Kentucky has over 91,000 miles of rivers and streams and more than 225,000 acres of ponds, lakes, and reservoirs. These water resources not only play a vital role in Kentucky’s drinking water systems, but also are imperative to our agriculture industry. Each day in Kentucky, 81 million gallons of surface water and 4 million gallons of groundwater are withdrawn for agricultural use. In addition, these resources are a source of recreation for anglers, hunters, and wildlife watchers. A survey conducted by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Census Berea reported that 1.7 million people fished, hunted, or viewed wildlife in Kentucky in 2011. That same survey stated that $2.9 billion were spent in Kentucky on wildlife-related recreation in 2011.

University of Kentucky Boone County Cooperative Extension Service partnered with Boone County Conservation, and University of Kentucky 4-H to create a dynamic Youth Stream Team program. Nine teen participants in the program met bi-weekly and gained a wide range of knowledge concerning their local water ways through hands-on learning experiences.  Some of the activities included salamander searches, seining, bio assessments, watershed hikes, and chemistry tests.

Youth learned important ecological issues within local Boone County streams and how to test for quantitative and qualitative data.  Youth learned stream monitoring and restoration skills that could be used in future science careers.

In addition to learning about a variety of testing parameters and biological assessments, participants worked together to create a community project.  This team was particularly interested in amphibians and chose to create frog tubes to attach to trees and install in wetlands for observation and future research projects.

References: KY Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources; KY Division of Forestry; KY Energy and Environment Cabinet; KY Geological Survey; University of Kentucky Department of Forestry; U.S. Census Berea; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service