Cascade Creek water quality testing with Larry Dolphin

This weekend, naturalist Larry Dolphin led volunteers from Girl Scout troops 44886, 45001, and 44589 to do water testing & explore the ecology of Cascade Creek, which borders the threatened great blue heron rookery. Volunteers rubbed rocks before a net located in a riffle area. They also did a “stream dance” in front of the net. Once full of debris, they pulled the net to check their “critter findings”. Dolphin had a white tarp to place the critters on, along with identification sheets. They used a data collection sheet to fill out what they found.

They found some nice mayfly nymphs, caddis fly larvae, crane fly larvae, riffle beetle, damselfly nymph, aquatic worms, pouch snails, and other larvae. Their index assessment landed in the low good category. They didn't get any crayfish (this sampling technique is not always the best for catching them).

Thank you to everyone who participated! Check out the Post Bulletin article here!!

Larry Dolphin is the retired director of the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center and is presently the Austin Audubon President. Larry also volunteers at the local Izaak Walton League Chapter. In 2019, largely due to Larry’s legacy, Austin was recognized as a Bird City in Minnesota, and the Jay C. Hormel Nature Center was recognized as a Regionally Significant Park in Greater Minnesota by the Greater Minnesota Regional Parks and Trails Commission.