The MiCorps Monitor: July 2009

Article 4:
Ecosystem Monitoring to be Part of Nashville Dam Removal Project

In fall 2008, the Barry Conservation District (BCD) received a grant from the Michigan DNR’s Inland Fisheries Program to assist with the removal of the Nashville Dam on the main stem of the Thornapple River in Barry County. Removal of the non-functioning dam, slated for September 2009, will restore the headwaters of the Thornapple River to a fully functioning, free flowing system of approximately 60 river miles.

Since the project’s inception, the outpouring of support from agencies and organizations has been tremendous. To best capture this energy, the BCD and project partners from the DNR and DEQ developed a “wish list” of monitoring and research that could be conducted to learn more about the ecosystem and social impacts of dam removal – information which could be compiled and shared with other communities considering dam removal projects. Since the BCD’s grant did not extend to research, interested individuals would have to work on a volunteer or self-funded basis. The list of research opportunities was sent to colleges and universities as well as practicing biologists and other professionals in the region.

Dr. Eric Snyder, Assistant Professor of Aquatic Biology at Grand Valley State University, was one of the first to respond. In addition to his own research interests, he saw an opportunity to involve undergraduates in the project. BCD Executive Director, Joanne Barnard, and Thornapple River Watershed Council President, Dana Strouse, met with Snyder to provide an overview of the dam removal project and current studies underway in the Thornapple River Watershed, including the MiCorps Macroinvertebrate Monitoring Program which began in 2006. With this background information, Snyder and GVSU undergraduate, Chantel Caldwell, developed a proposal to quantitatively assess the effects of the dam removal on the ecosystem through: (i) benthic macroinvertebrate community composition, abundance, biomass, and functional feeding group guild structure; (ii) ecosystem metabolism using open system techniques to assess patterns in primary production and respiration; (iii) patterns in soluable reactive phosphorus (SRP) concentration and benthic periphyton chl-a and organic matter content (AFDM); and (iv) physical habitat, including substrate composition and cross-sectional profile to monitor changes in river bed elevation.

Snyder and Caldwell tapped into a local resource, the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, whose URGE (Undergraduate Research Grants for the Environment) Program enables students, with support from a faculty mentor, to conduct an intensive, full-time research project during the summer months. Their successful proposal garnered a stipend, lodging and project support for Caldwell at the Institute through summer 2009. Members of the Thornapple River Watershed Macroinvertebrate Monitoring Program, the “Stream Team,” also pledged volunteer assistance in carrying out the monitoring project. The BCD and Thornapple River Watershed Council are collaborating with Snyder on seeking additional funding to extend the project into the post-dam removal stage.

Results of the ongoing MiCorps Macroinverteberate Monitoring Program in the Thornapple Watershed, which include data from 22 sites in tributaries of the system, will be useful in providing baseline information on macroinvertebrate communities in streams above and below the dam. The BCD and DEQ will work together to conduct additional macro monitoring using a Ponar Grab to collect samples in the deeper parts of the channel and mill pond. The Ponar Grab sampling will become part of the Stream Team’s regular spring and fall monitoring regime for a three to five year period in order to provide an extended perspective of stream health and recovery.

The Nashville Dam Removal Project’s wish list for monitoring and research is quickly filling up, with volunteers from DNR and DEQ offering to conduct riparian plant community structure, water chemistry and fish, mussel and avian community monitoring. Local government units will supply aerial and stop-time photographic documentation. A graduate student from Michigan State University’s Watershed Management program is considering a project including social indicator surveys of riparian residents and educational outreach programming. Community and Thornapple River Watershed Council volunteers will assist with many of the monitoring projects and will work with riparian landowners to encourage the use of best management practices in riparian vegetation management and invasive species control.

For more information on the Nashville Dam Removal Project, contact the Barry Conservation District at (269) 948-8056 ext. 3, or check for website updates at www.barrycd.org.

Guest Author:
Joanne Barnard
Executive Director
Barry Conservation District

MiCorps