Invasive species on the Kaw

[cynthia...@gmail.com]

We are considering starting a mapping initiative to get volunteers to help us track the spread of invasive species on the Kaw. Here is a suggestion from an FOK member:

"Salt cedar is probably controlable/preventable over the entire river, although my familarity with the upper river is a bit limited. Over the next month or two when it blooms the pink plumes are  pretty easy to spot. If there was a way to report or map observations of it. We could deal with it or find a way to deal with it. Ok don't laugh, but we have a "plant" at DOAgricultural (used to work at KDHE) that works with invasives and investigates and deals with such. Volunteers could report observations and or deal with salt cedar in the field. I really don't have a good feel for the extent of salt cedar on kaw.

 

Honeysuckle..... dealing with it in small areas like Kaw Point Park is doable with volunteers.  When it comes to the river it makes me want to put my head down on the table. But I not sure I have the big picture. Shawnee county is pretty bad, parts of Jefferson are, I see a lot of it along the turnpike near bonner springs. Maybe the distribution on the river is more patchy than I assume. You guys are more familiar with the lower river. Identifiying presence of it would be a good idea, dealing with it would be another thing even with armies of volunteers."

We would like suggestions about how to put an invasive species project together. Thanks. Cynthia

[cynthia...@gmail.com]

Dr. Cynthia Annett wrote:

RJ and Steve-- there's a growing number of people using GPS to record their paths, and we could experiment with it without giving the impression that we are actually mapping the main channel. (There are even people who walk routes through cities that deliberately look like works of "art". It might be a lot of fun to ask the question: how to you explore/experience the river? 

A group session would be great-- we need to do some brainstorming on how to set it up, as well as looking at exchanging information on the skills we need to pull it off.

On May 20, 2010, at 10:40 AM, RJ Stephenson wrote:

I'd be interested in doing a small group session.  Maybe we could work in a GPS session too.

I'm like Steve.  When I float alone my track is not usually very representative of the river channel.  I tend to stop at or go to places that happen to catch my interest.  That may mean sticking my nose up Buck Creek as far as I can go, or paddling over to the other side of the river to identify some odd looking object, or finding a sandbar with shade for lunch, making sure to float by some habitat I spot for certain types of animals, or ...... whatever.  I think that you tend to see more and have a better float experience with this attitude than you do if you put on blinders and just paddle on down the middle of the river.  I'm not sure how to translate it into the database.

 

----- Original Message -----

From: STEVE CRINGAN

Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 9:47 AM

Subject: Re: Float observations

Sounds good. If there are others that need tutoring in the subject, we could do a small group.

 

----- Original Message -----

From: Dr. Cynthia Annett

To: STEVE CRINGAN

Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 9:30 AM

Subject: Re: Float observations

One possibility is to have a map and log that a number of people contribute to (the occasional, casual floaters) and then have pages with maps and logs that are dedicated to regulars like you. Something like "adopt a reach" for people who float a stretch many times over the course of a year. It wouldn't be hard to set it up like that. And I would be happy to come over and show you how to load photos and do the basics, its not too hard for folks with good computer skills (like you). 

 

On May 20, 2010, at 9:22 AM, STEVE CRINGAN wrote:

 I would be interested in doing it, not very web savy yet but find something unique or interesting on most every trip. Do you envision fixed segments that multiple people could add to through time or would it be more individual. A 100 pictures per map limit wouldn't be a problem for a segment unless multiple users eventually filled it up. I can't image posting more than 10-12 photos from a trip on a segment. I'm not sure how much benefit there would be in displaying individual track logs, personally I loiter a lot, sometimes paddle upstream across the river to look at something or make a second pass by a turtle or whatever, so I'm sometimes all over the place. Average speed at a given flow in a segment is interesting but mostly we know the distance we are traveling in a segment when we get on and the track is just where you chose to go because of the flow or what you see ahead.

----- Original Message -----

From: Dr. Cynthia Annett

To: STEVE CRINGAN

Sent: Thursday, May 20, 2010 8:31 AM

Subject: Re: Float observations

Steve-- I would really like to try to start something like you are suggesting. I can imagine several different ways of building it into the website. For example, I could build a separate google site (like I did for the River Inventory data) that would contain instructions on how to submit information and a discussion board (like the forum on the river inventory site http://sites.google.com/site/kansasriverinventory/discussion-forum) It would be linked to the main website, but doesn't need to be as polished.  We could have people request permission to submit, and after approval we could give them permission to post to the discussion forum and add materials to the maps (they could build material on that website but would not have access to the main website editing functions, which means they wouldn't accidentally do anything to our main FOK websites). This citizen mapper website would function like a wiki, with a group building it together and commenting on each other's submissions. We could develop a way to display GPS track logs on the maps. Given the limitations on displaying photos in google maps (if you add more than a hundred photos it starts a new map and you have to flip through different maps to see them all) we could divide the river up into 5-10 mile segments with start and end points corresponding to the access ramps. You can add notes into the photo pop-up bubbles.

What do you think? You and RJ would make great guinea pigs.

Cynthia

On May 19, 2010, at 10:15 PM, STEVE CRINGAN wrote:

Sounds interesting, I would be interested in the observations and photos of others as well. By observations, I mean cool stuff like nice scenery, wildlife hotspots, good campsites, photogenic spots, uncommon features, etc. as well as the problems and hazards. Most of the time when I'm on the river I just see beauty. Like the inventory photos it would be nice to see something of what a reach looks like and to learn enough about it to be attracted to it.

I take so many pictures it is more or less a photo journal. I was thinking the other day that with my GPS track logs and time info from my camera I can probably georeference most of my photos to some where within a river mile or less.

Now that Mike has made it so accessable I feel compelled to become more familiar with my stretch of the Kaw. I am going to talk to him about the Seward ramp, it needs work of some kind.

Steve 

----- Original Message -----

From: Dr. Cynthia Annett

Subject: Re: Float observations

Steve-- if you would be interested, I would be happy to make a google map and work with you to add your observations and photos. It would be a nice way to start cataloging observations submitted by members. What do you think? Cynthia

On May 19, 2010, at 7:57 PM, STEVE CRINGAN wrote:

I could pick up what I would call a faint or mild effluent odor in the river two to three miles downstream of oakland, not uncommon on a major discharge and not as bad as it once was. Didn't see anything unusual through town.  The storm sewer at Hills had a pretty good flow but it was clear and didn't really have any odor.

I saw one adult eagle below the oakland expressway bridge. It left a 5-6# buffalo fish half eaten. I had seen another identical appearing carcass a mile or two upstream also half eaten.

The Meirs dredge was pointing downstream and the operator was seemingly unaware of my presence until he saw me about 20 yards away beside him on river left. He was about 2/3 of the way across the river and I chose to go river left because they don't have a floating pontoon line on the pipe, they use rubber flexible pipe that is below the surface and going river right could be like hitting a log below the surface. When I got right beside him I ran into sand and hopped out to walk it by, he say me then. As soon as the water got deep enough I got back in and went on my way, I hopped in when I realized I might be walking into a dredge hole. His cross channel cable was slack enough to go over, I didn't notice it. In the past he has shut off the suction and or moved a little to river right when I passed, although I have gone under cables maybe 6' above the water.

 I saw one bankside dump of mostly roofing materials and some misc. trash on the south bank less than mile upstream of the seward boat ramp. People who have cabins and camps along the river are probably victims of illegal dumping, they should probably gate their accesses.

<trashupstream of serward.jpg>

The Seward boat ramp was a royal mess, about a foot of mud up the ramp quite a distance. Not the worse part however, there was a gut pile covered with flies and stinking. Stange, all I could see was a stomach and lg and sm intestine, no other parts and I'm not sure what kind of animal in the 100-200# range. I'm wondering if someone is feeding a 30' Crocidile like in the movie Lake Placid.

 

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