Community Scientists: Cody McKeever and Bethany Leissner
Engaging the local community with their own history and future through river sampling.
Bethany and Cody taking Science on the Fly water samples on the Pecos River in New Mexico.
When Bethany Leissner and her partner, Cody McKeever, began sampling the Pecos River in the fall of 2021 after moving to Santa Fe, she started talking about it with others in her new community. “I realized that people who are born and raised in this area were not always aware of the environmental concerns facing their own home water,” she says.
It wasn’t that they didn’t celebrate the river’s cultural importance or revere its rich and complicated history, she says. “But when I would explain why we sampled the river with an emphasis on the mine that used to operate right on the banks, some were not aware of why that was necessary.”
Their sampling work and the conversations it opens has been an ongoing opportunity to inform and engage people, planting a seed in their minds that hopefully grows and spreads into further care and protection of the river, she says.
Bethany sampling the river.
Motivated by good news
Cody McKeever with a SOTF water sample from the Pecos River.
Cody, general manager of Land of Enchantment Guides, was driven to get involved with SOTF because he’d heard about the successful progress and cleanup of Brushy Creek—a story that’s close to home for him, having grown up in central Texas. Wanting to get involved near his new home, he and Bethany began sampling the Pecos River in the Sangre De Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico.
Having grown up fishing and exploring rivers, Cody had felt an appreciation for the Pecos River long before he moved to New Mexico—so sampling it may have felt like an obvious next step. For Bethany, who was raised in a major metropolitan area, sampling the river has offered a variety of lessons. “River science was completely new to me,” she says. “How to look at the water, how to analyze conditions, and how to trust my senses to ascertain what the river is trying to say are skills I am still developing. I want to emphasize how important it is to show people that you do not have to be a scientist to contribute to your local area in a scientific way.”
Empowered as everyday citizens
With her background in healthcare, Bethany says she never considered herself someone who was qualified to add anything to an environmental cause. “I don’t have an environmental science degree, I don’t work for an advocacy group or agency, I didn’t even grow up near water,” she says. “But I’ve learned that even if you feel like you're not the person who should be out there doing research, there is room for you. All you have to do is care.”
She says SOTF has been a beautiful and accessible way for a regular citizen to truly contribute to her surroundings. “If I can do it, anyone can do it.”
American Dipper with a Brown Trout Photo: Cody McKeever
Data is more important than ever
As regulations are gutted, the need for sampling has felt even more urgent. The Pecos River has a long history of mining and faces new mining proposals. “Having data logged can help us pinpoint water chemistry issues, especially as protections get stripped away,” Cody says. “The upper headwaters have Wild and Scenic River designation and is home to our native Rio Grande Cutthroat Trout.”
Many people are working to preserve these waterways, and Bethany and Cody are champions for the important work of everyday citizens in that process—including sampling through SOTF. “These beautiful lakes, rivers and streams will only exist as long as we continue fighting to protect them,” Cody says.
Give Cody & Bethany a follow: @cody_z_mckeever & @bethanyelaine
Thank you to all of our Community Scientists who have joined us to tell the story of your home rivers. Because at the end of the day, when you protect a river, you protect the whole system—including the people in it. Rivers don’t shut down. Fish don’t stop swimming. Climate Change doesn’t pause. Neither do we. Together, we can ensure our rivers remain vibrant for those who will come after us.
Here’s to 6 amazing years of Science on the Fly—support our continued efforts now!
