Pico de Gallo

While pregnant with my son almost five years ago, I could not get enough fajitas. During that time, I ate that at minimum twice a week until my husband started joking our son didn't have amniotic fluid, but salsa. As of late, we've been eating at home more and I've made it my goal to find recipes for some of our favorite restaurant fare. While I don't have the perfect fajita recipe for you (yet), our family came across a pico de gallo recipe everyone loved. That would include me (hates onions, suspicious of vegetables), two preschoolers (they fit that stereotypical picky preschooler role) and the husband (fortunately not so picky).

I was a little hesitant to post this recipe because it is different from any pico I've seen in a restaurant. However, after a small amount of research: pico de gallo, I've decided that this does fit under the realm of pico de gallo. Also? It is delicious.

PICO DE GALLO
recipe from Taste of Home: Grill it! cookbook

3/4 cup diced zucchini
3/4 cup diced tomatoes
1/3 cup picante sauce
1 tablespoon lime juice

It was delicious on our fajitas. Then, we ran out of fajitas and it was equally delicious on a chicken wrap I had for lunch.

The accompanying fajitas weren't bad. But, they weren't......amazing either. If you're interested, here is the fajita recipe:

FAJITAS
recipe from Taste of Home: Grill it! cookbook

1 boneless beef sirloin steak (3/4 in. and 1 lb)
2 Tablespoons lime juice
2 Tablespoons canola oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
8 flour tortillas

Combine the lime juice, oil and garlic in a plastic container. Place beef in container and turn to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Discard marinade and grill over medium heat for 6-8 minutes on each side or until meat reaches desired doneness.

New Stream Team Blog

Hi all you Eastern MO ST WQMs!!  I just wanted to let you all know about the new "St. Louis Area Stream Teams" blog that I've created: http://stlouisstreams.blogspot.com/.  I'm hoping to add a few more co-authors on the blog, so have a look and let me know if you are interested.

I have several regular features in mind that should appeal to many teams (not just the WQM crowd).  I'm hoping this will be yet another networking opportunity for local teams.

Anyway, check it out when you have a moment.  Thanks!!

Race for the Rivers

Race for the Rivers Festival

September 4, 2010

Noon – 7 pm

Frontier Park, St. Charles, Missouri

A full day of music, food, beer, hands-on activities, hand-made boat show and conservation demonstrations. Plus you get a riverside seat at the finish line for the day’s canoes and kayak events along with a chance to meet the racers and learn more about paddle sports.

Race for the Rivers: A canoe and kayak race covering 65 miles of the Missouri River over two days.

Clean Water Challenge: A 20-mile race adventure in learning about the river and racing.

Register online at www.racefortherivers.org

VWQM Level 3 Certification

http://www.mostreamteam.org/Documents/VWQM/Wanted_l-3[1].pdf

Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Level 3
The Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program is looking for more level
3 candidates. Spring will soon be here and the weather will be just right to
spend a day at your site proving your skills in a relaxed atmosphere. The
proficiency you will demonstrate will give your data submissions that much
more validity. I realize spring is a busy time of year for everyone, I am
available weekdays or weekends.
If you are interested in scheduling an audit contact Wayne Maresch at
wayne.maresch@dnr.mo.gov or 660-438-2805

St. Louis University hosts "Water Matters" Seminar.

With thanks to Danelle Haake for promoting this through the River des Peres Watershed Coalition listserve:


St. Louis University is hosting a seminar series entitled Water Matters on Wednesday mornings (7:30-9:30) beginning on March 17th and running through April 14th. There is a registration fee of $50 for the 5 sessions.

Mea Culpa. Mea Culpa, Mea Magnum Culpa.

Mea culpa. It's been more than a year since my last post and a lot has happened. I regret I didn't post water quality news in a timely fashion. I had hoped to pass this blog on to one or more of the new AC members, but an entire year has come and gone with not much interest, so back to the drawing board. On a personal note, no-- still no meanigful employment yet. I'll be glad to get a real job so that I can give up these 12 hour days. On to the news:

I've completed the Level 2 VWQM workshop and begun a new VWQM site at I-64 and Creve Coeur Creek. On to level 3 and development of a Creve Coeur Creek watershed survey of what is already known-- a kind of Stream Team VWQM Literature Review.
I've gotten excited about Creve Coeur Creek for many reasons: It has a fair amount of Stream Team activity, a relatively high degree of biodiversity, and a rather compelling list of both environmental threats, opportunities and on-going environmental rehab that is already being performed by diverse groups.

There's so much to post, and I'm late... soooo, on with the show.

River des Peres/ Deer Creek EPA hazmat cleanup

When the remnants of Hurricane Ike traversed Missouri beginning at 8am on Sept 13th, 2008, it produced rainfalls between 3 and 7 times greater than normal.
"In Missouri, the heaviest rains were found across the northern half of the state. In northeast Missouri, Kirksville (Adair County) received a total of 8.14 inches of rain, while Columbia (Boone County) measured 7.19 inches of rain from the system. The St. Louis area was also hard hit, with O’Fallon (St. Charles County) reporting 5.84 inches of rain. Three deaths were reported in association with the storm. A woman was killed when a tree was struck by lightning and a limb fell on her in Ladue (St. Louis County). Two other people were killed in University City (St. Louis County) when they were swept away by flood waters while trying to move their vehicles to higher ground. Numerous roads were closed by flooding, including a stretch of Interstate 70. At the peak of the storm nearly 106,000 people were without power in the St. Louis Area."
http://mcc.sws.uiuc.edu/cliwatch/0809/080916.htm
Dramatic flash flooding was widely reported in many watersheds, including Coldwater Creek in North St. Louis County and Deer Creek in Brentwood, Ladue, Rock Hill, Maplewood and Webster Groves.
Following the flood, Stream Teams from the River des Peres Watershed Coalition mobilized to accomplish cleanups and assessment.
Danelle Haake, Susan Loui and Ben Griffiths and others filled the first dumpster on Sept 15th and, in the process, identified the first 3 55 gallon drums of toxic waste that had floated downstream in the flood.
Consecutive surveys of Deer Creek by kayak, and the River des Peres by canoe found 9 more 55 gallon drums of hazardous material.
Stream Team AmeriCorps contacted the MO Dept of Natural Resources Environmental Emergency Response hotline, and effected location and cleanup. In the process, the EPA became involved as they were also cleaning up several flood related disasters. More Stream Team AmeriCorps surveys were conducted and the locations of 30 more 55 gallon drums were determined by gps and transmitted to EPA situation coordinator, Heath Smith. Several EPA contractors were tasked with recovery, characterization and disposal.

In total, a minimum of 52 hazardous waste items were recovered and disposed of in the safe and legal manner as a result of these Stream Team efforts. You can see more photos here.

AmeriCorps Position Open!

The River des Peres Watershed Coalition is looking for a staff person! We have put together funding for a half-time AmeriCorps position. The job announcement follows:

The River des Peres Watershed Coalition is a non-profit organization that seeks to improve the condition of the River des Peres and its tributary streams in the St. Louis metropolitan area.

We are seeking a half-time staff person to be funded through the Americorps program. This is a one-year commitment (900 hours) with a possibility of an extension for a second year. Compensation includes a $6,036 stipend and a $2,362 educational award. **There is a possibility that this could be upgraded to a full-time position (1700 hours), with efforts to be shared with Missouri Coalition for the Environment. A full time position would receive a $11,400 stipend, a $4,725 educational award, and health benefits.

Expected duties may include communicating with partner organizations, updating databases, writing newsletter articles, assisting local Stream Teams, water quality monitoring, and event planning.

Requirements:
- good communication skills (verbal and written)
- computer literacy
- organized
- interest in water quality or urban streams
- valid drivers license
- reliable transportation
- ability to work some evening and weekend hours for meetings and events

Preferred skills:
- experience giving presentations
- knowledge of urban streams in general or the River des Peres in particular
- Stream Team training (will be provided if not previously trained)

Please send a cover letter and resume to riverdesperes@yahoo.com to be considered for this position. Resumes will be accepted until the position is filled, but we intend to fill the position in September. Earliest responses will receive priority!

Watershed-Wide Monitoring in the River des Peres

On October 4th, the River des Peres Watershed Coalition will hold the Third Annual Watershed-Wide Monitoring Event. Stream Team volunteers will visit sites throughout the watershed to allow us to have a 'snapshot' of the water quality in the River des Peres and its tributaries in St. Louis City and County. For event details, visit www.riverdesperes.org.

This event is part of the World Water Monitoring Day event that has allowed volunteers across the globe to collect water quality data that can give us an estimate of the condition of our precious water supplies! For details of the international efforts, go to www.wwmd.org.

USGS estimates N & P load to gulf 50% larger than 30 yr avg.

http://toxics.usgs.gov/hypoxia/mississippi/oct_jun/graphics.html




An email from the Upper Mississippi River Conservation Committee alerted us that the US Geological Survey has released a preliminary report indicating the highest Nitrogen and Phosphorous loads in three decades were delivered to the Gulf of Mexico's "Hypoxic Zone" between October and June this year.

It makes sense that historic, record breaking rainfall this year would wash almost all of the Spring fertilizers directly into the river. They are, after all, water soluble.

Nutrient flow was about 50% higher than the spring nutirient loads averaged since 1980. It should be interesting to see how big the Hypoxic Zone will be this year, but that picture won't be out until next year at least.

Robber Fly or Assassin Fly- Diptera Asilidae

Bernie Arnold sent this really cool picture of a predator gnawing on a hapless victim of nature (that profligate waster and spender of life).
We're thinking Diptera Asilidae efferia sp. The length is 2 to 3 times the width, and notice the sword-like ovipositor-- FEMALE!

Now, for extra points, who can identify it's lunch to the species level?

A really cool website for everything you ever wanted to know about these voracious predators can be found at: http://www.geller-grimm.de/asilidae.htm

And, of course, there is the ever helpful Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asilidae

Hungry. Send more bugs.

Common whitetail dragonfly at Watkins Creek

I took this slightly fuzzy picture of a "Common Whitetail dragonfly" or "Long tailed skimmer" on the lower reach of Watkins Creek between the old Coal Bank Rd bridge and the deadend posts.
While the Mississippi River is within easy flying distance, it is more probable that this creature emerged from Watkins creek. He was found at UTM Zone 15S, Easting 7,444,631.54 Northing 4,295,313.27

The squarish brown blocks on the wings and the distinctive white tail suggest this is Plathemis lydia (aka?) Libellula lydia and also tell us that this is a mature male (as only they get the white tail). "In 1955, M.E. Jacobs found that the white color of the male's abdomen was used in display to other males in a contest for territory and that its color did not influence female choice." http://www.sonic.net/~bigsnest/Pond/dragons/skimmers.html#LILY

I'll be looking for dragonfly larvae slightly upstream to rear in captivity to be sure. I found a copyrighted photo of this species larva at the University of Puget Sound's Slater Museum of Natural History here. with the actual picture here. A way to get copyright permissions was not immediately available.

This particular species does not appear in the USGS county level checklist for species known to inhabit St. Louis county. It does appear in the list and distribution map for St. Louis city. and the city/ county limit is very close to where this creature was found (though technically straying into county territory), but if this species were to be found spawning in watkins creek, the map should probably change.

A cool taxonomic key for the Odonates of Michigan can be found here, the dragonflies (Anisoptera families) here, and the crenallations specifying the species here.

Water quality monitoring papers since the 50's have identified this species as "facultative" or "moderately pollution tolerant" with no apparent distinction between members of the order or family at the species level.

Species taxonomy also found here: http://species.wikimedia.org/wiki/Libellula_lydia

Plecoptera- Stonefly distributions in the US

I found this picture at http://www.bugguide.net It is a good site for info on miscellaneous bugs. Copyrighted pic, used by permission of Donald Chandler.

Here is a link to the USGS distribution maps to county level and a lot of other information about Stoneflies. A county level checklist is available here, so that you can see which species of stonefly are known to live in your county. With this list in hand you could google images for the species name and may find the stoneflies in your creek.

I found this site through the Plecoptera Society of North America's workshop manual (pdf format)which you can download here.

Stoneflies are amazing, and one of the most sensitive bioindicator macs for pollution and other anthropogenic effects.
A web-based plecoptera key can be found at this University of New Brunswick (CA)website.

The USGS is still an amazing resource, despite having been cut to the bone so many times in recent years. They have similar websites for Mayflies and other taxa which WQ monitors are interested in.

Wikipedia and Tree of Life pages for Insecta

Odonata Anisoptera Libellulidae Sympetrum flaveolum
Common name: Yellow tailed darter.
Regretably, this little beauty is not a natural resident of the United States.
You can tell this by drilling down to the species list at:
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/distr/insects/dfly/usa/toc.htm


There are several internet websites that are laid out according to taxonomic systems in an attempt to chronicle all living organisms. Here is one such link for Insecta. To travel up the tree, click on the containing group link; in this case, hexapoda. To see members of insecta, click on branching links in the tree.
For instance, Odonata exists as a link at the end of the tree:
Pterygota
Insecta
Hexapoda
Arthropoda
Bilateria
Eukaryotes
Life on Earth

While the Infraorder sublinks are not clickable, (and therefore you cannot get to species level) there are, nevertheless, cool pictures and movies of dragonflys and damselflys to the right.

Compare this with the Wikipedia pages for dragonfly, where entries do more often branch to the species level and photos are creative commons licensed rather than private copyright. Information about the images above can be seen at http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Image:Sympetrum_flaveolum_-_side_%28aka%29.jpg

Do you have cool photos of macroinvertebrates that you have identified? Why not share them with the internet world.

Macroinvertebrate Field and Laboratory Methods for Evaluating the Biological Integrity of Surface Waters

The EPA's website for the 1994 manual:
Macroinvertebrate Field and Laboratory Methods for Evaluating the Biological Integrity of Surface Waters link

NABS macroinvertebrate taxonomic certification

Here is the North American Benthological Society's (NABS) website for taxonomic certification. Membership dues are $70 annually, running December to December and this certification covers more than the usual macroinvertebrates we encounter here in Missouri. It seems, the closest site for regular testing and training workshops is at the University of Illinois, Champaign; but their are some pretty cool photo and resource link pages here that can help you learn more than you need to know about macroinvertebrate systematics.

Workshops and tests cover:
Group 1 - Crustacea, Coleoptera, Diptera, Hemiptera, Lepidoptera, Megaloptera, Odonata, Trombidiformes
Group 2 - Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, Trichoptera
Group 3 - Chironomidae
Group 4 - Oligochaeta, Hirudinea
Group 5 - Mollusca

Ergonomic design for seated mac counting net frame

Bob Coffing, team leader for ST#2991 La Barque Creek, designed and built this light weight net holder and 5 gallon pail seat. It's a great idea that utilizes the net handles with two perpendicular handle spreaders with legs to maintain an easy working height with minimal back strain.

How to mount specimens for educational use.

Here is a USDA website and pdf version of a lab manual:

"Collecting and Preserving Insects and Mites: Tools and Techniques" an updated and modified version of the USDA Misc. Publication no. 1443 published by the Agricultural Research service in 1986 and Edited by George C. Steyskal, William L. Murphy, and Edna M. Hoover.

Everything you ever wanted to know about how to kill and preserve those tiny macroinvertebrates.

La Barque Creek WQM month

La Barque Creek continues to garner well-deserved attention as an unusual and protected safehaven for spectacular biological diversity. Water quality monitoring attempts for last months 'bioblitz' were mostly postponed due to greater than usual flood waters and rain surge events. Bob Coffing has come up with a new plan to try to rectify the situation and to gather as much data as we can in a watershed profile: "WQM Month" will begin June 1st and end July 1st. The idea is that it becomes increasingly difficult to coordinate a large number of Water Quality Monitors for a single "bioblitz" day, but that smaller groups of 2 or 3 or 6 could coordinate with Bob to gather Macroinvertebrate and Chemistry data for multiple sites on different days.

If you would like to be a part of this team effort, or if you would just like the opportunity to survey a creek that actually has bugs in it, please contact: "robert coffing" robertcoffing@sbcglobal.net

Get the lead out

Does anyone have a source for cheap lead test kits that quantify lead in water?