Stream Team is looking for volunteers to stir things up this summer, specifically “stream bugs”  in twenty local streams throughout Thurston County.  (No experience necessary!)

Stream bugs are the critters that live in the bottom of streams.  They provide valuable information regarding water quality and the biological health of streams.

Stream bugs are also fun to collect and examine!

Stream Team will host a training on two different dates: June 19 or July 9 at 6 p.m.  During the training volunteers will learn how and why “stream bugs” are used to assess the health of streams.   The training will be held at a local stream where you will have a chance to see how the samples are collected and hear from Dave Spillar, a longtime local fly fishing expert, about his observations regarding stream bugs.

Monitoring will take place on varying dates and times from late June through early August.  Each monitoring session is led by a trained staff person.  Volunteers can sign up for one or more monitoring sites.  The data from this sampling program is shared with local governments and used to assess how the health of streams change over time.

People interested in volunteering should contact Ann Marie Pearce at 754-3355, ext. 6857 or via e-mail at pearcea@co.thurston.wa.us