This time of year I’m always reminded of what I’m grateful for living in northern Michigan — and the quality of our outdoor environment always comes to mind. One of those outdoor segments is the many streams and rivers we have around our region, and the recreational opportunities they afford us, not to mention the simple beauty of just being able to be hike along their banks to enjoy a quality of life that’s not found in a lot the country.
One of the ways that we are able to know the quality of water in some of our area rivers like the the Betsie and Platte rivers is from a program that takes place through the Benzie Conservation District where they conduct twice a year water quality insect surveys on area rivers.
A group of volunteer collectors, taking surveys along several sites on the rivers to collect aquatic insects and invertebrates, wade into the river using dip nets and tools as small as tweezers collecting specimens from gravel, rocks, logs and streamside foliage. What they find is preserved in alcohol to be sorted and classified, which will indicate the purity of the river water.
The most recent survey took place mid-October, according to Gerald Wilgus, who has been a team leader for many years conducting the surveys for the conservation district. He also does similar surveys on the Pine River.
He explained that both the Platte and Betsie rivers have a great diversity of habitat, and the water quality supports insects with a low tolerance for poor conditions. He did say that just downstream from Lake Ann on the Platte they found some zebra mussels.
“The lake must be infested with them,” he pointed out. “Well oxygenated water has few pollutants, which both of these rivers have. Their water quality is quite good.
“We sample all microinvertebrates that may include worms, snails and clams. They are assigned to a family based on sensitivity to low oxygen or pollutants. We calculate a numeric value of water quality based on the number of insects found in each family grouping. We find mayflies, net-spinning and case making caddisflies, and giant stoneflies, among some of more interesting specimens.”
They normally have four to six teams made up of the same number of people when they conduct the twice yearly surveys, Wilgus explained.
“It’s a pretty intense day, but normally lots of fun. Thank goodness for people who like citizen science and enjoy participating. We go out normally in May and October, which can have some marginal weather. It has snowed on us,” he laughed. “It’s always a joy to have kids join us. They are usually very enthusiastic.
“I like to point out that data costs money to obtain it, and volunteers are worth a lot during times of spare funding,” he added.
John Gerty, who has been helping do the surveys for a number of years, was the one who originally told me about these surveys.
“I’ve found it fascinating doing these studies and encouraged with outcomes that look good for our area rivers,” he told me recently when we talked about the program. “It’s striking how insect populations vary from river to river and place to place. I like finding a partially rotted log, which often has lots of bugs when you pry it apart. Even rocks perched out in the current will have colonies on them. Just stirring up gravel along the bottom of the river, or checking the foliage along the banks will produce specimens.
“It’s interesting work, and we often get questions if people happen to be along the river banks when we are there,” he added. “I recall when a mother came down to the river with her son in a Cub Scout uniform. He had a fishing pole and was working on a merit badge where he was to find and identify 10 different species. We put him to work sorting invertebrates. He left with a jar with 10 different species in it, which really made that mom and her son’s day. He got a great introduction to basic science.”