April 1st, 2012
Sassafras Stream Waders - Assessing the Health of our Streams
During March 2012, SRA volunteers and staff visited 11 non-tidal streams to collect benthic macroinvertebrate samples. Often simply referred to as “benthics”, these organisms are the insects, crustaceans, and other small creatures which dwell on the bottom of our streams. Because benthics live in streams year-round and are subject to all the environmental stressors, changes, and water quality impairments – assessing benthic abundance and diversity is an excellent method of measuring overall stream health. The condition of the benthic community can be a direct reflection of human impacts and land use in our watershed.Benthics vary in their sensitivity to pollution and habitat disturbance – healthy streams may have a wide ranging diversity of both tolerant and intolerant species, while unhealthy streams may have only tolerant species. This summer scientists from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources will use SRA’s samples to calculate a benthic “Index of Biotic Integrity”, which is essentially a method of grading stream impairment.
The last benthic survey in the Sassafras Watershed was conducted in 2009, with 6 out of 6 sites receiving very poor scores. In the Sassafras Watershed, excess erosion is a common problem leading to muddy stream bottoms – a serious disadvantage for many benthic organisms which need rocky substrate or leaf packs for habitat. Some of SRA’s streams have exceptionally high nutrient concentrations, and were chocked with algae growth even during March. Other streams showed evidence of having been used as trash dump sites for years. This spring SRA saw "the good, the bad, and the ugly" in the realm of stream health. But it’s important to note among all the examples of poor stream health, that SRA did see some positive signs for our streams. Our streams are the first to show examples of improvement whem we increase our efforts to better manage and protect our land. The work of individuals to reduce erosion and runoff into our streams can and will continue to play a big part in cleaning up our River.
Photos of some of the organisms SRA found can be viewed here.
Jamie Brunkow,
Sassafras RIVERKEEPER®;
March 1st, 2012
Arsenic and Old Litter
Arsenic has a long history of use in industry and agriculture as a pesticide, herbicide and fungicide. It’s widely known that arsenic is a carcinogenic poison – made famous in the 1940’s play “Arsenic and Old Lace” in which characters poisoned old men with arsenic laced wine. The effects of arsenic are no exaggeration – even low-level human exposure to arsenic has been linked to health impacts like cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and various forms of cancer.Until recently arsenic was a common additive in chicken feed, in the form of the drug Roxarsone, which was used to control intestinal parasites. Chickens administered Roxarsone excrete the toxic inorganic form of arsenic in litter, and this litter was spread in fields across Delmarva as fertilizer for decades. In a study written by the Hughes Center for Agro-Ecology "The Environmental Concerns of Arsenic Additives in Poultry Litter: Literature Review”, it was identified that not only does arsenic from poultry litter build up in soils, but that some areas of Delmarva have already accumulated high levels of arsenic beyond background remediation standards.
Amid growing concern over arsenic and human health impacts, members of the Maryland General Assembly attempted to pass a bill banning the use of arsenic based additives in chicken feed during both the 2010 and 2011 legislative sessions. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) also released results from a study in June of 2011 which detected elevated levels of arsenic in livers of chickens that had been administered Roxarsone. The FDA study led to the manufacturer of Roxarsone immediately and voluntarily removing the drug from the market.
The Maryland General Assembly is again considering a bill to ban arsenic in chicken feed during the 2012 session. Although Roxarsone is no longer manufactured, other arsenic based drugs do exist and could end up in chickens on the eastern shore – as well as on our farm fields, in our water, and even on our plates. Arsenic is a known carcinogenic poison. To protect our environment and the health of our communities we must permanently stop the use of this toxin in chicken feed.
Hear more about the arsenic ban issue in this radio podcast of “On Delmarva Soundbites”, in which Maryland state delegates are interviewed, as well as representatives from Perdue and the non-profit Food and Water Watch.
Get involved; contact our state representatives and senators to show your support for the bill, and for a healthy environment.
Jamie Brunkow,
Sassafras RIVERKEEPER®
Who I Am
Jamie Brunkow
As the Sassafras RIVERKEEPER®, I serve as the eyes, ears, and public voice of the Sassafras River. I patrol the River regularly, looking for sources of pollution, conducting water quality testing, and observing the condition of shorelines and buffers.
I work closely with my colleagues in the WATERKEEPER® Alliance, an international coalition of more than 182 organizations working at the grassroots level for clean water. There are 18 RIVERKEEPERS working on the Chesapeake Bay's tributaries.
You can read my latest findings in the "RIVERKEEPER's Corner" in the Sassafras Update.
What I Do
I patrol the Sassafras River Watershed in the RIVERKEEPER vessel, by canoe and kayak, on foot, and by car looking for sources of pollution. When I identify potential issues, I work with homeowners, businesses, boaters and governments to correct the issue. If you would like to accompany me on patrol, contact me by email or on 410 708-3303.
I'm not here to prevent people from doing what they want to do. I'm here to help them see that there are different ways of going about things that are better for the health of the River.
I also conduct regular water quality testing, both as part of the Sassafras Samplers and on my own. I'm responsible for analyzing the results and formatting data so that it can be readily understood by our members, other users of the Sassafras River watershed, and government officials.
You can help me as your RIVERKEEPER . If you have a concern about the Sassafras River or observe any condition which may be degrading water quality, click on Report Pollution, call me on 410 708-3303 or send an email. Please provide as much specific information as you can — date, time, location, issue, photo — so I can follow up. I will report back to you on what I find.
I'm also SRA's lead researcher in the Sassafras Watershed Action Plan (SWAP).
Interviews
River Radio - Episode 2, May 5th, 2012.Episode two of "River Radio" featuring interviews and segments on SRA's poultry litter injector, an SRA rain barrel workshop, and Project Clean Stream. Listen to the podcast here, or tune in to Chestertown's WCTR (AM1530, FM102.3) the 1st and 3rd Saturdays of the month at 11am. "River Radio" is a joint project of Chester River Association and Sassafras River Association to cover issues and projects focused on restoring our Rivers on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.River Radio - Episode 1, April 7th, 2012. The first episode of "River Radio" featuring interviews with Sassafras River Association Staff, local watershed residents, and discussion of the environmental issues facing the Sassafras River. Show airs on Chestertown's WCTR the first and third Saturdays of each month at 11am (AM 1530, and FM 102.3).