A view of the Pool 9 vista. - FWS photo

The Genoa National Fish Hatchery recently assisted the Upper Midwest Environmental Science Center (UMESC) in sampling portions of Pool 9 of the Upper Mississippi River. 

This sampling monitors trends in aquatic plant coverage for the UMESC's Long-Term Natural Resource Monitoring (LTRM) studies on the Upper Mississippi River. 

The hatchery supplied a boat, and three crew members for the annual day long sampling. The station's two local Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP) students, Ashley Umberger and Brandon Keesler, gained valuable experience in the long term monitoring program's background, and plant sampling methodologies by participating in the survey. Station Maintenance Mechanic Dan Kumlin supplied the boat operating expertise.  

A total of 16 boat crews, representing agencies that included the Upper Mississippi National Fish and Wildlife Refuge, USESC, Iowa and Minnesota Departments of Natural Resources, and local county land management districts,participated in this effort. Surveys included over 200 sampling locations. 

Through this cooperative effort, valuable information was gathered to assess trends in the Upper Mississippi River system and provided natural resource education and valuable expertise to our Student employees.