News from Your Watershed
Association. June 2006
ANNUAL MEETING. JUNE 24.
Come find out what is happening in your watershed. We have lined
up an outstanding set of speakers who will share wisdom gained in
approaching water quality issues from very different perspectives.
Theresa Thom is an ecologist
with the National Park Service at Congaree Swamp, South Carolina where
she directs the Old Growth Bottomland Forest and Research Education
Center. She previously served as a U.S. Fish and Wildlife
biologist for five years and is an expert on the collection and
identification of aquatic insects, freshwater fishes, aquatic plants,
and stream geomorphology. She holds a doctorate in ecology from the
University of Georgia. Theresa will speak to us about how water
quality can be monitored in our area streams, including methods that
can be utilized by volunteers.
Brian Miller is a professor of
biology at MTSU, where he teaches graduate courses His own
research interests and those of many of the graduate students that he
advises center on amphibians and reptiles, including rare and
endangered species in our own area. He holds a doctorate in
zoology from Washington State University. Brian will be talking
about three salamander species that are of particular concern in our
watershed.
John McFadden will be familiar
to many of you who participated in the recent stream assessment
trainings that SRWA conducted. He is the Director of Science and
Restoration with the Harpeth River Watershed Association, a
well-established group that has been working in the watershed to
our west since 1999. HRWA has pioneered many of the methods of stream
assessment and restoration that are now being implemented in other
watersheds, including our own. He directs a Volunteer River
Restoration Corps that is active in all six counties of the Harpeth
watershed. John will describe techniques and opportunities for
restoration in our own home area.
But that is not all. Here's what else we will have for your
enjoyment:
2:00-3:00 Registration, walks on
your own, browse our silent auction, socialize.
2-4:30 p.m. Supervised children's activities under
the guidance of Rachel Carrigan of the Wilderness Station.
Children under seven will need to have a parent stay with them.
3-4:30 Program.
4:30-6:30 Cookout and potluck
dinner with a brief business meeting. If you came last year you
know that the food was great. We'll have hamburgers, hotdogs and some
vegetarian options, drinks and plates, etc. Bring a dish to share if
you like. If you don't feel like cooking make a small donation.
PLUS. A silent auction of some wonderful native plants, nature
photography, and aquarium and more. Nathan Singer has been
working hard to line up some first rate items for us. The auction will
close at 5 p.m.
Other news.
Don't forget Boat Day on July 8.
It should be even better than last year. Come out and try a variety of
both sit-on and regular kayaks, plus small sailboats. It all
happens at the Manson Pike trailhead of the Murfreesboro Greenway
beginning at 8 a.m.