Even though it was raining, hard, I was still excited to be participating in the Water Quality Snapshot Day being held in Sheffield, PA in late October. Any day spent in the Allegheny National Forest is a good day regardless of the weather conditions. I was hoping to learn more about the ANF, gain some knowledge on the collection protocols, and meet new people.
We were to meet at the Lion’s Den in Sheffield by 9:00 am. I arrived at about 8:45, had a quick breakfast in my truck and got my gear ready to roll. I went into the Lion’s Den and met Jake Lemon, the Trout Unlimited Eastern Angler Coordinator, signed in and was introduced to my assigned group. Since I didn’t know the area well and I also didn’t have any background in collecting water samples or using any of the instruments I was fortunate to be with two individuals who had all bases covered.
From the U.S. Forest Service I had Sylvia Grisez who would serve as our driver. She knew all the forest roads and streams we would be sampling, and I couldn’t have asked for a better guide. Sylvia and I would be joined by Andrew Shaughnessy, Penn State grad student, who had the technical skills on how to collect water samples and use the handheld instruments for measuring PH and conductivity.
On this day our group was responsible to collect samples and data from 6 sites. There were 71 total sites that were sampled by the entire group of volunteers. A brief training was held on the collection protocols and on how to properly use the handheld meters. How the data was documented was also discussed. Making sure the correct serial number on the collection bottle was documented with the correct stream was vitally important. All groups had a firm 3:30 pm deadline to return to the Lion’s Den with their samples in order to get them shipped out for testing. Armed with this information, a map to our collection sites, our handheld instruments, and sample bottles Sylvia, Andrew, and I loaded up and headed to our sites.
We were assigned to collect samples on Kinzua Creek, South Branch Kinzua Creek, Buck Lick Run, Sugar Run, and Lewis Run. The stop at Lewis Run off 219 was two sites. We were to collect a sample from each fork just above where the two forks came together. At each stop Andrew documented the serial numbers of the collection bottles on the data sheet and once that task was completed, we all travelled to the stream. I oversaw the conductivity meter and the stream temperature. Andrew had the PH meter. Sylvia carried the data sheets under the umbrella and recorded the readings as we called them out. The system worked well for us and we completed our data collection at about 1:30 pm.
Sylvia took us on a scenic drive down to Westline on the way back to Sheffield and we got back around 2:30 pm. There was a hot chili lunch waiting there for us and after giving our samples and data sheets to Jake we dug in and warmed up. While we ate Jake organized the data sheets from each group, verified the bottle serial numbers, and packaged the samples for shipment to the lab.
Overall, I was able to learn more about the ANF, learn about how water sampling is completed, and meet new people. Working as an amateur angler scientist is rewarding and fun. But what is important is that we stay vigilant over the health of our streams and rivers and make sure we have the data and information to allow us to make informed management decisions.
In upcoming posts, I will investigate some of the results from past snapshot days and discuss some of the issues of the streams in the ANF. I also put my name down for the next snapshot day which should be sometime in the spring. I am “hooked” on this process and can’t wait to participate again!
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