Subject: Friends of the Cheat Offers Save our Streams Workshop Friends of the Cheat will host a Save our Streams training event on Friday, July 2nd starting at 10:00am at the Cheat River Festival Site in Albright. West Virginia Save our Streams Coordinator Tim Craddock will lead a hands-on workshop teaching techniques used to complete a stream bio-assessment. The bio-assessment consists of three basic elements: water quality analysis, physical characterizations, and an assessment of the benthic macroinvertebrate community.
Benthic macroinvertebrates are the small, but visible, invertebrates that live on the bottom of streams. A majority of the day will be spent collecting and identifying benthic macroinvertebrates or ¨ macros¨. Macros provide food for fish and other important freshwater dwellers. The quantity and types of macros found help determine the health of a stream. Two very different streams will be examined during the training: a stream polluted with acid mine drainage (AMD), Muddy Creek at its mouth, and a healthy stream, the Muddy Creek headwaters.
Anyone interested in participating should RSVP to Andrew Miller at Friends of the Cheat by phone at 329-3621 or via e-mail at _amiller@cheat.org_ (mailto:amiller@cheat.org)
Participants should be prepared to get wet and bring a lunch
Andrew Miller OSM/VISTA - Friends of the Cheat