Monitoring Newsletter: Fall 2024 Edition
Monitoring Newsletter: Fall 2024
What’s inside:
- Introducing Than Hitt, Senior Scientist
- Launching WV Stream Watch App v2.0
- Introducing the Town Run Watershed Association
- Your input needed: How can we improve our online water monitoring platform?
- Save the date: Volunteer Teleconference on October 29 at 7 p.m.
Introducing Than Hitt, WV Rivers Coalition Senior Scientist
Nathaniel “Than” Hitt
Hello! My name is Than Hitt, and I look forward to working with you to advance your water monitoring work!
Allow me briefly to introduce myself and provide a bit of my background and some thoughts on where we can go from here.
I grew up in Morgantown and attended the College of Wooster where I majored in Biology. I then worked with the Buckeye Forest Council and Heartwood for several years doing forest conservation work in southeast Ohio – and this propelled my interest in conservation biology and graduate studies. In 2002 I graduated from the University of Montana with a MS in Ecology, and in 2007 I graduated from Virginia Tech with a PhD in Fisheries and Wildlife Biology. My research focused on trout population dynamics and fish biodiversity in Appalachian streams.
I then was fortunate to serve as a Fisheries Biologist with the U.S. Geological Survey in Kearneysville for 17 years. During that time, I led investigations into brook trout thermal ecology and population trends, including work in an experimental stream laboratory we constructed on the USGS campus. My research also addressed the consequences of mountaintop removal and climate change on endangered fishes in Appalachia. My research also showed me the importance of crowdsourcing and open-science strategies while introducing me to a fantastic network of conservation organizations across the region. You can see my CV here and list of publications here.
So where do we go from here? This much is clear: collaboration is key! No single government agency or nonprofit organization can do all that is needed to protect our vital water resources. That’s why I’m excited to be launching updated monitoring tools that we can use collaboratively, including the WV Stream Watch App and the WV Stream Survey Portal. Please join me on Tuesday, October 29 at 7 pm for a teleconference to discuss this and more (see details below). In the meantime, you can reach me at nhitt@wvrivers.org with questions and ideas. Thanks!
Launching WV Stream Watch App v2.0
During a Watershed Walk, this group used the Stream Water App to document changes in water quality over time.
We’re excited to announce that the WV Stream Watch App has been updated and is ready to use!
This free tool helps to monitor streams and rivers with photos from your cell phone. You also can use it to request that WV Rivers staff report your observation to the WV Department of Environmental Protection or follow-up with you. This tool can be used to document many aspects of stream conditions, including droughts and floods, sediment, fish passage barriers, and pollution discharges.
This tool has been instrumental for documenting water-quality violations in Indian Creek and elsewhere, and we hope that the updates will make it even easier to use – and have a bigger impact! This app also gives every West Virginian a powerful tool to report changes they see in streams and rivers – and to build a network of volunteer citizen scientists statewide.
Your input needed: How can we improve our water monitoring platform online?
Change can be good! This fall WV Rivers will be updating and rebranding our water monitoring platform as the WV Stream Survey Portal. We need your feedback on how you are using this platform, what you think is working well, and what could be improved. Please take a moment to share your thoughts with this survey. We’ll report the results at the volunteer teleconference on October 29 (see below). Thank you!
Save the date: Volunteer Teleconference October 29 at 7 pm
Let’s talk! Please schedule Tuesday, October 29 at 7 pm to connect with WV Rivers and stream monitoring volunteers from across the state.
We’ll meet on Zoom using this link.
- To join by phone, call: 1-646-931-3860, Code: 87937313120#
We’ll discuss the WV Stream Watch App v2.0 and how to improve the WV Stream Survey Portal online based on your feedback. We’ll also present a preliminary analysis of the water quality data collected in prior surveys and hear from watershed organizations about priorities for stream survey data moving forward. Please contact Than Hitt (nhitt@wvrivers.org) for more information.