Students scour Huron River - 10/7/2005

The Flat Rock teens looked for tiny lifeforms and found the river is cleaner than what some people think.

By DEAN COUSINO
FLAT ROCK

- The Huron River may be cleaner than some people think.
The stream is a haven for fishermen and canoeing enthusiasts, and, judging by the number and variety of bugs and creepy crawlers gathered by Flat Rock High School science students Thursday, the river may be in its best condition in years.

About 25 students in Carolyn Grapentine's environmental science class spent an hour scooping critters from the river bottom just east of the footbridge and dam at Huroc Park. Their aim was to collect as many bugs and organisms as possible and identify them.

It's the second year the students have used the park as a class project to assess the health of the river. The more bugs they find, the healthier the river, Ms. Grapentine said.

"I think we found more bugs today than last year," she said as they boarded a bus to return to school. "We are looking for variety. I'm still new at this, (but) that's a good sign."

The pupils split up into groups, each accompanied by volunteers from the AutoAlliance International Inc. plant in Flat Rock. Armed with buckets, trays, nets and tweezers, the groups set out along the river and harvested everything from fishing lines and driftwood to pop cans and broken drainage pipes. Several students waded into the shallow water in hip boots to search for live specimens clinging to the debris.

Kandy Frost, an 18-year employee at the auto plant, donned waders to assist seniors Kaitlin Druyor and Abigail Laura in the river.

The first thing Kaitlin pulled out with her fishing net was a fishing line and lure snagged on a stick and seaweed. They handed the slimy mess to seniors Melissa Kowalski, Lauren Digiacomo and Zach Scott to inspect for specimens. The first things they plucked with their tweezers were quarter- to half-inch-long zebra mussels, plus a single midge larva that was barely visible to the naked eye.

"He's really little," Lauren said as she placed the wiggling creature in a jar of water.
A few yards downstream, junior Dan McLaughlin and senior Ashley Sinclair were on their knees examining closely every piece of debris brought in by juniors Brittany McCranie and Amber Smith. Using a checklist of the different types of small insects found in streams, the youths kept track of which bugs were present and where.

Ms. Grapentine, also in waders, surprised them with a mysterious large bone she fished from the water.
"I thought it was a log," she said as she brought it to shore. "It could be from a horse, cow or deer."
One girl asked how a cow could wonder into the stream. Dan dissected the 1½-foot-long bone and found that most of the marrow had been destroyed.

"There's nothing left," he said as he pulled out more tiny larvae and nymphs.
Both he and Ashley walked across the bridge to the other side of the river to find more specimens lying near vegetation hanging over the stream. After finding several Rifle beetles, mayfly nymphs and dragonfly nymphs, Dan, 16, was satisfied they had done their job.

"This group's doing pretty good," he said proudly. "We got almost everything on the list."
Mrs. Frost, a member of the Flat Rock Kiwanis Club, sought relief in the shade after working in the hot sun. She also assisted last week when students measured the 100-foot width of the river from shore to shore.

"I can't believe how clean the river is," she said.
Terry Filipiak, environmental manager at AAI, attributed the clean water to educational efforts by the watershed council, better controls on sewage plant treatment and industrial wastes and other environmental efforts to improve the quality of lakes and streams in Michigan.

"There's been a big push on eliminating non-point source pollution" such as stormwater and fertilizer runoff from area farmland, he said. "You don't want too much algae or fertilizers in the water."

Senior Ashley Sinclair winced, "Ohmigosh, a big crayfish," when her team leader, Dennis Maynard, brought a crayfish with one pincer missing. Junior Stephanie Adams was brave enough to let him place the 2-inch-long crayfish in her hand, but she soon regretted it.

"Ouch, that hurts," Stephanie said when the creature pinched her and wouldn't let go. "I think it broke the skin."
Others watched as Dennis pulled the crayfish off her hand and dropped it back into the river.

The zebra mussels were just as captivating. Found in large numbers in the nutrient-rich river, the fresh-water mussels consume algae and other tiny organisms to make the water cleaner. But they have their negative side, too, said David Wilson, an expert with the watershed council.

"In heavy concentrations, they can clog water intake pipes and cooling systems” in lake freighters and recreational boats, Mr. Wilson said. "It's estimated they cause billions of dollars in damage" to propeller shafts and hydraulic controls.

Studying the zebra mussels can give researchers clues on how to improve the aquatic life in Michigan's lakes and streams.

Mr. Wilson returned today with a biologist to help students correctly identify the specimens gathered with their water samples. The results will give a better picture of how healthy the river is for wildlife to flourish again.

Some students expressed interest in careers in marine biology. Mr. Filipiak said he hopes the field trips and the educational partnership the plant has with the students continue.

"It's a really great experience for the kids," he said. "It gives them hands-on experience and engages them in real-life (testing) rather than just reading it out of a textbook."