Jan 2007 Combined Newsletter : The Watershed - Dragonfly Messenger

Also known as “Catdaddy,” R.R. Shumway has been tak-ing people out to rivers and lakes since 1985, showing them thebest places to cast a line in Kansas and Missouri. Shumway couldmost easily be found traversing the local waters throughout theweek, but he has also been known to speak at ProBass conven- tions. “I’m out there preachin’ thegospel,” he sayswith a chuckle, though it quicklybecomes clear that the world of fishing is no joke to him; tohear him talk is tohear to voice of someone who hasfallen head overheels into the Kan-sas River for fishing.It is a love thatcomes honestly.The son of a bait shop owner, his first job was working the store,learning about the connection between fishing and the community,as lesson taught to him by his father. As we sit under an awning inhis front yard and sip iced tea, he tells us how his father would ex- tend store credit to locals who were broke. “Dad liked people,”Shumway explained. “He let them charge because they were partof the community.”The small act of extending store credit also demonstrated that his father understood the psychological impact of fishing upon

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A special edition that highlights Kaw Valley Heritage Association’s many programs and endeavors. We are proud of ouraccomplishments for 2006. This newsletter is a culmination of

The Watershed

,

The

Wakarusa Review

&

The Dragonfly Messenger

newsletters. With one organizational newsletter, all partners will become familiar with our ‘other’ projects.Please enjoy, and we appreciate your feedback! Here’s to 2007!

January,2007

“The river will tell youwhat you want to know if youknow how to read it....but girl,”he says to me, a grin spreadingacross his face, “you got to goto know. The more you go, the

more you know.”

“

Catdaddy” Shumway

Written by KVHA volunteer, Alphild Rees

F u n d i n g f o r K V H A P r o j e c t s a r e c u r r e n t l y p r o v i d e d b y g r a n t s f r o m t h e K S D e p t . o f H e a l t h & E n v i r o n m e n t a n d b y t h e c o n t r i b u t i o n s o f p a r t n e r s a n d p r o g r a m u s e r s .

KVAsafeayreze53npoogzaoDooaetadbe

By Alison Reber

The Coon Creek Wetland Restoration Project hasbecome an important spring board for additionalrestoration and education pursuits.The wetland area is part of a larger complex of publicland and the project attracted interest in strengtheningopportunities for nature-base recreation / education.These concepts are diverse and involve interacting withthe environment on a variety of scales. Recreation-themed community events are being considered forshort grass prairie and hardwood forest restorationprojects. We are especially interested in freestanding “opportunities for observational interactions” asopposed to measures that will increase foot traffic.The project site is along the Oregon Trail corridor.We're now trying to coordinate habitat and viewscaperestoration projects based on primary sourcedocumentation As part of an initiative to inventoryemigrant trail sites in northeastern Kansas, a GISworkshop is being planned for next spring. Volunteerswill be trained to use field observations to verify andthen map locations described in emigrant journals.StreamLink provides basic stream assessmentworkshops for interested individuals and groupsimplementing watershed restoration and protectionstrategies (WRAPS). We hope to improve our workshopparticipants’ recognition of potential cultural resources.Severe stream bank degradation is exposing new, deeplayers of the archaeological record. At the same time,there are more eyes looking in the right place at theright time. The challenge is making sure they knowwhat they're looking for. Preliminary field assessmentscan help focus and prioritize the restoration andprotection efforts across multiple disciplines.

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Coon Creek Wetland looking east.

2

Kaw Valley Heritage Alliance412 E. 9th StreetLawrence, KS 66044(785) 840-0700Fax: (785) 843-6080kvha@kvha.org

KVHA StaffAlison Reber

, Executive Director

Christine Boller

,

Program Director

Tyson Combs

, Intern

Jason Dick

, Intern

Board of Directors

Dale Lambley

, President

Paul Liechti

, Treasurer

Will Boyer

, Secretary

Bob Burkhart

, Public Affairs

VACANT

, At-Large

VACANT

, At-Large

6th Annual Kansas Farmer’s Market Conference

Monday, February 5, 2007, 10 am to 4 pm at the public library in Topeka at 1515 SW10th Ave. Speaker: Larry Johnson, a flower grower and manager of Dane CountyFarmers’ Market in Madison, Wisconsin. Topics will include marketing tips, chefdemonstrations, electronic newsletters, Electronic Benefits Transfer systems & spe-cial events.

OSHER Institute for Continuing Education class

Thursdays , February 22, March 1 & March 8 from 7-9 p.m. Taught by Alison Reber,Executive Director of KVHA & Bob Burkhart, KVHA board member. The three-partclass will address past, present and future relationships among people and waterfrom the Westport Landing to the Wakarusa Watershed River Crossing."StoryTech" (1950-2049).

Oregon-California Trail Association(OCTA) workshop

OCTA’s preservation training program covers three aspects of trail preservation:mapping, marking and monitoring (the 3Ms). Two-day( May 5-6) workshop coveringthe Lawrence area. If interested contact Travis Boley at tboley@indepmo.org.

7th Annual Student Gathering, Friday April 6

High School student event that combines learning, col-laboration & stewardship. Hosted by StreamLink. Inter-ested science teachers please call our office, 785-840-0700.

StreamLink Mudscapes Events:

April 12, WABCO Wet & Wild, Mission ValleyApril 13, Hillsdale Watershed FestivalApril 20, E.A.R.T.H. Watershed Festival, Dickinson CoMay 2, Osage City Water Festival

HAPPY SPRING!

KVHA Calendar (in brief…)

For nine years I've watched many KVHA projects begin and can happily report that I've seen very few end. It's not that we haven't gotten anything done. Many final project reports have been written.The reports have careful boundaries, dates on a calendar. We have to untangle time to separate the strands of projects from one another. Projects wind around one another, seamless and yet distinct.Like hand spun yarn, continuity is a thing of beauty.I am extremely proud of 2006. People and projects seemed to fit and the days seemed full of energy. However, I can’t point to a single day on the calendar when we were successful.Success doesn’t come in simple, measurable increments. It’s not just about plan- ning ahead. It’s about anticipation….and it’s about being ready for change.In this newsletter, the projects are interwoven to give readers a sense of the cohe- sion that hallmarked 2006. The dividends of continuity will play out in 2007.We anticipate success, we have planned for success, and we’re ready for whatever contingencies come our way. Welcome 2007!

Alison Reber, Executive Director

A Note from the Director...

3

New Beginnings: WakarusaWetland Learners

StreamLink’s Basic Stream Assessment Workshops

Baker Wetlands provided the optimal teaching habitat forcollaborative efforts on behalf of StreamLink, Jayhawk Audu-bon Society & Kansas Biological Survey. The spring pilotfield days included fourth-graders from Cordley and Schwe-gler Elementary schools. The 90 plus students rotated through several stations, including; water chemistry, macro-invertebrates, flora,fauna, art & journaling.In December, KVHA &JAS were awarded anElizabeth Schultz envi-ronmental grant for their proposal,

Waka-rusa Wetland Learn-ers

, which gives stu-dents the opportunity to experience the di-versity of the wetlandhabitat. There aregoing to be 15 field trips planned for spring and fall of this year. Monies from the grant will help fund transportation for the kids and payKU science student interns a small stipend for teaching.The complexity of a wetland habitat goes through numerouschanges seasonally making it a perfect learning environ-ment for exploration and discovery. Our goal is to bring awareness to this invaluable local wildlife landmark.Please watch our website for updates and pictures. Cur-rently this opportunity will be offered to grades 4 and up.Sign up information will be available via the Streamlink web-site at www.streamlink.org.

Students and teachers gather on theBaker Wetland boardwalk .

Mary Clark, of the Dillon Nature Center in Hutchinson, and SandyCollins, of West Junior High in Lawrence, use a kick net to collectmacro invertebrates at Slough Creek.

For more information about the grant award please go tothe Jayhawk Audubon Society’s online newsletter at http://skyways.lib.ks.us/orgs/jayhawkaudubon/December_06%20newsletter.pdf

StreamLink’s summer season included two streamassessment workshops at Branded B Ranch nearPerry Lake and Morning Star Ranch near Florence in MarionCounty. Both groups proved to be inquisitive and fun, with anice balance of agency employees, landowners, and teachers.The two day course is a comprehensive study of stream ecol-ogy, hydrology, habitat, restoration and appreciation. Class timeis split between classroom presentations and the field.The presenters included; Phil Balch and Chris Mammolitti fromthe Water Institute, a non-profit organization, located in Topeka.Their expertise in stream bank restoration takes them all overthe country. Paul Ingle, from the Melvern Lake WatershedWater Quality Project, spoke on stream hydrology and the ba-sics of a stream assessment. Rebecca Moscou and RhondaJanke, from Citizen Science, based out of Kansas State Univer-sity, demonstrated step-by-step testing and analysis of watertesting.The June workshop was located at Branded B Ranch, on thewestern side of Perry Lake. The local streams that were ex-plored and assessed were Slough and Little Slough Creeks.Like the rest of the summer, the temperatures were uncomfort-able, but stream exploration provided the perfect respite. TheAugust workshop, at Morning Star Ranch in Marion County wasrequested and planned with the help and enthusiasm of PeggyBlackman, the coordinator for the Marion Reservoir 319 WaterQuality Project.The exploration of Spring Creek and Cedar Creek proved unfor-gettable. Spring Creek’s water quality was pristine, enough soto house a fresh water sponge, which most of us had neverseen. It was a definite “Look, but don’t touch moment”. CedarCreek was home to a diverse population of mussels. VaughnWeaver, an Environmental Water Quality Specialist for the Cityof Wichita, imparted knowledge and enthusiasm of the bivalve

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Lawrence childexamines macro-invertebratesduring her BakerWetland field trip.Go WakarusaWetlandLearners!