TROUT UNLIMITED
AmeriCorps Position: Water Quality Monitoring Program Coordinator
September 2013 – August 2014
Location: Thomas, WV
HOW TO APPLY
Trout Unlimited is partnering with the Appalachian Forest Heritage Association and the West Virginia Rivers Coalition to offer this AmeriCorps position opportunity. To find out more about the project position, the AmeriCorps program, and for instructions on how to apply for the position, please visit the Appalachian Forest Heritage Association website. Please note: the application process for the TU position closes August 9, 2013.
ORGANIZATION DESCRIPTION
Trout Unlimited’s (TU) mission it to conserve, protect, and restore North America's coldwater fisheries and their watersheds. Founded in 1959 in Grayling, Michigan by a group of anglers who successfully sought to change the state’s reliance on hatchery production of trout into a program that focused on protecting and restoring fish habitat, today TU is the nation’s largest grassroots coldwater fishery organization. TU’s vision is to ensure, by the next generation, that robust populations of native and wild coldwater fish once again thrive within their North American range, so that our children can enjoy healthy fisheries in their home waters.
To accomplish this vision, TU employs a comprehensive strategy to protect the highest quality trout and salmon habitat, reconnect high quality habitats with restored areas downstream through the augmentation of instream flows and barrier removals, restore degraded habitats so that they again support healthy trout and salmon populations, and sustain progress by educating and motivating a future generation of environmental stewards. TU works on a local, state, and national level through an extensive volunteer network and dedicated staff. TU has approximately 150,000 members organized into more than 400 local chapters across the country. The AmeriCorps member will be located at our Thomas, West Virginia office.
PROJECT SUMMARY
Monitoring potential gas development impacts in coldwater trout streams is paramount for measuring the overall health of Appalachia’s water sources in West Virginia and Virginia. This is because many of these trout streams are the headwaters of the region’s major rivers, the rivers that supply millions of people with
their drinking water supplies. Because everything flows downstream, the headwaters must be the first line of defense to prevent the overall degradation to Appalachia’s watersheds. TU and its West Virginia and Virginia councils are uniquely poised to monitor these critical areas—which are often out of sight of many due to their remote locations—because these are the very places where TU members and other anglers spend countless hours fishing. To protect these headwater areas, TU is building a cadre of trained volunteers to monitor the potential impacts of shale gas development along the coldwater streams and to gather baseline data for comparison, where drilling has not begun. Specifically, these volunteers are trained to collect baseline data and to alert TU, the company and the proper authorities to violations of state and federal laws as well as provide information on the water quality of specific stream reaches.
TU proposes to launch a volunteer-based water quality monitoring project, comprised of TU members and other interested anglers, in areas where shale gas development overlaps with important coldwater streams in West Virginia and Virginia. The project will take place largely in the area surrounding the
Monongahela National Forest, which contains over 90 percent of West Virginia’s native brook trout streams and approximately 600 miles of the state’s high-quality trout waters, and in the George Washington National Forest, which contains approximately 80 percent of Virginia’s public hunting lands and brook trout streams.
Using our Conservation Success Index (CSI)—a geospatial analytical tool that assesses trout populations, trout habitat, past resource development, future resource development, and other factors to prioritize TU’s conservation, protection and restoration efforts—TU will identify high quality trout watersheds where gas resources are likely to be developed and recruit volunteers to monitor those watersheds. The overall goals of the project are to collect baseline water quality data in watersheds where shale gas development is not yet occurring and to identify potential pollution incidents in watersheds where shale gas drilling has begun. To achieve these goals, TU will initiate a water quality monitoring project to educate and train volunteers to (1) select monitoring sites based upon TU’s CSI analysis, (2) collect water quality monitoring data using basic equipment, (3) conduct visual stream assessments, (4) upload data to a central clearinghouse, and (5) to contact the company and authorities if a pollution event is expected. TU staff will work with the AmeriCorps member to launch the water quality monitoring project in West Virginia and Virginia.
AMERICORPS POSITION DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
TU staff will work with the AmeriCorps member to launch a water quality monitoring program for TU members and other interested anglers, in the areas of West Virginia and Virginia where shale gas development intersects with high quality trout watersheds from September 2013 through August 2014. Four to six water quality monitoring trainings will be organized by the AmeriCorps member and TU staff and conducted over the course of the member’s one-year term. For each training, the AmeriCorps member will conduct outreach to TU chapters, including potentially providing educational presentations to TU chapter meeting to explain the program and solicit interest in participating in monitoring. She or he will organize each training, including identifying a training location, publicizing the event to TU chapters, angling groups, and other interested parties, and preparing materials for the training. The AmeriCorps member will work with TU staff to train volunteers to conduct visual assessments of gas development impacts, and collect water temperature, conductivity, total dissolved solids, and water flow measurements. The AmeriCorps member will provide education to volunteers during each training, through PowerPoint presentations and hands-on exercises. Training materials have been prepared for Pennsylvania and will be adapted for use in West Virginia and Virginia. Following the training, the AmeriCorps member will provide technical and coordination support for volunteers.
To ensure that volunteers are actively monitoring and reporting data results, the AmeriCorps member will hold a monthly phone call for trained volunteers to discuss ongoing monitoring efforts, issues, and results. To facilitate use of reporting tools and to provide continuous support for volunteers, the AmeriCorps member will work with TU staff to create personalized data entry portals for each trained volunteer. The AmeriCorps member will be responsible for training TU volunteers on how to use the data portal and encouraging data entry on a regular basis.
Finally, the AmeriCorps member will conduct water quality monitoring on a regular basis, in the areas where there may be a gap in volunteer monitoring coverage due to lack of volunteers in a given area or because the stream is too far away from a volunteer’s home. The number of monitoring sites that will be assigned directly to the AmeriCorps member and the frequency of monitoring will depend upon a number of factors and will be determined after the project is initiated.
