October 2013 Entomology Lab Update

midges

We are working on several local macroinvertebrate / aquatic entomology projects this year.

Our first “real” local project, is for the Gallatin Local Water Quality district in Bozeman Montana (MT). It does not get more local than this…  We’ve finished the sorting an taxonomy of aquatic insects from small streams in the city Bozeman MT… it has been good to see some local faces… The worst part of this project been getting the state’s database to run on modern computers. Here is a tip for you: If run MT EDAS and it works fine, be cautious about upgrading… and consider keeping that old PC around just in case… it could save you some heart aches. On the positive side, our goal is to do more local work… so getting these “bugs” out of the system will be good for our long term plans; Montana DEQ loves their EDAS program… so… we want to love it too…

We also are doing the 30 year trend analysis for assessment of atmospheric deposition of nitrogen in alpine systems for the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem Atmospheric Dry Deposition Work-group… through a contract Bridger-Teton National Forest.  This is great because it combines our experience in aquatic entomology, invertebrate ecology, and ecological statistics; it is a perfect fit for us. It may not be as local as our Gallatin County work, but we are, of course, the aquatic entomology experts in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem… so we consider it local.

We are also doing our annual work for Sublette County Conservation District; on the south side of the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. These projects include benthic samples from tributaries to the New Fork, Hoback and Green Rivers in Sublette County Wyoming. It includes both composited large samples and a rigorous replicated study examining the effects of natural gas development on the Pinedale Anticline Project Area. This was the project that launched our technical reporting business in 2006 and the one that allowed us to start our bug lab in 2008.  I have been working with aquatic insects and aquatic ecology since 1986-87 and to be able to continue this type of work independently has been a true blessing.

We’ll be working on macroinvertebrates from the wetlands surrounding the Great Salt Lake this autumn. Also, we anticipate samples from the Deschutes River before the end of the month.

Later this week we will be working with Belgrade Local Schools to host 200 middle school children and introduce them to the joys of aquatic insects… We love doing educational workshops.

It is a busy year at River Continuum Concepts… And that sure beats the alternative.

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