Volunteer Stream Monitors Needed

A call has been put out for more volunteers to monitor creeks, streams and rivers throughout Potter County located in close proximity to gas-drilling activity. Equipment and training are available and a centralized location is being established for data collection, but more volunteers are needed. The local organization is modeled after a similar group – the Water Dogs – in Tioga County. God’s Country Chapter of Trout Unlimited and local watershed associations in Potter County are also supporting the effort. Volunteers are needed to take occasional samples of rivers and streams in Potter County as part of a citizens’ water monitoring project. Next training session for “God’s Country Water Dogs” will be held Saturday, March 24, from 9 am to 3:30 pm at the Gunzburger Building in Coudersport.

Training will cover how to take samplings and record information, and how to report incidents of environmental harm or concerns for public safety. Julie Vastine, director of Dickinson College’s Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM), will instruct the course. To register or to request more information, contact Jim Clark at Penn State Extension; 814-887-5613 or jac20@psu.edu.