A Passion for Rivers
Wow, what a year it has been! We are so incredibly thankful for the passionate anglers and donors who have come forward to help us with the Science on the Fly citizen scientist program this past year. Since January of 2020, Science on the Fly has been growing much faster than most of us expected. We had four volunteers at the start of the year, with about ten sample sites in three states. We were able to find time, put our heads together, and lay the fundamental groundwork for Science on the Fly. We built a website with an interactive map to see all our sampling locations. We created data sheets and produced a sampling video. Our outreach began to grow and passionate anglers started to notice this powerful mission and were inclined to get involved. To date, we have 46 volunteers, 23 states, 145 sampling sites and 288 analyzed water samples!
How amazing is that?! Grateful does not begin to describe how we feel. We could not have grown to this level without our incredibly passionate volunteers and donors. The fly fishing community has been extremely supportive in helping us grow and get the word out, and now we need to focus on funding to keep this program expanding. In 2021 we dream of having volunteers sampling throughout all 50 states.
As the volunteer coordinator, I have been lucky enough to get to know each of our volunteers. Their passion for fishing and for learning about their own watersheds is profound. Volunteers have told me that since sampling they now have an even deeper connection to their rivers; they feel even more motivated and empowered to protect their local watershed from the harms of humans and climate change. From protecting the rare Warrior Bass in the Black Warrior River of Alabama to the droughts and wildfires in Western states and even the thaw of permafrost in the Arctic, the story of our rivers is finally starting to be told.
We are looking forward to what the new year has in store for us. We are excited to see the connections that Science on the Fly has made between anglers, conservationists, scientists, water enthusiasts and more. Let’s hope we land more fish and fill more sample bottles! If you’d like to get involved, by either sampling or donating, please go to our website www.scienceonthefly.org or reach out to me at allie@scienceonthefly.org.
Wishing you a happy and healthy holiday season and new year.
Allie Cunningham
Allie is the Volunteer Coordinator for Science on the Fly. She also samples the San Miguel River outside of Telluride, Colorado.