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Wait, mountain biking is good for you? As in good for your health? Of course, it is! Want proof? There's a reason everyone from pre-schoolers to former presidents and school-aged children to cycling legends have fallen in love with riding their bike off-road. In addition to being fun, mountain biking offers physical, emotional and social benefits to those who partake.

Though you may encounter a few bumps and bruises along the way, mountain biking helps more than it harms. According to Peopleforbikes.org, three hours of biking per week decreases your chance of heart disease and stroke by 50 percent. A study in the European Journal of Epidemiology found that women who bike more than 30 minutes each day have a reduced risk of breast cancer. Furthermore, teenagers who bike are 48 percent less likely to be overweight in adulthood.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults get at least two and a half hours of moderate-intensity physical activity every week. This type of exercise must be rigorous enough for a person to break a sweat and raise their heart rate. I think it's safe to say that mountain biking counts toward the CDC's weekly guidelines!

Mountain biking proves to be an ideal alternative for the growing number of older Americans who may be suffering from knee injuries after years of high-impact sports, such as running. The sport offers similar cardiovascular benefits to running, but without the impact on your joints. Former president George W. Bush took up mountain biking after a knee injury put an end to his running regimen.

In addition to the myriad physical benefits of mountain biking, the sport also plays an important role in participants' emotional well-being. According to a 2007 study by Dr. Andrew Lepp at Kent State University, outdoor activities decrease stress, raise self-esteem and provide people with a sense of challenge and adventure.

The Mayo Clinic notes that exercise helps stave off depression by releasing endorphins (brain chemicals that trigger a euphoric high). Physical activity also decreases the immune system chemicals that make depression worse. And that, my fellow mountain bikers, is why you typically end a ride happier than you started. Unless, of course, you find yourself unprepared on the trail.

Exercise, in general, helps decrease anxiety and improve mood. Mountain biking acts as a distraction and helps riders to take their mind off of any worries temporarily. This escape from reality breaks the cycle of negative thoughts that contribute to anxiety.

There are plenty of opportunities for interaction in this sport, whether you join your local cycling club, sign up for a mountain bike race or bump into other riders at the trailhead. Pleasant social interaction can improve your mood and provide you with the opportunity to make new friends-or at the very least, new riding buddies. And riding with others is not only enjoyable, but it's also safer.

Whether you rode over your first log, mastered that technical descent or cleared a particularly gnarly rock garden, meeting mountain biking challenges that you have set for yourself can give your self-confidence a major boost. Improving your stamina and becoming more physically fit will help you feel good about your outer appearance, too.

Hop on your steed and search for the nearest singletrack, because you have no excuse not to now!

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What Are the Health Benefits of Mountain Biking?

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Wait, mountain biking is good for you? As in good for your health? Of course, it is! Want proof? There's a reason everyone from pre-schoolers to former presidents and school-aged children to cycling legends have fallen in love with riding their bike off-road.

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According to the Shimano Research Group, more than 50 million Americans have tried mountain biking [source: Shimano]. While this seems like a huge number, it's nothing compared to the huge benefits that this sport offers in terms of physical and emotional well-being.

Mountain biking isn't only an adventure: It can also help you stay fit. Depending on the speed of your rides and the terrain you're covering, mountain biking can burn between 10 and 16 calories a minute, or 600 to 1,000 calories per hour. At that rate, biking can help you lose extra pounds or maintain your current weight. Over time, biking can increase muscle strength, improve cardiovascular health and help you build endurance that will carry over to other parts of your life. Biking just two to three hours a week can improve your lung capacity by up to 20 percent, making hiking up the stairs in your home a breeze [source: Adams].

Beyond its physical benefits, this sport also offers a number of emotional benefits that contribute to an overall sense of happiness and well-being. According to Dr. Andrew Lepp at Kent State University, outdoor activities can prevent and reduce stress, increase self-esteem, and offer a sense of challenge and adventure. Mountain biking also provides social benefits, and can help riders build a strong community [source: Lepp].

As mountain biking becomes increasingly popular, it's also becoming a major economic influence. Between local and destination biking, this sport contributes an estimated $26 billion to the U.S. economy each year. This spending includes retail sales of bikes and equipment, tourism and services directly related to expanding biking to a wider audience. A Shimano study indicates that for every one dollar spent on trail investment for biking, the United States realizes a benefit of three dollars in health-related savings as riders lose weight and get fit [source: Shimano].

Even those simply looking for outdoor adventures are sure to enjoy the many mountain biking benefits that come along for the ride.

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According to the Shimano Research Group, more than 50 million Americans have tried mountain biking [source: Shimano]. While this seems like a huge number, it's nothing compared to the huge benefits that this sport offers in terms of physical and emotional well-being. Mountain biking isn't only an adventure: It can also help you stay fit.

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Mountain Biking

Here are 6 top reasons why you should get involved with mountain biking, from fitness to making friends, check out the best benefits from off-road biking.

Mountain biking is a great for fitness having humerous benefits, including improving your cardiovascular system. It is also perfect for those returning from injury being a non-load-bearing sport.

Mountain biking makes for an ideal family activity, with child seats and trailers enabling you to bring your family with you at virtually any age. It's great for couples too, and is something you can do together.

Using a bike can help tone your quad, calf and glut (buttock) muscles as well as strengthen your tendons, without any load bearing. Far better fun than working out on a stationary bike in the gym.

Fat burning takes place when your heart rate is at around 65 to 75 per cent of your maximum (your maximum is 220 less your age for men and 225 less your age for women). You can measure your heart rate using a heart rate monitor (HRM) in order to train at the optimum level for fat burning.

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Your heart and lungs make up the cardiovascular system and the fitter you become, the more efficiently they work. This means better flow of blood through your body and an increase in oxygenation. Your fitness level depends on how well this process is done. By increasing your training on your bike over time, there is an associated improvement in the performance of your cardiovascular system and therefore fitness level.

Another advantage of mountain biking is that it is a non-load bearing form of exercise. By that we mean that your whole body is not being supported during your training as it is when you run for example. The very action of sitting means that a degree of pressure is being taken off your joints, meaning there is a reduced chance of injury.Many people who are returning to training after an injury use the bike as a way of regaining fitness as they can gradually increase fitness levels without putting pressure on a potentially suspect joint or tendon.

Take your bikes with you on holiday or hire one and you will cover far more ground than you would on foot! Many families now choose mountain biking as a great way to get to know an area and have fun together

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The Benefits Of Mountain Biking | realbuzz.com

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Mountain Biking Here are 6 top reasons why you should get involved with mountain biking, from fitness to making friends, check out the best benefits from off-road biking. Mountain biking is a great for fitness having humerous benefits, including improving your cardiovascular system. It is also perfect for those returning from injury being a non-load-bearing sport.

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15 benefits of cycling: why cycling is great for fitness, legs and mind

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Thinking of joining the cycling family? We look at the benefits of cycling and explain why the best way to get fit is by bike.

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If you're in a good mood at your desk while everyone else has the Monday morning blues, it could have something to do with your ride into work, according to the latest research.

A study by the YMCA has revealed what every cyclist knows already: that exercise makes you happier, with people with a physically active lifestyle having a wellbeing score that is 32 per cent higher than those with inactive lifestyles.
>>> Benefits of cycling: reasons to get on your bike
Researchers questioned 1,000 UK adults on a variety of factors affecting wellbeing, such as feeling cheerful and being optimistic about the future, and then analysed the relationship between their answers and their lifestyle.

The results showed that having an active lifestyle increased wellbeing scores by an average of 13 per cent, with exercise being particularly useful for helping people feel relaxed and increasing self-esteem.
Watch: Six off-season training tips
http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/?bctid=5232055555001 http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/?bctid=5191030437001

Speaking about the findings, Rosi Prescott, the chief executive at Centra YMCA, said that she wasn't surprised by the results of the report.

"These results confirm something we at Central YMCA have been aware of for a long time - physical activity greatly impacts our overall wellbeing.
>>> Benefits of cycling to work outweighdamage caused by pollution, study claims
"Our organisation works with people every day to help them lead more active lifestyles so we see first-hand how increases in physical activity can impact your mood, wellbeing and ultimately happiness.

"So, we're not surprised that the research has shown those who are more active typically enjoy wellbeing scores that are up to a third better than those who are less active."

However, it's not all about exercise, with mental stimulation having the same impact on wellbeing as leading an active lifestyle.

Being surrounded by negative relationships also has the potential to reduce wellbeing by 33 per cent, so the report doesn't give you complete free rein ride your bike while your partner looks after the kids and does the shopping. Sorry.

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It's official: cycling makes you happier - Cycling Weekly

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If you're in a good mood at your desk while everyone else has the Monday morning blues, it could have something to do with your ride into work, according to the latest research.

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We all want to know how many calories we burn while cycling, but while it's easy to make an estimate, it's hard to get an accurate figure. Anita Bean and Dave Bradford explore common questions around cycling and calorie burn
It's a question we've all pondered: how many calories do I burn riding a bike? You can find quick and easy-to-apply equations to the number of calories burned cycling - but alas, life is rarely that simple. Even GPS devices and apps, though useful, can't guarantee an accurate figure.

Estimated calories burned cycling

Let's start with the estimates, which are typically based on your weight and the speed you ride. Easy as pie (literally) - here's how they can stack up.

Unfortunately, using online calorie calculators is liable to misestimate, possibly by as much as 20 per cent, depending on your course. Unlike the runner, whose energy expenditure is more easily predicted, we cyclists fall prey to a whole host of variables. First and most - obviously - we have wheels: while freewheeling downhill, we're burning minimal energy.

Aerodynamics is the next-biggest factor - and not just wind direction or speed. The bigger your frontal surface area, the greater your aerodynamic drag. If you have a large body, an upright riding position and flappy clothes, you're going to need more energy just to cut through the air, especially compared to a whippet-thin rider in tight Lycra whose weight is concentrated in his legs.

Other factors affecting calorie expenditure include rolling resistance - width of tyres, road surface - and weight (combined with gravity). When it comes to the latter, remember it's the total overall climb or fall that matters: we like to forget that, in terms of energy, those tough climbs are somewhat offset by the descents.

Diet, too, needs a mention here. Despite the onslaught of fad diets and related pseudo-science, weight loss is still a simple matter of calories in versus calories out, but that doesn't mean you can eat whatever you like. The type and quality of food you eat can affect how quickly and efficiently you turn fuel into forward motion. Ride hard and you'll burn mostly carbohydrate, whereas at an easier pace you'll burn a higher proportion of fat - all of which is explained in more detail below.

How important is calorie counting?

The question as to whether all calories are equal has been hotly debated by scientists for many years, and has proved to be a controversial topic. Some believe that a calorie is a calorie no matter where it comes from: to lose weight people simply need to eat less and move more.

Others believe that no calories are alike, and that provided you choose the source of your calories carefully, then you can lose weight without having to count up your intake.

"There's no doubt that energy (calorie) balance - represented as calories in versus calories out - matters when it comes to weight loss," explains Dr James Betts, associate professor in nutrition and metabolism at the University of Bath. "Long-term changes in mass are generally proportionate over time to the net balance between energy in and out."

Indeed, studies using rigorous standards have consistently shown that when people create a calorie deficit, they lose weight. Conversely, when people eat more calories than they need, they gain weight.

"To lose weight, you need to be in a state of negative energy balance," clarifies exercise physiologist and nutritionist Dr Scott Robinson (guruperformance.com).

Can eating 'good' calories instead of 'bad' calories help you lose weight? Some people claim that you can lose weight without a calorie deficit.

Further, they claim you can lose more weight on the same calorie deficit by avoiding carbohydrate, i.e. calories from carbs are 'bad' as they can be turned into body fat more readily than 'good' calories from protein or fat.

Their argument comes from studies that show greater weight losses from low-carb diets compared to high-carb diets, despite the participants claiming to eat the same calories.

However, when you look more closely, these studies were conducted under 'free-living conditions' which means participants were free to choose what and how much they ate. By excluding carbs, the low-carbohydrate dieters ended up eating more protein.

When people eat more protein, they feel fuller and eat fewer calories without realising it. So, the participants' greater weight loss can be explained by their lower calorie intake (not directly the type of calories).

In studies where calories were more rigorously controlled, there is little or no difference in weight loss between high- and low-carbohydrate diets.

Also, in longer-term studies lasting longer than six months, adherence falls and people on high-carb or low-carb diets lose about the same amount of weight. The bottom line is that calories do count: you cannot lose weight eating 'good' calories if you don't create a calorie deficit.

A calorie's a calorie... isn't it?

Does the body respond differently to calories from different nutrients?

"By definition, a calorie is a calorie in terms of the energy it delivers," says Robinson. "However, there is a difference in the way calories from different macronutrients (proteins, carbohydrate and fat) are absorbed and metabolised by the body."

Some of the calories you consume are used up digesting and processing the food and turning it into accessible fuel. This is called the thermic effect of food (TEF). Protein has a much higher TEF than the other macronutrients, equating to 25-30 per cent of total calories.

Thus, if you eat 100 calories of protein, 25-30 of these calories will be lost as heat, and only about 70-75 will be absorbed.

In contrast, eight to 12 per cent of the calories consumed in the form of carbs and two to three per cent of the calories in fat are used up in digesting it.

"The precise magnitude varies depending on various factors, some known, some unknown," says Betts.

"You also need to consider the effects the different macronutrients have on satiety, or how full up they make you feel," explains Robinson. "Protein has a higher satiating effect than carbohydrate or fat, so it can help you maintain a negative energy balance."

In other words, consuming foods high in protein (such as eggs, fish or milk) will help keep you feeling full longer, whereas snacking on, say, a packet of crisps will stave off hunger far less effectively.

This also explains why high-protein, low-carbohydrate diets may produce greater weight loss (at least in the short term) compared to other diets: protein makes you feel less hungry so you spontaneously eat less.

So, let's get this straight: if you overeat 300kcal in carbs, will you put on the same amount of weight as you would have had you over-eaten 300kcals of protein? Anything that tips you into positive energy balance will result in weight gain. However, when you overeat carbohydrate or protein, some of the calories are used for heat production (DIT).

Overfeeding studies at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Centre, US, have shown that when people overeat carbohydrate they burn more carbohydrate (converting it to heat), and only about 75-85 per cent of the excess calories are stored as fat. On the other hand, when they overeat fat, 90-95 per cent of the extra calories get stored as fat.

"This happens because we have a limitless capacity to store fat, whereas our capacity for carbohydrate storage is small and limited," clarifies Betts.

For cyclists who regularly deplete their glycogen stores, it's even harder to accumulate fat mass from excess carbs. When you eat carbohydrate, it is burned in preference to other fuels and stored as glycogen before it's converted into fat.

A landmark study at the University of Lausanne in 1988 found that carbs are converted to fat ('de novo lipogenesis') only when your glycogen stores are full and when you are in positive energy balance. In this experiment, participants ate 5,000kcal and 1,000g carbs a day for five days.

They didn't gain as much body fat as predicted; instead, much of the excess carbohydrate was used to fuel normal metabolism (they stopped burning all other fuels). The more carbs they ate, the greater their energy expenditure. In essence, your body has a degree of metabolic flexibility and is able to use more of the fuel most readily available to it.
Watch: Five ways to eat for weight loss
The power of protein

Similarly, overeating protein results in less fat gain than overeating fat. Research at Nova South-eastern University, Florida published in 2014, found that resistance-trained athletes who consumed 800 extra calories of protein a day (mostly from protein powder, averaging 4.4g/kg/day which is more than five times the recommended daily intake) for eight weeks didn't gain fat weight, as would be expected.

Theoretically, they should have put on somewhere in the region of five to six kilos.

It seems, then, that surplus calories from carbohydrate or protein are less readily converted to body fat than fat calories. "The take-home message seems to be that if you intend to overeat, it's better the extra calories come from protein - or carbohydrate - than fat," says Robinson.

Is it worth counting calories?

"I don't ask my clients to count calories - I give them portion guidelines and tailor that according to their activity. Your overall goal should be to consume balanced meals," says Robinson.

Tracking your calories using apps can be useful to make you more aware of what you're eating but it isn't as accurate as we are led to believe.

"That's because the numbers you see on food labels and databases are averages and don't consider the energy required to digest those foods (TEF), which in a mixed diet accounts for around 10 per cent of the calories you consume, or the way food is prepared," explains registered dietitian Lynne Garton (alimenta.co.uk).

What's more, how you prepare food changes its calorie content. Cooking your food makes more of the calories available for absorption, as does chopping, blending, mashing, even chewing. Generally, more calories are absorbed from processed foods than unprocessed food.

Some calories pass through undigested. "In certain foods, such as nuts and seeds, some of the calories (macronutrients) are 'locked up' in the food matrix and cannot be digested by gut enzymes," adds Garton. Recently, US researchers have found that we absorb fewer calories from nuts and seeds than previously thought.

For example, almonds have been shown to contain 129kcal per 28g serving, 20 per cent fewer calories than previously estimated.

Even the bacteria in our gut can increase or decrease the calories we absorb. People with a higher proportion of firmicutes bacteria absorb an average of 150 calories more per day than those with a higher proportion of bacteroidetes.

Should you track your calories burned cycling and in other activities?

Wearable devices for measuring calorie expenditure have become extremely popular with cyclists. But research suggests we shouldn't put too much faith in their readings.

"Calorie expenditure figures used on online calculators and fitness trackers are based on predictive equations so aren't very accurate," warns elite cycling coach Roland Kemp. "I may advise my cyclists to use them to increase motivation or to help them understand how many calories they burn versus how many they should be eating.

"Sometimes people think that doing an hour's cycling means you can eat three times your body weight in food, which means you undo all the calorie-burning benefits of your exercise."

A 2016 study of 12 popular wearable devices by Japanese researchers found there was considerable variation between the devices when compared with energy expenditure measured in a metabolic chamber (the gold standard of measurement).

Some (e.g. Garmin and Jawbone) underestimated calorie expenditure by a couple of hundred calories over a 24-hour period while others (e.g. Fitbit and Omron) overestimated by a similar magnitude. The researchers concluded that "most wearable devices do not produce a valid measure of total energy expenditure."

Down to the individual

There are numerous factors that affect how many calories you burn during exercise and at rest: your weight, body composition (muscle burns calories, fat doesn't), your genes, how much brown fat (fat tissue containing more mitochondria) you possess, sleep and hormones; all affect metabolic rate.

"There is a huge difference between individuals in how many calories they expend," notes Betts.

"Physical activity is the factor that has the greatest impact, as you can expend large amounts of energy by moving around doing exercise and/or simply living an active lifestyle - or alternatively you can spend very few calories by staying still and living a sedentary life."

So, are all calories equal? Yes and no. A calorie is a calorie from a thermodynamic point of view because the human body cannot create or destroy energy, only convert from one form to another.

But in terms of different macronutrients and the effects they have on the body, all calories are not equal.

Different foods have different effects on the body. If you want to lose weight, you need to focus not solely on the number of calories you're eating but also the source of those calories, your activity level, body composition and all the other factors discussed above.

Calories burned cycling and weight loss: the essential points

To lose weight, you need to create a calorie deficit.

The notion that some calories are 'good' while others are 'bad' is misleading.

It's easier to achieve a calorie deficit if you consume adequate protein (which reduces hunger) and minimise highly processed calorie-dense foods (which increase hunger). Cooking from scratch using healthy recipes will help you monitor where your calories are coming from.

The amount of energy you get from food depends where those calories come from - it takes more energy to digest and process protein than carbohydrate, which requires more energy than fat.

Protein has a higher satiating effect than carbohydrate or fat.

You are less likely to gain fat eating extra protein or carbohydrate compared with fat. However, this isn't a licence to eat as much as you want.

Calorie counting is not an exact science - don't attach too much precision to values on food labels.

Don't put too much faith in calorie tracking - accuracy of most popular fitness trackers vary +/- 20 per cent over 24 hours and among different individuals.

For most cyclists trying to lose weight, cutting calories by a conservative 15-20 per cent will help increase fat loss and minimise protein loss.

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Calories burned cycling: everything you need to know - Cycling Weekly

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We all want to know how many calories we burn while cycling, but while it's easy to make an estimate, it's hard to get an accurate figure. Anita Bean and Dave Bradford explore common questions around cycling and calorie burn It's a question we've all pondered: how many calories do I burn riding a bike?

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-Bethany

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What does it look like?

Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) was first reported in 2006. Beekeepers began reporting high colony losses where the adult honeybees simply disappeared from the hives, almost all at the same time. There were few, if any, dead bees found in or around the hives. The queen and immature bees (brood) were often found in the hives with plenty of food stores, inadequately attended by a few adult bees.

What causes it?

CCD is believed to be complex and a result of multiple factors. One study evaluated 61 factors, and found that no single stressor stood out as the primary cause of CCD. However, colonies affected by CCD had more pathogens and more types of pathogens than colonies without CCD. Pathogens are disease-causing organisms. A group of stakeholders that gathered in 2012 found a similar consensus, that a complex group of stressors and pathogens are associated with CCD.

How is the problem changing?

The study of CCD has improved scientists' understanding that one or multiple stressors can lead to colony loss. In addition to CCD, parasites and pathogens, poor nutrition, pesticide exposure, lack of genetic diversity, and habitat loss can weaken or kill honeybee colonies. The number of colonies reported to be lost to CCD has been declining since 2008, but overall colony loss rate is still a major concern. For the past eight years, about 30% of colonies have been lost each winter, but that number dropped to 23% in 2013-14. In 2013, surveyors attributed about 30% of colony losses to CCD, compared to 60% of colony losses in 2008.

If you have questions about colony collapse disorder, or any pesticide-related topic, please call NPIC at 800-858-7378 (8:00am - 12:00pm PST), or email at npic@ace.orst.edu.

Additional Resources:

This information was reviewed by Dr. Ramesh Sagili and Dr. Louisa Hooven on June 5, 2015.

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Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) was first reported in 2006. Beekeepers began reporting high colony losses where the adult honeybees simply disappeared from the hives, almost all at the same time. There were few, if any, dead bees found in or around the hives.

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- Bethany

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Newsela | Teen suspended for "trying to incite violence" with anti-bullying video

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A student was suspended for filming an anti-bullying video in her high school's classroom.

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Newsela | Fifth-grader publishes a book about childhood depression

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-Wisteria https://newsela.com/read/florida-honeybees/id/5456/

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Put yourself shin-deep in your favorite trout stream. The water's cold and clean. Its course is broken by rocks and downed wood, sheltered by overhanging foliage. You know where the trout lie, and know where the fly needs to hit the water. You know what's hatching. Everything is perfect.

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TU's Headwaters Youth Program is a comprehensive introduction to trout and salmon conservation for America's young people, ranging from Stream Explorers as primary students all the way to it's Five Rivers Program for college students. It encompasses the popular Trout in the Classroom project, as well. By interacting with youth, TU not only hopes to introduce young people to the conservation science behind trout and salmon, but the joy of angling for wild fish in the waters where they belong.

TU is blessed by thousands of enthusiastic volunteers, and the First Cast Program hopes to tap into their expertise, and work with those volunteers to introduce young people to TU and to trout and salmon conservation via fly fishing using a proven curriculum and the enthusiasm of our grassroots.

The Veterans Service Partnership (VSP) is TU's initiative to serve our nation's veterans and active military, able and disabled, their spouses, and their families and involve them with TU chapter activities with the ultimate goal of engaging them in meaningful and sustaining ways with the TU community locally and the mission more universally.

The 2nd Edition of My Healthy Stream -- A Handbook for Streamside Owners is now available along with a companion slide presentation. The intent of the handbook is to provide practical and scientifically sound guidance on the stewardship of small streams and riparian areas. The new edition includes a chapter on urban stream rehabilitation. Other chapters discuss values of healthy streams, establishing riparian buffer zones, dealing with invasive species, trout habitat needs, stream restoration techniques and dealing with floods and droughts.

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Boats and boating--Equipment and supplies

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TU's Headwaters Youth Program is a comprehensive introduction to trout and salmon conservation for America's young people, ranging from Stream Explorers as primary students all the way to it's Five Rivers Program for college students. It encompasses the popular Trout in the Classroom project, as well.

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What can you do in a roadless area? Just about anything. What is a roadless area?
Roadless areas, or Inventoried Roadless Areas, are generally those undeveloped portions of National Forests 5,000 acres or larger that are not designated as Wilderness, but that meet to minimum criteria for for consideration under the Wilderness Act. Most inventoried roadless areas were identified in an extensive national survey completed in 1979, called the Roadless Area Review and Evaluation. Until the 2001 Roadless Area Conservation Rule (see below) was promulgated, there was not a consistent level of protection for these public lands even though they contain some of most intact public lands fish and wildlife habitat left in the country.

There are nearly 58 million acres of roadless areas across 39 states, accounting for only 2% land base of the United States. These unroaded portions of our National Forests provide some of the best fish and wildlife habitat and hunting and angling opportunities for Americans of all walks of life, as well as some of the last strongholds for native trout and salmon.
What is the Roadless Rule?
The Roadless Area Conservation Rule, or Roadless Rule was promulgated during the Clinton Administration following a robust public process in which 1.6 million public comments - a record at the time - informed the final rule. The new rule provided important protections for 58 million acres of backcountry public lands managed by the Forest Service by generally prohibiting new road construction and commercial logging on these sensitive backcountry lands.
What can you do in a roadless area?
As a public land user, about anything you want within reason. Roadless areas are truly multiple use, open for hunting, fishing, firewood cutting, camping, hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, livestock grazing, berry picking, OHV riding and snowmobiling consistent with management plans...just to name a few allowed uses. Existing rights for oil and gas development and mining are honored and active management is allowed to improve habitat for threatened, endangered or sensitive species, or to maintain and restore ecosystems, including hazardous fuels thinning and to reduce the risk of uncharacteristic wildfires.

Some roadless areas that are also recommended for wilderness designation might include additional limitations, but in short, the Roadless Rule just says no new road construction. It is designed to keep it like it is and maintain backcountry lands as they are today for future generations to enjoy.
Why are roadless areas important for hunters and anglers?
In a word, habitat. Quality hunting and fishing depends on healthy, intact fish and game habitat, something that roadless areas provide in spades.

In Colorado, 71% of Colorado River Cutthroat Trout habitat is found in roadless areas. In Utah, 80% of roadless backcountry is critical habitat for elk. In Montana, a five-week rifle hunting season is thanks to habitat security provided by backcountry lands. In Wyoming, the headwaters for 2/3 of the state-designated Blue Ribbon streams are in roadless areas. More than 70% of all the remaining trout, steelhead and salmon habitat on Tongass National Forest in Alaska are found within the forest's roadless areas.

These are the last, best places for fish and wildlife and we must maintain the integrity of America's roadless areas if we are going to sustain our outdoor traditions.
Do we need new roads to access public lands?
Put simply, no. The Forest Service road network includes over 370,000 miles of roads, enough to circle the Earth nearly fifteen times. That's a lot of roads out on our public lands. Moreover, the Forest Service currently has a $3 billion backlog on road maintenance. Many of these unmaintained roads are sources of sediment that degrades water quality and compromises healthy habitat for trout and salmon.

We all use roads to access our public lands, but building new roads into backcountry roadless lands is fiscally reckless and would harm hunting and fishing opportunities. We have enough roads. What we don't have are enough well-maintained roads that are safe for both forest users and our fisheries.
What's next for roadless areas?
After it was finalized, the Roadless Rule was immediately litigated, sparking a legal saga that spanned the next sixteen years. Ultimately, sportsmen and conservationists prevailed, but threats remain.

Having lost their court challenge, the State of Alaska has petitioned the Forest Service to partially exempt the Tongass National Forest from the Roadless Rule. Likewise, similar efforts are being considered for National Forests in Utah and Wyoming. Congress has also taken up the issue, both for and against, with Senator Cantwell (D-WA) introducing legislation that would preserve current protections for roadless areas while others members of Congress have pursued legislative riders that would exempt Alaska from the Roadless Rule.

We may not know what the future holds for roadless areas, but hunters and anglers have defended these backcountry lands for decades and we'll stand up for them as long as there remain efforts to unravel protections for our special places.

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What can you do in a roadless area? Just about anything. What is a roadless area? Roadless areas, or Inventoried Roadless Areas, are generally those undeveloped portions of National Forests 5,000 acres or larger that are not designated as Wilderness, but that meet to minimum criteria for for consideration under the Wilderness Act.

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Trout Unlimited is devoting the month of September to celebrating America's public lands and diving into the issues facing our hunting and fishing heritage. Starting Sept. 1, we will be taking the entire month to reflect on the connection we have to America's public lands and the threats we all face that could rob us of our birthright.

"It's no coincidence that National Hunting and Fishing Day and National Public Lands Day are both during September," said Corey Fisher, senior policy director for Trout Unlimited's Sportsmen's Conservation Project. "The month is tailor-made for sportsmen and women and we are taking a month-long look at public lands and what they mean to us as hunters, anglers and Americans. In-between adventures casting to brown trout, bow-hunting elk and following pointing dogs, we are urging folks to contact their decision makers and advocate for policies that will protect our outdoor traditions."

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Trout Unlimited is devoting the month of September to celebrating America's public lands and diving into the issues facing our hunting and fishing heritage. Starting Sept. 1, we will be taking the entire month to reflect on the connection we have to America's public lands and the threats we all face that could rob us of our birthright.

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In the eastern part of North America, brook trout are a crucial native species of salmonid. Tennesseee Trout Unlimited volunteers, teachers, and state agency folks have worked together to create a Back the Brookie Module. In it, you will find a teacher resource guide, student worksheets, and videos addressing six main themes.

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How to tell if a body of water is healthy

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Ministre | Ministère | Air | Biodiversité | Changements climatiques | Développement durable | Eau | Évaluations environnementales

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I hang around ecologists most of the time, and when I go into the field with some of them, I frequently hear them say that a local stream is "unhealthy." Now, I can imagine that if it contained raw sewage or toxic and corrosive chemicals, it would be pretty clear to everyone that a stream was unhealthy. But, are there other criteria that pertain as well?

The most extreme examples of unhealthy streams I have seen are in Phoenix and Los Angeles, where streams have been converted to straight, concrete-lined culverts that carry water in a raging torrent when it rains, but most of the time they carry nothing at all. So, my first criterion for a healthy stream is that it should not be a prisoner to its channel. A healthy stream will not be incised and it will retain the capacity to overflow its channel every now and again and spread out over its floodplain. The vegetation in the floodplain will benefit from sediment deposited during floods, and the floodplain will provide a reservoir to hold floodwaters that might be problematic downstream.

Unfortunately, many urban and suburban areas are covered with concrete-what ecologists call impervious surface-that maximizes runoff, erodes stream channels and causes streams to be incised. If we allow more infiltration of rainfall into the soil in the uplands, that will reduce its rapid, or quick-flow to stream channels, where it induces flooding and erosion. A river is a reflection of the watershed it drains; a watershed that has been highly altered by concrete and development will contain a river with greatly compromised health.

A healthy stream will have a lot of obstacles in its channel-such as rocks and fallen logs. Some of these will capture materials washing down the stream to form small debris dams that produce pools of water on their upside and spills of water as it passes over the debris. This spillage mixes bubbles of air into the water, increasing its oxygen content to the benefit of stream invertebrates and fish. Rocks in the stream channel produce riffles of shallow flow, which are the preferred habitat for some species. In short, a healthy stream will not simply carry water downslope at high speeds, but promote a slow, meandering movement of water that rejuvenates it. It may look inefficient, but it will be a healthy ecosystem.

The floodplain is an intimate part of a healthy stream. Periodically, when a stream overflows its banks and spreads out over the floodplain, small temporary ponds and puddles are filled. These are not only excellent wildlife habitat, but they also harbor denitrifying bacteria, which convert nitrate in the streamwater to the nitrogen gas (N ₂) that fills 78% of our atmosphere. Without the removal of nitrate, streams and rivers carry increasing loads of nitrate to the sea, where it promotes blooms of algae, fish kills, red tide and other undesirable seaside conditions. Denitrifying bacteria provide one of nature's services, cleaning streamwaters on their way to the sea. To operate, denitrifying bacteria need suboxic (low oxygen) soils or sediments with lots of organic matter.

The connection of a stream to its floodplain was overlooked in more than a century of land development, which favored building houses in the floodplain zone. Many of these are now flooded catastrophically during large floods. Proper zoning will prohibit building of structures in floodplains-not just to save money for the insurance industry, but to allow these floodplains to serve their proper role as part of the larger stream ecosystem.

A few months ago, this blog examined ecosystem restoration and designer ecosystems ( http://blogs.nicholas.duke.edu/citizenscientist/designer-ecosystems/). Stream restoration is promoted in many areas to restore the natural operation of stream ecosystems. These efforts are worthwhile, but as my earlier essay outlines most such efforts fall short in replicating the services of nature. When new plans for land development are before the public, stream ecosystems and their floodplains should be at the top of the list for preservation.

References:

Allan. J.D. and M.M. Castillo. 2007. Stream Ecology, Second Edition. Springer.

Environmental Protection Agency. 2015. Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters: A Review and Synthesis of the Scientific Evidence. https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/risk/recordisplay.cfm?deid=296414&CFID=57703684&CFTOKEN=41807459

Paul, M.J. and J.L. Meyer. 2001. Streams in the urban landscape. Annual Review of Ecology and Systematics 32: 333-365.

Violin, C.R., P. Cada, E.B. Sudduth, B.A. Hassett, D.L. Penrose, and E.S. Bernhardt. 2011. Effects of urbanization and urban stream restoration on the physical and biological structure of stream ecosystems. Ecological Applications 21: 1932-1949.

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I hang around ecologists most of the time, and when I go into the field with some of them, I frequently hear them say that a local stream is "unhealthy." Now, I can imagine that if it contained raw sewage or toxic and corrosive chemicals, it would be pretty clear to everyone that a stream was unhealthy.

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9.2 Habitat indicators of stream health

HABITAT QUALITY
Water velocity

Water velocity

Water velocity depends mostly on the slope of the stream, though in streams in rolling to hilly catchments that have the pool-riffle-run structure (see pages 9.28-9.29 for an explanation) there will be variations in flow velocity over a short distance. Selecting a "run" area as a monitoring site helps to ensure that the velocity is easy to measure (no obstructions or very slow-moving areas).

The water velocity measured from the rate of movement of a floating object is only a rough indication because water moves at different speeds at different depths and distances from the stream edge. In a shallow stream the measurement is an approximation of maximum water velocity, because water speed is greatest where friction is least - at the surface near the centre of the channel. Near the bed, water movement is slower because of friction between the water and the substrate. Obstructions in the stream (e.g., logs, debris, silted-up areas) also slow down the flow.

Water velocity represents one of the most important environmental factors affecting the biota of streams. On one hand, water delivers food materials and oxygen and removes waste materials; on the other hand, flow is a direct force on organisms. Both invertebrates and plants have evolved ways to withstand high flows and to take advantage of the associated high oxygen content and nutrient supply. These include taking refuge in the slower moving areas, for example, beneath or behind large stones on the stream bed, or within the leaves and stems of water plants. This means that even faster flowing waters can support diverse and healthy communities of invertebrates and periphyton.

Very slow flows represent the most unfavourable conditions for stream life. Under these conditions the oxygen supply is restricted and there is potential for wide variations in both pH and temperature (see sections below) which can be harmful to aquatic invertebrates.

Water velocity is a local factor that generally cannot be altered, though very slow flows may be a result of an obstruction or damming downstream of the site. Seasonal growth of water plants may affect water velocity. If flow velocity differs markedly from one monitoring to the next, then some activity upstream or downstream could be causing the change.

Less than 0.1 m/sec
Rating: very poor
Score: 1

Less than 0.1 metres/second

The stream is very sluggish and invertebrates that require rapidly flowing, clean, waters such as mayflies and stoneflies will probably not be present. The bed is likely to be fairly silty and could well have profuse aquatic plant growth. Mats of long filamentous algae can grow from stable attachment points and snails, midges and worms probably dominate the invertebrate community.

This could be a natural condition for your stream, and in this case it is especially important that the stream is protected from other sources of degradation.

Water pH

Water pH

pH is a measure of the concentration of hydrogen ions in the water, and hence the strength of acid present. The pH scale ranges from 1 to 14, with pH 7 indicating neutral conditions. Under 7 is acid and over 7 is alkaline. With increasingly acid waters, numbers of species and individuals of aquatic organisms decrease. For example, some species avoid egg-laying in low pH conditions.

Rainwater is normally slightly acidic because it contains dissolved CO ₂ from the air. A small proportion of the gas dissolved in pure water forms carbonic acid (H ₂CO ₃). Stream water usually contains bicarbonate and carbonates and the carbonic acid itself can dissolve carbonate rocks to form carbonates; all this tends to neutralise the acid so that natural waters do not usually experience wide fluctuations in pH.

Industrial activity in northern Europe has lead to the formation of strong acids (sulphuric and nitric acids) in the atmosphere and this has contributed to a lowering of pH in surface waters of the Northern Hemisphere. Such effects are not common in New Zealand. However, many streams have naturally low pH due to high concentrations of humic substances - the products of vegetation decay which are picked up as water percolates through the ground before reaching a stream. In brown-water streams draining swampy areas pH measures of 5 or less are quite common.

pH: 8 - 9 Rating: fair
Score: 5

pH: 8 to 9

pH in the 8 to 9 range is moderately high and usually signifies intense photosynthetic activity by periphyton and macrophytes. This can be checked by taking another recording the following morning before 8 a.m. If the pH has dropped back to 7.5 to 8.0, then the high daytime reading is probably a result of aquatic plant growth.

Water temperature

Water temperature

Stream temperature is important because every species has a preferred temperature range. The range varies considerably from species to species. Sometimes, a temperature change is important, for example, as a trigger for egg hatching in some mayflies. Many organisms are unable to survive in temperatures above about 30 °C (except for some adapted to life in hot springs). At the other end of the scale, temperatures below freezing point constitute a very harsh environment because of the effects of ice.

A single temperature measurement is not particularly informative, but a series over time will provide a rough picture of the temperature regime in a stream. The longer the series and the closer together the measurements, the more informative the series will be.

Temperature depends largely on time of year and weather conditions. Stream type also plays a part. For example, lowland streams tend to experience quite stable temperatures (i.e., closely following average air temperatures). Shading along streams reduces the occurrence of extremely high water temperatures.

Water temperature fluctuates on a daily basis and for this reason it is suggested that measurements are always conducted at the same time of day.

Less than 5
Rating: fair
Score: 5

Less than 5 oC

Values below 5 ºC are low and indicative of winter conditions in southern regions. Invertebrate and periphyton growth would be slow in such waters. Some species may be excluded.

5 to 9.9
Rating: good
Score: 8

Values of 5 to 10°C are moderate to low and indicative of winter conditions. Most invertebrates and periphyton can survive well in these temperatures.

15 to 19.9
Rating: good
Score: 5

Temperatures of 15 to 20°C will start to be stressful for some invertebrates (e.g., stoneflies).

Water conductivity

Water conductivity

Conductivity is a measure of the total ionic strength of the water and is widely used in water quality studies as a quick field indication of the level of enrichment (i.e., nutrient content) of the water. It is measured in microSiemens per centimetre (mS/cm). The method has limitations. In particular, areas that receive geothermal inputs or are subject to tidal influence will show higher readings because of the presence of non-nutrient ions (for example, the sodium ions in seawater). For most farm streams a conductivity reading should give a reasonable indication of nutrient levels.

All stream waters contain some nutrients as a result of natural conditions and processes. The underlying rock type determines the "base" level of nutrients in streams (see pages 9.25-9.27). Runoff and seepage are natural processes which add extra nutrients. In agricultural areas these inputs may increase because of both non-point-sources, such as gradual runoff from cultivated land, and direct inputs from stock faeces and urine.

Nutrient level is important in stream health because, under suitable conditions, excessive amounts encourage proliferations of algal growth which can in turn lead to wide daily fluctuations in both pH and dissolved oxygen levels which are known to be harmful to fish. Thick growths also exclude certain invertebrate species (e.g., mayfly larvae), and there is an overall degradation of waterways in both biology and appearance. In larger streams and rivers, periodic high flows can flush out algal growth. However, in small farm streams, the degradation may be less easy to reverse.

Note that after prolonged or heavy rain, the conductivity of stream water may be elevated due to increased runoff.

Water clarity

Water clarity

The clarity of stream water has a powerful influence on people's perception of stream health: clear water is generally assumed to be clean.

Clarity is also an important feature of the habitat for stream life because it affects the amount of light that gets through to the stream bottom. Plants (in this case, periphyton - algae) need light for photosynthesis, and hence growth. If algal growth is strongly inhibited by low water clarity, and if the problem persists for long enough, there may be flow-on effects. For example, invertebrates that consume algae may die out.

Water clarity generally reflects the amount of fine suspended sediment in the water. The size of the sediment load depends on underlying rock type and the amount of erosion or stream-bed disturbance going on upstream. On farms, a range of activities may contribute: cultivation too close to the stream edge; stock in the stream; bank collapse. Recent rainfall may cause sediment input to increase. In slow-flowing streams, sediment may settle out onto the stream bed, with the potential effect of smothering invertebrate and periphyton habitat.

The apparatus provided with this kit ("clarity tube") is based on a scientific method of measuring water clarity called the black disk method (Davies-Colley 1988). The clarity tube has been designed for use on farm streams that are fairly turbid (see Kilroy & Biggs 2002). The following is a commentary on the range of readings that may be obtained.

Clear to bottom
Rating: excellent
Score: 10

Clear to bottom

For a farm stream this represents nice, clear water! Note that the New Zealand clarity standard for recreational use of fresh water (e.g., swimming) (MfE 1994) is a conventional black disk measurement of 1.6 metres. This is equivalent to a clarity tube reading of about 85 cm (see the SHMAK information sheet "Measuring Water Clarity: Tube, Disk and Turbidity" in Unit 15. Educational and training material).

Composition of the stream bed

Composition of the stream bed

A range of materials can make up the stream bed, from solid bedrock through to fine silt.

Bed material type has a major influence on the type of organisms found in a stream and this is reflected in the scores assigned to the different materials. To obtain an overall score for a given stream site, the monitoring system requires an estimate of the coverage of each different category.

Bed composition may not change greatly between monitoring occasions. Indeed, in healthy streams any changes will be minor. However, because of the potential for siltation, or clearing out of silt, on farm streams, it is useful to record the bed composition after any changes in the stream environment due to major natural events (e.g., floods) or changes in land-use practices.

Score summary for stream bed composition

Water plants (rooted in the stream bed)

Water plants usually grow in streams with silt or sand beds. They provide an extra layer of habitat above the bed. Many aquatic plants such as water cress (emergent plant) and oxygen weed (submerged plant) are used by snails, worms and caddisfly larvae as habitat. However, some aquatic plants can reduce stream health by choking waterways and inducing harsh instream conditions.

Understanding your stream bed scores: summary

Score: -20 to -10
Much of the stream bed is silt, sand or artificial surfaces. The former two are unstable and all three are poor habitat for most invertebrates and periphyton.

Score: -10 to 0
Bedrock does not have many crevices for invertebrates to hide in so is not very good habitat. Snails can occupy the surfaces. Sand tends to be very mobile and poor habitat also. Gravels, woody debris and water plants can provide limited habitat for invertebrates, but are generally poorly colonised by periphyton.

Score: 0 to 10
Moderately high proportions of cobbles provide good invertebrate and periphyton habitat.

Score: 10 to 20
Large proportions of the bed composed of cobbles provides really good habitat for invertebrates and periphyton.

Deposits

Deposits

Deposits (fine, loose, usually pale brown "flocculent" [almost floating]) material covering or partly covering the stream substrate) can form a temporary covering on the stream and generally indicate that some recent event has caused excess suspended sediment to settle out. This can happen when extra silt has entered the stream, or when the water flow has slowed down to below "normal". Streams with sand or silt beds may also have additional deposits and these are identified from material settling out on leaves of water plants near the banks. Deposits are not always easy to identify, especially on streams that already have silt or sand-covered beds.

Little/none Rating: excellent
Score: 10

Little or none noticed

Clean gravel/cobble/boulder/bedrock surfaces are good for stream life.

Bank vegetation

Bank vegetation

The vegetation growing on the banks of a stream forms an important part of the stream habitat. Taller plants provide shade and important habitat for adult insects. Shade helps to reduce temperature extremes, especially in slow-flowing streams. On small streams, even short vegetation gives valuable shade. All substantial vegetation (i.e., not crops or close-cropped grass) protects the stream from exposure to sunshine and winds. Root systems help to stabilise the stream bank and prevent erosion, especially if vegetation grows right down to the water's edge. Inputs such as leaf fall add organic matter to the system and are an important food for some invertebrates. Vegetation growing immediately next to the water provides shelter for fish. Bank vegetation as a whole acts as a filter for runoff from the surrounding land, removing nutrients and thereby partly "purifying" the water before it enters the stream. A diverse, native vegetation is most desirable.

Wetland vegetation
Rating: excellent
Score: 10

Wetland vegetation

Marginal wetlands are extremely good for filtering out pollution from the land such as silt and nutrients, particularly when stock are denied access to these sensitive areas. Wetland vegetation is often recommended as suitable for riparian planting (see Collier et al. 1995) and the restoration and protection of natural wetlands is encouraged. Waters flowing from wetlands are often "tea-stained" from the tannins released from decomposing vegetation. There is usually very little pollution from nutrients and silt in such streams.

Rock, gravels
Score: 5

Rock, gravels

Rock and gravelly banks are of little value to stream ecosystems, except where this is a natural feature of the stream type (e.g. braided rivers). They do not have negative impacts, but neither do they benefit the stream by providing shade or filtering runoff from surrounding lands. Such banks may be more easily eroded during floods than tree-lined banks. Overall their influence is "neutral".

Bare ground, roads, buildings
Rating: poor
Score: -10

Bare ground, roads, buildings

Bare ground or built-over areas near or adjacent to a stream edge help to increase direct runoff into a stream. Unsealed roads or open areas may be a source of silt that could find its way into the stream. Sealed roads or other areas with vehicles are liable to contain pollutants.

Score summary for bank vegetation

Understanding your bank vegetation scores: summary
Score: 8 to 10

Trees provide shade for the stream bed which helps reduce daily fluctuations in water temperature and reduces light penetration to the stream bed if the channel is narrow enough. This can reduce the potential for blooms of filamentous algae and maintain better water temperatures for invertebrates and fish. Tall tussock plants have a similar benefit in narrow streams and, together with wetland vegetation, can also act as a good filter for land runoff.

Score: 5 to 8

Trees and scrub provide shade for the stream bed which helps reduce daily fluctuations in water temperature and reduces light penetration to the stream bed if the channel is narrow enough (5-6 metres). This can reduce the potential for blooms of filamentous algae and maintain better water temperatures for invertebrates and fish. Tall tussock plants have a similar benefit in narrower streams and, together with wetland vegetation, can also act as a good filter for land runoff. Trees and tussock are better for this (and more permanent) than scrub.

Score: 0 to 5

The lack of tall vegetation on the stream banks is potentially a limiting factor for healthy stream communities.

Score: -10 to 0

Pasture, bare ground, roads and buildings right to the stream edge at the site will reduce the quality of the habitat for instream life. Filamentous algal blooms could occur periodically and invertebrate communities may not be very diverse.

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9.2 Habitat indicators of stream health HABITAT QUALITY Water velocity Water velocity Water velocity depends mostly on the slope of the stream, though in streams in rolling to hilly catchments that have the pool-riffle-run structure (see pages 9.28-9.29 for an explanation) there will be variations in flow velocity over a short distance.

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How do ecologists diagnose a sick stream? For Don Weller, it comes down to counting insects.

It's not just the numbers of insects that matter, but also the types. Tougher species, like blackflies or midges, can tolerate unhealthy stream conditions. But others, like mayflies, are much pickier. They cannot survive in polluted, high-energy streams that eat away at the banks. Mayflies act as the proverbial canaries in the coal mine-once their numbers start to dwindle, scientists know a stream's health is beginning to fail.

Some ecologists go out in the field to identify insects in individual streams. Don Weller works on another side, as an ecological modeler. Modelers are the key numbers-crunchers of the science world. They take data collected from the field and use it to create mathematical equations, similar to artists painting a landscape. In Weller's lab, the modelers work with data on insects and other stream invertebrates from streams all over Chesapeake Bay. They also pull in data on other elements-such as paved surfaces, rainfall and farmland-and arrange them into equations that can predict the health of streams all across the region.

This big-picture view enabled Weller's lab to pinpoint one of the biggest threats to streams: impervious surfaces. Most roads, driveways and parking lots are covered with impervious material like asphalt or concrete. Most buildings also have impervious roofs. Water can't seep through impervious surfaces. Instead of soaking into the soil below, it runs off into the nearest stream, often carrying sediment, excess nutrients and harmful chemicals with it. During storms, massive inputs of water rush from the pavement directly into streams, forcing them to flow faster. High-energy flows erode the stream banks, making them steeper and destroying the habitats of mayflies and other aquatic creatures.

Weller's lab also discovered it doesn't take much to throw an ecosystem off balance. Some vulnerable insect populations plummeted when only 2 percent of the watershed was covered with impervious surface.

Fortunately, there are ways to protect mayflies, and by extension the oysters, seagrasses and other creatures that live further downstream. Gravel roads soak up more water than asphalt or concrete. Green roofs and rain gardens can reduce runoff from buildings. Forests and wetlands can absorb many harmful chemicals that wash off the pavement. Putting forested land between streets and streams can help minimize the impact of stormwater runoff.

Assessing stream health may begin with counting insects. But the importance of healthy streams goes much further-spilling over into the water we drink, the food we eat and the land we inhabit.

Learn more about mapping nutrient pollution in the Ecological Modeling Lab.

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How do ecologists diagnose a sick stream? For Don Weller, it comes down to counting insects. It's not just the numbers of insects that matter, but also the types. Tougher species, like blackflies or midges, can tolerate unhealthy stream conditions. But others, like mayflies, are much pickier.

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How to Tell if Your Watershed is in Good Condition

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Explore resources and information about how to tell if your watershed is in good condition.

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It's that time of year again! June is National Rivers Month, a time to celebrate and understand the importance of our rivers. As a constant source for clean drinking water and outdoor recreation, rivers are very important to families across the country. Here is a deeper look into why our families deserve access to healthy rivers.

June is National Rivers Month - a great time to celebrate the rivers and streams flowing through our communities and think about the importance of healthy rivers to our families.

Rivers run through the lives of our children in so many ways.

They give us our drinking water. They water the fields that grow the fruits and vegetables we eat. They give us beauty, serenity, adventure. They are where we reconnect with the natural world, our friends and family, ourselves.

There are few things more fundamental to the health of our families than clean drinking water. But too many families in our country today are forced to live with polluted rivers and unsafe drinking water.

Let's use National Rivers Month as a chance to highlight the importance of healthy rivers for all children, and let our members of Congress know that clean water must be a top priority for all Americans.

Top 3 reasons why your family needs healthy rivers:

1. Your kids need clean drinking water.

Nationwide, rivers provide more than half of our drinking water supplies. Rivers flow through our veins. So when rivers are polluted, that raises health concerns - for moms, for babies, for all of us. As our kids grow up, we want to know that the water flowing from our taps is clean and safe. Too many communities in our country (it's not just Flint) do not have access to safe drinking water.

Imagine if our decision makers and members of Congress understood our bodies - their own bodies - as directly connected to the health of rivers and the natural world. Instead of slashing clean water safeguards, as they are doing now, we'd be having a much different conversation about ensuring the health of American families for generations to come.

2. Playing outside is good for kids' brains and bodies.

Children need to play, and they need to play outside. The natural world is full of opportunities for fun, wonder, discovery, and exercise. Studies show that when kids get outside, they do better in school. Richard Louv writes about the many benefits of nature for kids and adults, including reducing depression and building family and community bonds.

It's important that we insist on public access to rivers, safe parks, and other outdoor areas for all communities, urban and rural, big and small. Every child should have a chance to connect with her river and reap all of the benefits of outdoor play.

3. It's their birthright.

Your kids own the rivers. We all do. Rivers are public resources, benefitting all Americans. And rivers connect us - past, present and future. Rivers are an essential part of our country's heritage. From the Lewis and Clark expedition, to Huck Finn, to the poetry of Langston Hughes, rivers flow through our history, art, music, and literature.

The Potomac, the Yellowstone, the Shenandoah, the Mississippi, the Colorado, and the river flowing through your town: Your children are inheriting all of this, and they will pass it on to the next generation.

June is National Rivers Month - Here are three ways to celebrate:

Participate in a river cleanup

Join the millions of volunteers who are cleaning up trash from rivers and streams, and giving back to their communities. Learn more "

Share your river story

Why are rivers important to you and your family? Share a photo or a special memory with us! Share your story "

Call your member of Congress

Did you know that President Trump is proposing massive cuts to clean water safeguards in the federal budget? Tell your member of Congress to oppose any effort by President Trump or Congress to cut funding for river conservation and clean water protection. (Find contact info for your representative and senators).

Get out and enjoy your rivers, share your story, and speak up to your decision makers!

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Three Reasons Families Need Healthy Rivers | American Rivers

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It's that time of year again! June is National Rivers Month, a time to celebrate and understand the importance of our rivers. As a constant source for clean drinking water and outdoor recreation, rivers are very important to families across the country. Here is a deeper look into why our families deserve access to healthy rivers.

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Decking material varies with location. Where snow cover is intermittent, pressure treated lumber has a longer life than non-pressure treated lumber. Where ATV trails also are snowmobile trails, wear on the wood decking material is accelerated by snowmobiles.

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What WTA volunteers do is incredible. As they build bridges to reopen routes into wilderness, repair wreckage from winter weather and break ground on brand-new trail networks, volunteers are also working side by side, connecting with each other and forming lasting friendships.

Volunteers exchange numbers or find each other online to coordinate future work parties together. And often, returning volunteers bring friends or family along to introduce them to WTA's trail maintenance community. Each year more people join WTA trail crews, increasing our ability to address trail maintenance needs and joining a strong, supportive volunteer base.

By mid-October, more than 4,300 volunteers had donated more than 135,000 hours of work on public lands, setting up 2017 to break all our previous records. WTA crews work year-round, focusing in the winter on low-country trails and those in urban settings.

We kicked the year off in Meadowdale Beach Park, an urban oasis near Edmonds where multiple trip reporters had noted a rotted, eroded staircase that posed a danger to (or at least detracted from) their hike. Thanks to support from Snohomish County Parks, WTA held 12 work parties there in January to solve the problem.

As we made progress, trip reports flowed in from volunteers who had worked on the staircase, updating WTA's hiking community with the project's progress. One report from a father who brought his son out lauded the new skills they had learned and the people they worked with.

"(Hayden) learned how to drive rebar with the double-jack and use a gas-powered drill. Our crew leader, Austin, was very patient and did a great job making sure everyone got a turn with the drill and rebar. By the end of the day, my son felt so confident he was volunteering to drive the rebar!" Chris Osborn wrote.

Close-to-town projects in parks like Meadowdale happen all over the state. WTA crews worked at Mount Spokane State Park too, as well as Lake Whatcom in Bellingham and Beacon Rock State Park in the Columbia River Gorge, where Ryan Ojerio, WTA's Southwest regional manager, found some serious damage last winter.

In mid-February, Ryan filed a trip report after scouting the trail with assistant crew leader Lee Young. The last sentence of his report read: "All trails at the park, including the Beacon Rock Trail, are not suitable for hiking right now." That meant an entire trail system just minutes from two major metropolitan areas was out of commission.

And yet in just a matter of weeks, Old Man Winter let up enough for the first crews to venture out. Over the course of 14 work parties, 69 volunteers built a bridge, repaired and reinforced tread and built a staircase. They completed the major repairs on May 24 and finished off with a "brushfest" in early June. Their work helped reopen the popular park in time for prime hiking season.

While crews in Southwest Washington repaired an existing trail, volunteers in the Bellingham area were starting work on a whole new trail system. Popular with locals for decades, Lake Whatcom has never had an official trail network, and it wasn't until 2007 that Whatcom County began working to develop a system near the lake.

This year, all that work came together, and on National Trails Day, WTA joined Evergreen Mountain Bike Alliance, local residents and a Washington State Parks crew to break ground on the first official trail in what will eventually be a 96-mile, multi-use system of trails just 20 minutes from downtown Bellingham. This new location will help spread out hikers and offer alternatives to popular locations like Oyster Dome and Larrabee State Park.

State parks are excellent for anyone needing a nearby dose of nature, hence their heavy usage. Like Larrabee and Beacon Rock, Mount Spokane offers a smorgasbord of hiking options year round, so it's no surprise that the trails get a lot of traffic.

Luckily, hardy volunteers worked in the heat and even smoke of July and August to clear drains, build stabilizing rock walls and cut foliage away, helping clear three trails that provide key connections for hikers looking for close-to-home adventures.

As the days warmed up and snow melted, crews were able to move to higher trails, where partnerships with federal land managers helped major work get done.

May marked the year's first work party on the popular Talapus Lake Trail, which provides a route for anyone in the Puget Sound area to enjoy a hike in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. A worn-out section of planking had made the route boggy and unpleasant, so 16 work parties and a backcountry response team helped the Snoqualmie Ranger District and a private contractor complete a major reroute. Now the thousands of feet that visit this little lake each year will stay dry on their way there and back again.

Our partnerships fuel not only big construction projects but also important equity work. Support from Washington's National Park Fund allowed Latino Outdoors to partner with WTA's youth program for a week of trail work in Mount Rainier this summer. Nine young Latina women between the ages of 13 and 16 spent a week in the White River area of Mount Rainier National Park, installing check steps and water bars and contemplating the future of equity in the outdoors.

The young women, who are part of the Duwamish Youth Corps, also spent time with rangers like Alonso Orozco, who provided inspiration for future careers in the National Park Service. As Michelle Piñon, WTA staffer and Latino Outdoors northwest regional coordinator said, "It is our hope that (with this trip) WTA and Latino Outdoors have ... planted a seed, a passion for the outdoors that will be further cultivated in years to come."

Whether it's meeting a ranger who looks like you, feeling ownership of a project or connecting with a crew leader, WTA's community is strengthened when volunteers feel welcomed and their work is appreciated. WTA Fireside Circle member Janice Van Cleve revisited Bird Creek Meadows this summer, where she was proud to see a bridge she helped build on a 2013 volunteer vacation still standing strong, even after the 2015 Cougar Creek Fire.

Assistant crew leader and dedicated volunteer Meagan Mackenzie spent time at Mount Adams as well and came away with glowing praise of the people she met.

"The 10 volunteers I worked with (including our excellent leader and the two assistant leaders) are absolutely incredible! We were so proud of the work we accomplished!"

The project was made possible thanks to the Yakama Nation and the Friends of Mount Adams. While Bird Creek Meadows is still closed, it's heartening to hear WTA's projects from past years are standing strong, and we look forward to seeing our work continue there.

It's thanks to volunteer skill, commitment and dedication that all our projects happen, including one on the Dungeness River Trail. This well-traveled route on the east side of Olympic National Forest now features a new bridge over Royal Creek, made possible thanks to WTA's partnership with the Hood Canal Ranger District and a grant from the National Wilderness Stewardship Alliance.

Whether we're installing log bridges, connecting volunteers with their public lands or continuing the discussion of diversity in the outdoors, our trail maintenance program does much more than complete trail projects.

For 17 days, 110 volunteers peeled, leveled, notched and finally lifted a 45-foot-long log and handrail across Royal Creek, replacing an old, unsafe bridge that hikers tiptoed cautiously across to access popular destinations like Marmot Pass and Royal Basin. Throughout the project, volunteers (some of whom had never done trail work before) returned not only to help complete the bridge but to spend more time with crew leader Charlie Romine.

As one volunteer put it: "(Charlie's) a great leader. She very thoroughly explains everything. She takes time to learn everyone's name and something about each individual. She makes you feel really important and worthwhile when she's talking to you. She's really special."

Making volunteers feel welcome and important is a cornerstone of building a close community of people who care for public lands and for each other. Whether we're installing log bridges, connecting volunteers with their public lands or working with partner groups to continue discussions of diversity in the outdoors, our trail maintenance program does much more than complete trail projects. We foster a community of caring people and, to that end, making genuine personal connections is as important to us as safely installing a 45-foot-long bridge.

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What WTA volunteers do is incredible. As they build bridges to reopen routes into wilderness, repair wreckage from winter weather and break ground on brand-new trail networks, volunteers are also working side by side, connecting with each other and forming lasting friendships. Volunteers exchange numbers or find each other online to coordinate future work parties together.

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I want to work in conservation, but I'm not sure where to start..? I've been in marketing for the past 10 years, are there any jobs suitable for me in conservation? What should I study to get a job in conservation? What do conservationists even do all day?

These are the kinds of questions I get a lot by email or through my Facebook page. It's one of the reasons I started this blog - not so much to provide brilliant answers - but just to help people share their experiences and discover their interests. The last question is mainly from friends, who still don't get how I while away so many hours in front of a computer, and seem to go on 'holidays' that don't seem very fun or relaxing.

So I thought I'd rack my brains and lay out as many career paths as I can think of, in an effort to make aspiring conservationists at least aware of their options.

Feel free to suggest others that I haven't thought of in the comments.
EDIT: Thanks to everyone that sent in helpful suggestions of other useful career paths. As a result, I've added quite a few more to the bottom of this post. I'd also recommend soaking up some of the wisdom in the comments. EDIT: A few people have very helpfully pointed out, that you should feel constrained by just one of these options. Lots of jobs might straddle 3/4 different skills/roles.
1. The Ecological Consultancy Career

I hesitate to say this is a 'default' option, but it's certainly one of the clearest avenues to take, and the first that springs to mind.

Ecological consultants generally provide a range of services on a contract basis to organisations that do not employ specialist staff or have insufficient expertise. Topics can be varied, from forestry and water quality management, down to species specific work such as bat surveys, or novel technologies like eDNA. A few years in an ecological consultancy is a good opportunity to develop good fieldwork and survey skills. The work can be seasonal, but that's sometimes great - office in winter, field in summer.

On the downside, some companies probably commission ecological work out of necessity, with little interest in acting on it beyond what is legally required.

Ecological consultancy jobs are also some of the most readily advertised and most straight forward to apply for. A quick search online shows that it's also one of the few conservation jobs where you can get an estimated starting salary.

2. The Get Your Hands Dirty Conservation Career

Some people just want to get stuck in. This could range from working on nature reserves in the UK or abroad, to volunteering overseas

Sometimes I think this is what we should all do - it's surely what we could enjoy the most, outside in the fresh air, amongst the very environments we seek to protect. But the caveat is that it's difficult to influence policy. Does that really matter? Sometimes I wonder... but for most conservationists, at some point in their lives there is an urge to try and make a bigger difference, beyond your own limited sphere of influence.

Some of my own formative experiences were out in Madagascar and South Africa. It's certainly an essential right of passage for many people starting out in their conservation career.

3. The Big NGO Conservation Career

Perhaps a job with Birdlife International, WWF or the RSPB appeals? I've never worked for one of these organisations, but luckily I have a good (anonymous) friend who has:

The pros: "You can be part of something really big, making a massive difference; you can (if you want to) specialise in a particular area of work; you benefit from shared resources; once you're 'in' you stand a better chance of getting future roles within the same NGO; you can learn from more experienced colleagues and other teams."

The cons: "Sometimes your creativity can be limited by the (usually perfectly sensible, but not always) constraints of the organisation; you're never going to get paid much; the larger the organisation the slower it is to get anything done. Lastly, it's very, very hard to get a job in a big environmental NGO in the first place!

"In general I'd recommend it. What could be better than being surrounded by people who share your passion and determination to make the world a better place, saving species and habitats and reconnecting people with nature?"

4. The Little NGO Conservation Career

By contrast, there are many more smaller NGOs and they often have slightly more specialised aims or campaigns.

On one hand, this might suit your particular interest and n smaller teams it's often easier to have a larger impact, but on the other they perhaps lack the clout of larger international voices. Luckily, I have another friend with experiences in smaller NGOs:

The Pros: "You are in the front lines; you can feel and understand what conservation means in the ground. It is very rewarding, because you actually making it happen."

The cons: "Small conservation NGOs struggle a lot with fundraising, and the impacts you can achieve are very difficult to measure from a conservation point of view. Most of the time, your efforts are not enough to solve the problem. No matter how hard you try.

As a self confessed tree lover, my favourite small conservation NGOs are Trees for Life, Trees for the Future and Crees. I've wittered on about how planting trees is the best thing you can do many times before.

Related Article: Incidentally, you might like How to Choose Which Conservation Charity to Support (with your hard earned cash).
5. The Big Famous TV Star Conservation Career

With a bit of luck and a lot of hard work, you could be the next Nial McCann or George McGavin.

But it's a challenging world to work in, and TV production companies are a difficult beast to tame. My own experience of 'the industry' has been very mixed, despite some great pitches, lots of enthusiasm from producers and very positive progress, lots of great ideas just don't get carried forwards. Sometimes it's better just to do it yourself, but you will often lack exposure.

My own view is simply to strive to be great at what you do; at some point a TV career might just come knocking. If you want to learn more, then it's worth following folks like Catherine Capon and updates on Wildvision.tv.

I also recently reviewed a book called ' How to make conservation films and make a difference ' that might be useful.

6. The conservation photographer/filmmaker career

Similar to the TV star avenue, but this time behind the lens. The explosion of relatively cheap, but professional quality kit, has made photography and filmmaking increasingly popular among environmentalists.

It's a great route to take, because those iconic images really do matter and really do make a difference. If you need inspiration to see what's possible, then look no further than the International League of Conservation Photographers.

The downside? There's an awful lot of folks out there taking pictures and making films, and so it's incredibly difficult to go professional and make a career out of it. But if you were looking for an easy career, then you wouldn't be interested in conservation - so go for it. Practice, practice, practice.

For more about wildlife photography/filmmaking, these articles might be useful:

7. The Academic Conservation Career

This is the choice I've always found most appealing, but I'll try not to be too biased. Conservation is a young discipline, it's hard. We don't know what works and what doesn't. So a career spent learning is a great option, as long as it isn't at the expense of doing.

Most conservation scientist careers would follow something like this:

1. A degree in biology/zoology - Or perhaps chemistry, geography, or something similar.

2. A Masters - Not essential (I don't have one), but quite a common stepping stone to a PhD. If you're set on a PhD, then MRes courses give great project experience.

3. A PhD - This can be in pretty much anything, and is a good way to explore and pursue your interests. A great place to start is FindAPhD.com.

4. A couple of PostDoc positions - A good opportunity to gain more experience.

5. Fellowships / Lectureships - A chance to develop a long term research interest and start training the next generation of conservationists.

6. Professor! - Become a conservation ninja.

In academia it's easy to become too wrapped up in the science, and forget that sometimes ideas need to be tested out in the field. To help address this, there's a great project called ConservationEvidence.org that helps collate and provide information for conservation interventions.

Lastly, possible the best conservation blog on the interweb is run by conservation scientist Corey Bradshaw, down under.
For a little more persuasion: The Best of #IamAScientistBecause
7. The Disappear Off Half Way Around the World Conservation Career

Perhaps an extreme version of the 'Get Your Hands Dirty' option, there's an increasing number of long term positions available in far flung locations around the world. From the OuTrop out in Borneo, to the long and challenging training to become a Safari Guide.

This path is often more of a life choice that could see you out in the field for years, rather than an extended voluntourism opportunity. But for the right person, it can offer an unparalleled level of experience.

8. The Technology / Start-up Conservation Career

Conservation is increasingly a battle waged from the glare of a computer screen. In the past couple of years a flurry of incredible tools have emerged, from Global Forest Watch and PADDDtracker to citizen science platforms like Zooniverse. There's even my own humble little social enterprise: Discover Conservation.

If you're a technology minded with an inventive or entrepreneurial disposition, then why not turn your hand to this. Conservation is crying out for coders, IT experts and people who can come up with novel solutions to hard problems.

Snapshot Serengetti, for example, came up with a way to identify the species in millions of photographs from hundreds of camera traps, using volunteers from around the world. A few years ago, that would have been an impossible task!

Alternatively, you could launch your own science themed crowdfunding setup, like Walacea, or use business to support novel ocean conservation solutions.

The opportunities really are endless, because you can build them for yourself!

9. The Corporate Social Responsibility Career

Not entirely conservation themed, but never the less closely related. Increasingly, many companies have a corporate social responsibility department (CSR).

In essence, it's about contributing to successful sustainable development, but the work can vary widely between different situations and settings. I havn't worked in CSR, but again, here's some useful comments from someone who has:

"In CSR, I worked for a year in e-waste recycling with a high tech company... the pros...usually money is not an issue at all and you can pretty much do as much as you want if it makes the company looks good. The cons... if you don't have a genuine commitment of the big guys in the company, your effort can be perceived as green washing more than anything else."

"For me it was very difficult to work in an environment where very few people understand/ care about what you are doing. When the company is not doing well, CSR programmes are usually the most affected ones. However, CSR is a huge niche for conservationist..."

Often, it's a good opportunity for someone who wants to make a career change to something conservation related, as it might be possible to move to a CSR department within your current employer.

Here's a few links to find out more:

10. The Wildlife Vet Career Option

Organisations like Wildlife Vets International as well as many reputable zoos offer positions for vets with a specialism beyond ordinary domestic animals.

This is an avenue that might require many years of training (even more than a human doctor!), but could be immensely rewarding in the long run.

Whilst domestic veterinary work on pets might be equally rewarding, what really excites me about this route is the chance to intimately understand and conserve endangered species. The IUCN has a catagory called EW - Extinct in the Wild. Many of these species, such as the Malagasy pochard, and xxx are maintained in captive populations with the hope of eventually being returned to the wild. Wildlife vets are a core part of the team that makes this possible.
But I'm no vet, so here's some insight from someone Jad Abouzeid who is (nearly)!
"From what I have seen and been involved in when working as a vet student in South Africa I think that being a wild life vet is probably one of the most exciting, challenging and varied jobs you can get. One day you might be microchiping wildebeest the next day, moving giraffe, darting lions or dehorning rhino. I think it wildlife veterinary medicine is a fundamental part of conservation, they are there to assist in nearly all conservation procedures that require you to get close to the animal - they'd need to be sedated if you wanted to put a radio collar on, for example."

"However, I also got the sense that being a wildlife vet is also incredibly frustrating and isn't a job cut out for most people. All your efforts in caring for these animals can be taken away in an instant if they are targeted and poached for illegal trade. That in its self brings a whole new danger which wildlife vets are forced to work with. They will be working against some dangerous people and so have to work closely with law enforcement and anti-poaching teams. They might even have to try and persuade government officials to introduce legislation and laws to try and combat poaching."

"I don't think the job would ever get boring - being a wild life vet is something I am working towards becoming. If anything I think it has the potential to be one of the most fulfilling and exciting career paths there is."

11. Supporting Conservation Work at Zoos

Closely related to veterinary work, are the many other jobs at zoos. Let's be clear, some 'environmentalists' are rather against zoos, which is rather silly. If well run, they are pretty much the best communication tool available to teach the public about endangered species around the world.

Increasingly, zoos are recognising their role as a kind of Ark, for the protection of endangered species, captive breeding and maintenance of insurance populations (for example, the Tasmanian Devil). Though it's worth pointing out that it doesn't always work.

Zoos are also a great place to get work experience, and then slowly work your way up. Most people have a zoo nearby, so why not volunteer some time and see if it's the right environment for you.

12. The Philanthropic Conservation Career

I would wager that a far more profitable use of my time would be to leave science and try to get a well paid job in insurance or banking. If all went swimmingly, I could spent the best years of my life earn a small fortune and then (provided I wasn't a sell out on a yacht in the Caribbean!), donate it back to worthwhile conservation charities.

On balance, there's a good chance this might lead to more 'good' being one - but then again, I'm a little selfish and like spending my spare time slogging through rainforests or across deserts.

Jokes aside, lots of passionate environmentalists work in completely different fields, yet donate to conservation organisations, and that's what makes much of our work possible.

To show a few examples these 7 folks, give away hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

...and if it all goes horribly wrong!

Lucky Number 13: The Despondently Give Up and Do Something Else Instead Career

Lastly, for every person that does find their calling in conservation, there must be several that don't. That needn't be the case!
That's probably because:

It's hard - but most careers are. The grass is always greener somewhere else, stick it out.

Applicants often need experience - we all have to start somewhere.

It's poorly paid - but your office might look like this!

If you don't succeed the first time - keep trying.

There's no shortage of conservationists, and plenty of work that needs doing - so surely we can find away to expand the field.

With a bit of luck, there's something in that list that appeals, but if not - invent your own! If I've forgotten any, or you have some useful ideas to add, feel free to leave a note in the comments below.
Lots of folks have very kindly messaged me with all of the brilliant career options that I'd forgotten. I'll add them here, but do check out the comments below for a continuous supply of new ideas.
14. Conservation Fundraising Career

How could I have forgotten, that so much of what we do relies on effective fundraising. Lots of medium and large NGOs have professional fundraisers that help apply for and manage donations, you can get an idea of the kind of roles here and here. Here's how WWF describe one of their roles:
"Over 80% of WWF-UK's income each year comes from members of the public. This makes the Public Fundraising team absolutely vital to the success of the organisation and our ability to achieve our ambitions. Working in the Acquisition team, the Fundraising Officer is responsible for implementing and delivering key campaigns that include all Mass Media activity - TV, Press, Inserts or Face to Face activity. This includes working with internal and external suppliers, campaign management and hitting large targets. This is an exciting role and a key member of the team."
15. Lobbying for Conservation

There's lots of fine lines between advising, advocating and lobbying, and it's often difficult to know which side you're on. Lobbying in the interests of yourself, or a business is normally a fairly uncool thing to do, but we're all in conservation - and being horrendously biased and mostly non-profit - I feel OK with it.

I am however fairly unsure where one would start to get into this kind of job, so I'm going to defer to the helpful article How to Become an Environmental Lobbyist.

16. The Political Conservation Career

In science we often lament that there's very few scientists in government. Here in the UK, at the last count, there was one MP (out of 650) with a science PhD.

Now it's very easy to blame governments for being rubbish at science, but actually it's largely our fault. If you're a scientist or conservationist and want to see more in government that represent your view, then the best thing to do is stand for election!

I should add that it probably helps to have a successful career in one of these other things too, just so you know what you're talking about. Also, I know the green party exists, but what they stand for unfortunately isn't always very science based (but it's better than nothing).

17. The Ex-Military Anti-Poacher Conservation Career

I include this one semi-reluctantly, for the reason that poachers are the easiest people to blame for many of our problems, and it's very rarely the guy hunting bushmeat or carrying the rifle that is the root of the problem. This is a topic for another post, but ultimately I don't think militarising conservation is the answer (although it makes us feel better because it's proactive and highly visible).

That being said, some conservationists who I respect enormously would totally disagree. Similarly I know several ex-military advisers who are doing exceptional work across Southern Africa.

How to get involved? You could look at something like the International Anti-poaching Foundation. You might also find these careers using working dogs for conservation of interest.

Related Conservation Careers Articles:

Related Posts:

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The 12 Types Of Conservation Career (and how to choose which one is for you?) - Dr. James Borrell

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I want to work in conservation, but I'm not sure where to start..? I've been in marketing for the past 10 years, are there any jobs suitable for me in conservation? What should I study to get a job in conservation? What do conservationists even do all day?

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The Curious Kids discover that we all live in a watershed.

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Lakes are formed by different acts of nature. Many appeared after glaciers moved across Earth during the last ice age, between 12,000 and 1.8 million years ago, and left giant bowl-shaped hollows in the land that filled with rainwater and runoff. Others were created when Earth's crust shifted, leaving grooves and ridges to catch water. And sometimes when a volcano erupts, all the magma flows out. If the land collapses into the empty crater, it leaves holes that can turn into huge lakes. Crater Lake in Oregon was made this way.

Rivers are created when melting snow or ice runs down mountains, following the grooves and channels of the land on the way to the sea-rivers always flow to an ocean. Wetlands, areas where the land is covered with water most of the time, often form in the land surrounding rivers that flood, or in areas where groundwater seeps up through the bedrock underneath the soil. Bedrock is made of different types of rocks like granite, sandstone and limestone. Water can seep through the cracks between these rocks, and it can dissolve limestone. Beavers can even create wetlands by building dams on rivers and streams.

The largest freshwater habitat in the world is the Everglades, a 1.5 million acre wetlands in southern Florida. The Amazon River in South America begins in the Andes Mountains and goes 4,000 miles (6,400 km) to the Atlantic Ocean; it flows through six countries, including Peru and Ecuador. Lake Baikal in Siberia, a region in Russia, is the world's biggest lake. This North Asian body of water contains one-fifth of all the freshwater on the planet.

So whether you're a hungry turtle, a pollutant-sucking plant, or a thirsty human who also likes to play in the water, freshwater habitats are vital ecosystems for our planet!
Text by Avery Hurt

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Rivers, creeks, lakes, ponds, and streams are all freshwater habitats. So are wetlands like swamps, which have woody plants and trees; and marshes, which have no trees but lots of grasses and reeds. Freshwater accounts for only three percent of the world's water.

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Why Does It Rain? | Worksheet | Education.com

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Without rain, we wouldn't have any puddles to splash and stomp in. Does your third grader know why and how rain falls from the clouds?

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What is a watershed? - Science for Kids: Watersheds - Rocky Mountain Research Station: Fisheries and Watershed

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USDA Forest Service - Rocky Mountain Research Station

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The freshwater conservation interactive feature lets you explore the different threats that have an impact on watersheds around the world.

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Do you live in a watershed? Yes, we all live in a watershed. Learn what a watershed is, and what The Nature Conservancy is doing to protect fresh water across Indiana.

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Changing wildlife: this article is part of a series looking at how key species such as bees, insects and fish respond to environmental change, and what this means for the rest of the planet.
In 2003, something seemed to be going wrong with the streams around Melbourne. After seven years of below-average rainfall, the aquatic macroinvertebrates - waterbugs - were telling us that something was changing.

In a small number of streams that had been sampled every year, the community of waterbugs seemed to be moving towards dominance by species normally associated with severe environmental impacts.

That was when I became involved. Using an expanded data set and statistical analyses, I demonstrated a widespread decline in ecological condition of Melbourne streams as the Millennium drought really began to bite.

This is an example of using waterbugs for biomonitoring - assessing environmental condition, its changes, and the causes of those changes, by sampling organisms directly. And around the world, waterbugs are the most widely used bioindicator of environmental health and pollution of rivers, lakes and wetlands.

What makes waterbugs so popular?

First, they are very easy to sample. With a pair of waders, a dip net, a sorting tray and a magnifying glass, anybody can observe these weird, wonderful, and often beautiful creatures.

They are everywhere in aquatic systems. Every river, lake and wetland is teeming with waterbugs of all different kinds. Different species are typical of different types of environments and different levels of human impacts.

Most Mayflies, for instance, are found in rivers with clear waters and little pollution - they are indicative of good environmental health.

In contrast, Chironomids (a type of midge), are highly tolerant of pollution and other disturbances, and so come to dominate environments that have been heavily-affected by humans.

Waterbugs are a direct indicator of environmental impact. If they change, then some difference in the environment has caused it. In contrast, a water quality sample is an indirect indicator of impact. It may detect pollutants in a river, but we do not know if the concentrations are environmentally important.

They also integrate the effects of environmental conditions over time. Waterbug lifespans are relatively short - usually only a few months before aquatic larvae metamorphose into adults and leave the river. They also don't move too much. Therefore, changes in the bugs found at a site are indicative of impacts over recent times, and this gives a much more complete picture compared to spot samples of environmental conditions, such as water quality readings.

For these reasons, waterbugs have been successfully used to detect environmental impacts of many kinds.

As well as the example above, I have detected impacts of trout farms on waterbugs in the Goulburn Valley, Victoria, and have developed new ways of assessing whether the waterbugs at a site differ from those that would be expected in the absence of human impacts. Currently, we are using waterbugs to assess benefits of environmental water being delivered by the Commonwealth and Victorian environmental water holders as part of the Murray-Darling Basin Plan.

But there also are difficulties

While the diversity of waterbug species makes them very useful as indicators of environmental health, there are so many species that many have never even been properly described.

Only experts can identify waterbugs to species, but fewer and fewer people are interested in studying invertebrate taxonomy and so the pool of expertise is shrinking.

Waterbug abundance is also incredibly variable over very small spatial scales (less than a square metre). There can easily be as much variation within a site as there is between sites or even between rivers.

For these reasons, bugs often only are identified to coarse taxonomic levels (usually Family). Many assessment methods also ignore abundances altogether, instead concentrating on waterbug taxonomic diversity. This means that we're missing out on a lot of potentially useful information contained within the samples.

Change is in the wind

The basic techniques used in waterbug-based research and monitoring have changed very little for decades.

However, the relatively new field of environmental genomics may change all this. Environmental genomics is the study of DNA and RNA in environmental samples to understand biological structure, function, and responses.

It uses genetic approaches to identify the species in a sample. The cost of the genetic techniques has decreased rapidly, just as their speed has increased. This means large numbers of samples can be processed rapidly.

The analyses identify all the different genetic types in a sample, effectively identifying everything to species. This eliminates the need for taxonomic expertise to identify species.

Genetic analyses are even challenging our traditional notion of what constitutes a species, with many physically identical animals now being identified as separate genetic lineages, effectively multiple species.

Like any new technique, there are issues to deal with before genomic techniques can be used in place of the well-established waterbug biomonitoring approaches.

For example, when we process a sample, we do not only get DNA from the waterbugs in it, but also from what they have eaten, and what is living on their surfaces. Are all of these separate "species" to be considered in biodiversity indices?

Nevertheless, environmental genomic techniques have the potential to greatly increase the amount of waterbug data that can be collected, providing much better coverage of aquatic systems.

Together with large-scale, remotely sensed environmental data that are now becoming the norm, this has the potential to move bioassessment into the era of big data.

And together, these things could fundamentally change the way we use waterbugs to monitor stream health and pollution.

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How healthy is your river? Ask a waterbug

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Changing wildlife: this article is part of a series looking at how key species such as bees, insects and fish respond to environmental change, and what this means for the rest of the planet. In 2003, something seemed to be going wrong with the streams around Melbourne.

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Newsela | Issue Overview: Racial profiling

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Newsela | Issue Overview: Income inequality

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Food labels pack a lot of information in a small space. If new labeling rules take effect, extra sugar content will be revealed. The food industry is not amused. It would be instant sugar shock.

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Newsela | Food labels reveal sugar's ugly secrets

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Food labels pack a lot of information in a small space. If new labeling rules take effect, extra sugar content will be revealed. The food industry is not amused. It would be instant sugar shock.

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Newsela | State parks hope to tempt kids into nature, not Nintendo

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Newsela | State parks hope to tempt kids into nature, not Nintendo

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Newsela | Teens with summer jobs are arrested less often, one study found

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A summer jobs program in Chicago put about 730 teenagers to work. When the summer was over, the kids who had worked were arrested for violent crimes less often than other teens.

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Newsela | A recipe for literacy calls for a dash of math, science - and knife skills

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The Philadelphia library's new program mixes cooking and nutrition training with literacy education in a unique environment. They want people to come try it out, no matter their reading level.

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Newsela | Something big is happening: Little Free Libraries

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Kids get a chance to pick up a good book. Adults get a chance to chat while browsing books. Little Free Libraries are springing up on people's lawns. It's a big movement.

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Newsela | Students discover high school ag studies are not just for farmers

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There are fewer farms in the U.S. but agriculture programs are flourishing, especially in cities.

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Newsela | White House hosts state dinner for young winners of recipe contest

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The Healthy Lunchtime Challenge is a nationwide contest for healthy recipes made up by kids between the ages of 8 and 12. The winners attended a state dinner in their honor.

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Newsela | Ten-year tradition: Dads and daughters make annual trek into the woods

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These Minnesota dads and daughters have shared a tradition of winter camping for 10 years.

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Newsela | California's drought is changing the landscaping

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A growing number of cities are paying homeowners to tear out their grass lawns and replace them with low-water plants more suited to the state's dry summers and mild winters.

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Newsela | Native Americans rediscover ancestral foods

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A gardening movement is growing to try to reverse the trend of diabetes and obesity among Native Americans. It's all about rediscovering the fruits and vegetables of their ancestors.

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Newsela | Helping the homeless by building houses using a 3-D printer

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Adequate housing for many vulnerable parts of the world could soon roll off a 3-D printer.

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Newsela | No small problem: L.A. takes tiny homes from the homeless

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Newsela | No-fishing zone: Mexico establishes massive marine protected area

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Mexico creates large no-fishing zone around Revillagigedo Islands

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Newsela | Fruit Science Summer Camp links city kids with the land and each other

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They grow strawberries. They make ice cream. The Seattle area's Fruit Science Summer Camp helps city kids connect with the land and uses food "as the platform for community-building."

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Newsela | One Indiana school is helping girls find their footing in STEM fields

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The STEM Scouts program at an all-girls school in Gary, Indiana, emphasizes science and math in an effort to encourage female students to defy gender stereotypes

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Newsela | Native Americans and traditional plant use

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Native peoples of the western plains, mountains and plateaus cultivated in-depth knowledge of native plants and their many uses.

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Newsela | Big Questions: How can kids help the planet?

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Newsela | Plastic sea life comes ashore, sculpting an environmental lesson

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Plastic sea-life sculptures get people talking trash at New Orleans zoo and aquarium.

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Newsela | Refugees harvest and share from their community garden in Chicago

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Community organization beings gardening to refugee families in need.

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Newsela | Growing food that's out of this world, literally

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Even with advances, food in space remains a work in progress.

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Newsela | Why some flowers greet us each spring

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Some flowers come back year after year, but others don't.

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Newsela | In a changing corner of Brooklyn, public art teaches kids ABCs

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A public art project in Brooklyn, New York, features murals of the letters of the alphabet to encourage neighborhood kids to read.

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Newsela | Critics of soft-drink advertising claim "diet" soda really isn't

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Newsela | Critics of soft-drink advertising claim "diet" soda really isn't

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Quality of life is relative to where you are on the planet.

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Newsela | Science program for girls sparks controversy

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Carnegie Science Center has had to defend its "Science With a Sparkle" program after online criticism called it "shameful." Boy programs include robotics and engineering, why not the girls?

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Newsela | In Their Words: How children are affected by gender issues

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Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

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Newsela | Stars at the Golden Globes wore black in a statement against abuse

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Newsela | Opinion: Diversity produces better results

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Being around people who are different from us makes us more creative, more diligent and harder-working

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Newsela | Starbucks seeks to be more inclusive with new "signing" store

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Customers who are deaf or hard of hearing can order in sign language at new Starbucks store.

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Newsela | A new multilingual sign language dictionary looks to the stars

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New astronomical words added to official sign language dictionaries.

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Newsela | Student water conservation project brings bill to state legislature

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In 2015, the California State Assembly introduced a bill to conserve water that started as a middle school project.

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Newsela | New taxidermy class a hit at Michigan high school

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Newsela | Instructional Content Platform

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Newsela is an Instructional Content Platform that supercharges reading engagement and learning in every subject.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Newsela | Children start believing gender stereotypes as young as 6, study shows

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Study says girls think men are smarter than women

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Opinion: National Geographic editor admits to past racist reporting

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A magazine's uneasy look back at depicting racial issues

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Newsela | Editorial: Reverse racism, myth or reality?

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Sociologists, social activists argue that reverse racism against whites doesn't actually exist

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Newsela | Black Lives Matters signs made of popsicle sticks: Missouri school works for racial equity

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A desire for racial and economic equity motivated City Garden Montessori School in Missouri to rethink how to achieve true integration.

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Newsela | How unintentional but insidious bias can be the most harmful

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Newsela | Homecoming queen swaps tiara for football helmet, wins game

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Homecoming queen puts her best foot forward