Tiny creek life tells big picture

By Cassandra Braun
STAFF WRITER

MARTINEZ - Betty Baskett carefully holds her net in the swift creek for a few seconds. She pulls up the wet mesh and dumps its dripping contents onto a white plastic tray.

A group of other novice scientists gather round, sifting through the mud, pebbles and decomposing leaves, hoping for a cache of wiggling macroinvertebrates.

"There's one," someone points out. "It's a damselfly."

A less careful eye might miss the tiny tadpole-like bug. But not today, not with this group of eager observers.

If it were the real deal, the group would next dump the contents into a plastic jar with alcohol to preserve the specimens, label them, and later ship the samples to a lab for testing. But on this recent sunny Saturday afternoon, the specimens will be returned to the creek.

Today is just a drill for this group of volunteers sporting waders and carrying nets, notepads and pens. They're being trained in a biological collection method known as rapid bioassessment.

Used by the Department of Fish and Game and the Environmental Protection Agency, the sampling is to determine the variety and numbers of certain bugs surviving in a stream or river, which in turn provides a picture of the overall well-being of a watershed.

The training is courtesy of the Citizen Watershed Monitoring Program, which received a grant last spring from the state Water Resources Control Board to train volunteers to help conduct annual surveys of watersheds throughout the county, including Alhambra , Wildcat, Pinole and Marsh creeks. The data will be used to monitor the effects of development and natural processes on creeks and streams over time, and help groups prioritize restoration projects.

"We want to empower citizens to be able to collect scientifically (reliable) data and then use data to monitor watersheds," said Aspen Madrone, program coordinator and trainer,. "Often (citizens) will be passionate but won't have data to back that up."

More than 50 volunteers from different watershed and friends-of-creeks groups from around the county enrolled in the daylong training. The program aims to train people in scientifically-sound procedures that the volunteers can then take to their respective groups and use to evaluate their local waterways.

"The hope is that they can bring the techniques back to their different groups and help them prioritize restoration projects," Madrone said, "so volunteers can help continue the monitoring efforts, as well as we want them to become stewards of efforts."

The data will also help county agencies monitor the water quality of area watersheds, and help develop land-use practices and water quality policies, Madrone explained.

Collecting bugs is seen as a more accurate snapshot of the water quality of a stream or creek, Madrone said. While chemical testing of water provides its own valuable information, it is usually fleeting. To get the best results, a sample must usually be taken at the time contamination occurs. Chemical analysis does not indicate the long-term effects of a problem.

"If there's something in the water, it will usually be washed away in a few days. But if you have a bunch of stuff in the creek, the bugs will still be dead when you take samples down the line," explained Igor Skaredoff of Friends of Alhambra Creek.

Basically, one can determine the type and rate of pollutants and runoff in a stream by learning the abundance and types of bugs that can live in a watershed.

"This is a powerful tool," said Skaredoff. "It tells you not just whether you have a problem, but what kind of problem."

Unlike Skaredoff and most of the other trainees, Betty Baskett was not at the training session as part of a creek restoration group. The Martinez resident had simply come to learn the techniques in order to teach them to her daughter, Victoria.

A few months ago, the 10-year-old's interest was sparked in the segment of Alhambra Creek that runs through the family's back yard in the Franklin hills.

"She wanted to know if it's healthy to play in," Baskett explained.

The Basketts eventually hooked up with Skaredoff, a retired chemist from Shell, who trained the mother and daughter in basic water analysis experiments.

These days, Baskett said the family's bathroom has been turned into a makeshift lab. Using an old microscope, the young scientist has been testing the creek water for such things as acidity and oxygenation. Baskett said the bioassessment training will add to her daughter's growing education.

But Baskett's is not the standard motive among the trainees. Most are hoping to employ their newly acquired skills to conduct surveys of creeks in their own areas for restoration projects and protection efforts.

Johnny White of the National Heritage Foundation in Richmond plans to train youth volunteers in the community to help survey Rheem Creek, which they are currently in the process of restoring.

"It's a firsthand chance to see how they do sampling," White said. "A lot of times you just walk through creeks and you don't know what you're stepping on. But now you see how (bugs) are a big part."

White said this will be an effective tool in their mission to help the community preserve open space in their community.

Bill Voigt of the Friends of Pinole Creek and Watershed was equally excited about his newly gained skills.

"I've been doing other sampling procedures for the last three-four years (with the group)," Voigt said. "But I have a background in biology, so this is definitely geared more toward my interests."

The technique will be useful as the group faces a controversial cemetery being planned along a segment of Pinole Creek, he said.

Trainee Josh Bergstrom provides organizational support for watershed groups in Alameda County and West Contra Costa through the East Bay Watershed Center at Merritt College in Oakland . Bergstrom, who has a background in geology, is eager to share the bug sampling procedures in future workshops and seminars.

"What makes this activity valuable for volunteers is that people are able to see it themselves and feel more connected to the work they're doing," he said.

The Citizens Monitoring Program plans to train volunteers in May on using Global Positioning System, or GPS, devices to map physical features of watersheds.

Reach Cassandra Braun at 925-682-6440, ext. 29, or cbraun@cctimes.com .