbia River Treaty, and to share stories that are familiar to fellow tribes all along the Columbia from the estuary to the headwaters and other tributaries. As the Indigenous people of the Columbia Basin, we have all been salmon people, tied to the river as sustenance and as a sacred relation. We have survived the devastating impacts of colonization to our lands, resources, and peoples and continue to assert our rights to self-determination and to work for social justice.
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Investigating Crayfish
+ Freshwater Ecosystems
Science Educators Training
Save the Date!
February 2, 2022
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Learn to engage grade 2-12 students in fascinating crayfish studies in this hands-on STEAM workshop. Rick Reynolds, veteran educator and author of Investigating Crayfish + Freshwater Ecosystems, will team up with other partners from The River Mile Network to step you through student activities including scientific investigations in your local watershed. Gain confidence to participate with The River Mile's Crayfish Study to support important research by scientists and wildlife managers. |
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Your source for the latest research news |
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Meanders in river beds help the climate
River beds that can shift naturally are more efficient carbon sinks than straightened rivers
Date: October 29, 2021
Source: GFZ GeoForschungsZentrum Potsdam, Helmholtz Centre
Summary:
River beds that can shift naturally are more efficient carbon sinks than straightened rivers.
It takes about 8500 years for a grain of sand from the Andes to be washed across the Argentine lowlands into the Río Paraná. The 1200-kilometer journey in the river called Río Bermejo is interrupted by many stops in river floodplains, where the grain is deposited, sometimes over thousands of years, and then washed free again. The sand is accompanied by organic carbon, washed in from soil and plants. The transport in water thus gains relevance for the climate: Rivers carry the carbon, which was previously removed from the atmosphere via photosynthesis, as sediment into the sea, where it is stored for thousands of years without harming the climate. Read More
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Agricultural runoff contributes to global warming - New study helps us figure out how and what we can do about it
Mechanics of how rivers, bearing increased loads of nitrogen, emit greenhouse gasses revealed
Date: October 19, 2021
Source: University of Massachusetts Amherst
Summary:
Nitrous oxide (N2O) is a potent greenhouse gas, with 300 times the warming ability of carbon dioxide. Due to fertilizer runoff from farm fields, an increasing load of nitrogen is washing into rivers and streams, where nitrogen-breathing microbes break some of the fertilizer down into N2O, which the river releases into the atmosphere as it tumbles toward the ocean. But, until now, scientists haven't had a clear picture of how the process works, what fraction of the runoff winds up as N2O or what steps might be taken to mitigate N2O emissions. Read More....
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Lakes are changing worldwide: Human activities to blame
Date: October 18, 2021
Source: Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Summary:
Worldwide, lake temperatures are rising and seasonal ice cover is shorter and thiner. This effects lake ecosystems, drinking water supply and fishing. International research now shows that these global changes in lake temperature and ice cover are not due to natural climate variability. They can only be explained by massive greenhouse gas emissions since the Industrial Revolution. To demonstrate this, the team has developed multiple computer simulations with models of lakes on a global scale, on which they ran a series of climate models. The researchers found clear similarities between the observed changes in lakes and model simulations of lakes in a climate influenced by greenhouse gas emissions. Besides measuring the historical impact of climate change, the team also analyzed various future climate scenarios. Read More...
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Warm Water May Help Cold Water Fish Adapt to Climate Change
Published November 1, 2021
Warming trends in the Pacific Northwest have the region’s conservation experts worried about the survival of critical salmon and trout species. As climate change ramps up water temperatures, states and tribes are turning to ecologists for help identifying ways to protect these species, several of which are endangered or threatened, from further population declines. While fish and wildlife managers typically prioritize habitat that is cool in the warmer months for conservation plans, a new study warns that focusing only on cold-water habitat may not be enough.
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Tides and microbes transform nitrogen where streams and the ocean meet
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Enormous amounts of excess nitrogen hit water bodies all over the globe, including the U.S., due to runoff from agricultural and other human activities. This nitrogen can cause dead zones and harmful algal growth. Before it reaches the ocean, microbes can process and remove some of it from stream sediments, connected aquifers and tidal freshwater zones. Thanks to this process, coasts can have a decreased likelihood of harmful algal blooms.
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Pacific Education Institute
is Hiring!
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Recruitment Announcement: Eastern Washington FieldSTEM Coordinator
Recruitment Closes: Open until filled
Start Date: Negotiable
Job Description:
The FieldSTEM Coordinator, Eastern Washington region, is the point of contact for PEI, coordinating the implementation of FieldSTEM. This position is responsible for creating and maintaining partnerships with school districts, educational leaders, nonformal educators and local agricultural, natural resource and environmental science professionals to facilitate planning and implementation of FieldSTEM. This is a home or field-based position requiring travel within, but not limited to, the Eastern Washington region identified as Ferry, Stevens, Pend Oreille, Lincoln, Spokane, Adams, Whitman, Walla Walla, Columbia, Garfield and Asotin counties. PEI is a statewide organization headquartered in Olympia, Washington
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The River Mile Network Opportunities |
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Join the Crayfish Study and Contribute Valuable Data!
The River Mile Network under the supervision of Dr. Eric Larson, University of Illinois, is pleased announce that our new online data collection forms are ready for use!
Data from this project will help inform researchers about the species distribution throughout the Columbia River Watershed and beyond.
The project leaders are especially interested in locating and identifying species below Dry Falls in Eastern Washington AND in the Okanogan River region. They believe there is an undescribed species of crayfish in those places which have not been documented (geolocated and photographed for identification). You and your students may be the first to record new species of crayfish!
Join the study by completing the on-demand virtual crayfish training. For those in Washington, Oregon or Idaho, once you have completed the virtual on demand training you can be added your state permit. The permit allows for year-round data collection.
Without the research permit data may be collected May 1 to October 31 in Washington with a valid state fishing license and in waters open to crayfish fishing.
Anything you can do to help researchers will be of benefit!
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Volunteer Opportunities with The River Mile Network
There are a number of volunteer opportunities to help The River Mile Network. As the network continues to grow it is getting harder for a few people to make everything happen.
- 2022 Crayfish Conference Chair
- Washington State Coordinator
- Watershed Facilitators
- Development Assistant--Finance
- Development Assistant--Online Library
- Development Assistant--Website
- Newsletter Editor
In addition, we are looking for persons or groups that are willing to test new materials.
If you are interested in helping The River Mile in any of the above opportunities, please E-mail us!
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Connect with Others
There are several ways to connect with people, agencies and information on The River Mile Website.
Check out the "Connect with Others" page or join The River Mile Community.
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Have an upcoming event
you'd like us to promote?
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Our network partners are always on the move. If you would like to see your next event in our quarterly newsletter, please email us at Newsletter Submissions
Want to see it on The River Mile's website?
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