Students explore river health at
future restoration site
By Stephanie Lynn EBS CONTRIBUTOR
BIG SKY — The Lone Peak High School freshman biology class, in coordination with the Gallatin River Task Force, collected watershed data at sites slated for river restoration and access improvements during the 2018/2019 school year.
After
recognizing that increased river use was threatening the Gallatin River, the
Task Force realized an ambitious plan to collaborate with the Custer Gallatin
National Forest to repair and enhance river access sites that began with work
at Moose Creek Flat. Water quality information collected before, during and
after this series of projects will be used to evaluate whether or not restoration
activities improve river health and fisheries. However, sampling all proposed
sites exceeds the scope and manpower of regular monitoring conducted by the
Task Force and volunteers.
Enter
Kate Eisele, middle and high school biology teacher, with a desire to focus her
freshman biology class on environmental science, a passion for river
conservation, and a goal to engage her students with real world issues. A
logical partnership between the Task Force and LPHS emerged.
“I
love to guide students of all backgrounds and abilities in risk-taking through
experiments,” Eisele said. “I believe learning science should be fun, safe and
hands-on.”
After
receiving water quality monitoring training in August 2018, the 26 ninth-grade
students trekked to the Gallatin River and two of its tributaries, Porcupine
and Beaver creeks, monthly to measure key indicators of watershed health,
including dissolved oxygen, nitrate, air temperature, water temperature, E. coli, flow rate, pH, conductivity and
turbidity.
The
class progressed during the year from researching their assigned parameters to
interpreting their results and culminated their studies with a field trip to
two completed river restoration sites and one future restoration site.
“Beyond
classroom learning objectives, they have developed a much larger awareness of
the watershed they live in and the challenges it faces from a growing human
population,” Eisele said.
When
they left the controlled environment of the school laboratory, the freshman
discovered that, at times, field investigations can be messy.
“They
learned things don’t always work out as planned; equipment fails, gets dropped,
tossed, lost or broken,” Eisele said. “Student teams have had to persevere to
overcome deep snow, cold temperatures and absent teammates to accomplish data
collection.”
Their
measurements led to a greater understanding of river conditions where a gap
exists in monitoring efforts. Students measured water temperature, dissolved
oxygen, and pH levels that support trout and aquatic insects, but discovered
abundant E. coli bacteria in Beaver
and Porcupine creeks. In addition, nitrate levels recorded in Beaver Creek were
twice as high as the other sites.
“Overall,
our rivers and streams are clean, but Beaver Creek was less clean, due to the [trail]
crossing,” said freshman Ace Beattie.
After
completing their yearlong study, the students connected their data with overall
river health and expressed enthusiasm for protecting the special place they
call home. The rising freshman class will build upon their efforts this fall.
Stephanie Lynn is the education and communications
coordinator for the Gallatin River Task Force.
