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Watershed Watch Community Science

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  1. Watershed Watch Community Science
  2. Watershed Watch Methods

    Introduction & What is a Watershed?
    1 Quiz
  3. How Do I Collect Watershed Health Data?
    How to Measure Stream Chemistry?
    4 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  4. What is an Benthic Macroinvertebrate, How to Sample, What do they tell us about Watershed Health?
    4 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  5. How do we Measure the Health of Riparian Areas
    7 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  6. How to Measure Streamflow?
    5 Topics
    |
    1 Quiz
  7. How to I Turn My Data Into Action?
    How to organize and interpret my data and develop findings?
  8. How to make a community presentation with my findings?
  9. How write a watershed management plan?
  10. We Calibrate Because We Care! ~ How to maintain and calibrate equipment
  11. How can I find work in the field of watershed science?
  12. How can I influence policymakers and turn my data into action?
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Where to sample depends on the purpose of your research. Sample in riffles if you want to learn the most information about the insects that have low tolerance to pollution. Over the years most schools and professionals in New Mexico have sampled in riffles. However, to learn about the broad diversity of benthic insects in your stream, you want to sample in a variety of habitats such as slow water areas, small logs, undercut banks, leaves, and in riffles using the dip net method. Remember your safety is the most important thing! Be careful around cold and fast moving water.

To sample begin by finding some riffles. Then have one person hold the net against the bottom of the river while another person (or multiple people) kick the bottom of the river. Be sure the person kicking is upstream from the net so that all of the benthic macroinvertibrate end up in the net!