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Bureau of Land Management
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BLM's Vernal Field Office
Establishes Utah's First "River Watch" Site
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Bureau of Land Management
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BLM's Vernal Field Office
Establishes Utah's First "River Watch" Site
The Vernal Field Office is "getting its feet wet" with its newest program in environmental education. The program is called "River Watch," and it's part of a worldwide endeavor to increase awareness of water quality issues through education and water quality monitoring.
The Vernal Field Office, located in northeastern Utah, boasts two significant rivers within its jurisdiction: the Green River and the White River. Each river is a unique ecosystem. The Green River is controlled by the Flaming Gorge Dam, while the White River is relatively free-flowing apart from a small water impoundment in western Colorado. Vernal Field Office specialists have always strived to gather as much water quality data as possible from both river systems to aid in BLM management decisions.
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To aid in this effort, the Vernal River Watch program was started in the early spring of 1998. It is a partnership between BLM and Uintah High School, which has an advanced-placement science program for seniors with a strong interest in biology. These students needed opportunities to gain field experience in science, and BLM needed a workforce to help with collection of field data.
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The River Watch Network itself is a non-profit organization that provides information and assistance to communities all over the world in setting up water quality monitoring programs with schools and other organizations. River Watch assists schools in integrating river monitoring into their teaching curricula.
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The Vernal program, which is entering its second year, is unique because it takes the students out of the classroom and into the field (or, in this case, into the water). They learn how to set up study plots, take water samples, analyze the samples with sophisticated water-testing equipment, and then write up their results.
The water-testing equipment used in this project is of professional quality, and was rather expensive to purchase. Local school district representatives felt so strongly about the program that they sponsored a service-learning grant for the purchase of the water-testing lab and to help offset field study costs.
In addition to setting up a monthly water sampling program, the students, teachers, and BLM staff conduct two multi-day river trips, one in the spring and one in the fall. One trip focuses on the Green River, and the other concentrates on the White River. Volunteer boaters from the local community contribute their rafts and boating expertise to assist with the float trips. Each trip begins with a full training session on water safety and low-impact river travel. The gear is then loaded into the boats, life jackets are donned, and the "floating classroom" heads downriver.
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At various stops along the way, students learn about river ecology, take measurements, collect field samples, and take site photographs. In repeating this process on each trip, student have an opportunity to see changes occurring on the river systems as they compare data and photos from previous trips.
Another component of these trips is community service. The students do a river cleanup every time they float the rivers. Additionally, they participate in soil stabilization projects on trails and campsites adjacent to the rivers.
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Last Updated: July 15, 2003
For questions about our programs contact Bibi Booth
This site is maintained by Kevin Flynn
| This page was created by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, Environmental Education & Volunteers Group, 1849 C Street, Room 406-LS, Washington, DC 20240. Send comments or questions relating to accessibilty of documents to Kevin_Flynn@blm.gov Number of visitors since July 15, 2003:[an error occurred while processing this directive] |
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