Hughes County Conservation District

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Blue Thumb Training Pays Off BIG!!

     The Hughes County Conservation District recently conducted a Blue Thumb Training session at Moss School where several teachers, students and citizens learned how to perform biological and chemical collections, and perform site reviews on area streams. This was a two day intensive training course, and it has already paid off big.

Caprice “Cappi” Coleman was one of the teachers who participated in this training along with her entire family.  While out riding bikes Saturday morning on June 6^th, she discovered where a tank truck had dumped out a mile long stretch of a foul smelling oily substance on a county road just east of Moss School.  She quickly realized what had happened and proceeded to contact the Conservation District and began taking samples from the pools on the road and from the stream where the waste was spilled.  The waste was a combination of salt water, oil and diesel, most likely pulled from an injection well.

Ms. Jones of the Conservation District immediately contacted the Hughes County Sheriff’s Department, the Oklahoma Corporation Commission, the Oklahoma Conservation Commission’s Blue Thumb Program, the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality Pollution Hotline and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.  Several of these organizations arrived to conduct an investigation.

Cappi Coleman also received the coveted “Conservation Educator of the Year” Award for Congressional District #2.  This award is given to one teacher in each of the five Congressional District across Oklahoma each year.  Thank you Cappi for a job well done.

                                      

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Cappi Coleman stands next to a puddle of oilfield waste which was dumped on a county road east of Moss School on Saturday, June 6, 2009. Cappi managed to collect several samples from this puddle before it dried up.  She also collected water samples from the stream.

     This mile long stretch of oilfield waste was reported by Moss Science teacher and Blue Thumb volunteer Cappi Coleman.  Several agencies were immediately contacted in regards to this pollution complaint.  The Sheriff’s office and Wildlife Department quickly arrived on the scene.

     The oilfield waste was dumped both directly into this stream and uphill from the stream where the fluid ranoff into the stream.  The landowner was very upset that someone would pollute the stream from which he waters his cattle. 

     This is the spot where the truck stopped and finished dumping out its load.  As you can see there was enough of this fluid to begin washing away the dirt road.  If you look carefully, you can see where the road is turning white from the salt in the fluid.  Both the road and the stream had a very strong diesel odor emitting from the oily substance.

HCCD Hosts Two Day Training Course

     The Hughes County Conservation District hosted a two day Blue Thumb training session on May 21st and 22nd at Moss School.  Fourteen individuals received training including:  6 teachers, 2 students, an Associate Director of HCCD, and 2 representatives from Choctaw Nation and 3 citizens who are interested in the program. The volunteers learned:  

Chemical Monitoring:  volunteers go out to their streams and perform MONTHLY chemical monitoring to determine levels of dissolved oxygen, pH, ammonia nitrogen, nitrate nitrogen, orthophosphate phosphorus, chloride, temperature, and water clarity.  These results are recorded and submitted to the main Blue Thumb office.   

Biological Monitoring:  Participants will gather benthic macroinvertebrate collections twice a year, once in winter and summer.  Macroinvertebrates are a good indicator of water quality.  Macroinvertebrates are those creatures that live in the stream such as crayfish, water bugs, snails, worms and leeches.  Participants will also gather fish collections once every 4 years.

Physical Monitoring:  While collecting data on site, participants will also be performing a habitat assessment of the stream.  They will monitor any changes to the site since they were last there.  They will note stream depth and width, debris, animal trails, existing cover for fish, undercut banks, streambank conditions, and existing shade over the site.

Suggestions…

If you spot a tanker truck going down a dirt road that you know doesn’t have a well on it…

WRITE IT DOWN…

Date—Time—Location

Name of Company—if possible

Color of Truck

License Plate # - if possible

If you have a camera—USE IT!!

 

 

Tina Grippa checks water temperature.

Lisa Mitchell takes a water sample.

Jenni Allen and Jake Williams seine for fish.

Bryan and Cappi Coleman made this an experience the whole family could enjoy.

Kevin Blackwood of Chickasaw Nation, Terry Smith of Holdenville Schools and Associate Director Dale Jenkins begin chemical monitoring.

Talon Coleman of Moss and Pat Hoerth of Red Rock watch as Kim Shaw, Blue Thumb Education Coordinator, uses the Enviroscape Model to show how easily everyday activities can lead to non-point source pollution.

 

Kim Shaw shows the Coleman girls a channel catfish that was caught in the net.

Here is the Bluegill that Jenni Allen and Jake Williams netted.

Participants Jean Williams of Moss, Kevin Blackwood and Stacy Gantt of Chickasaw nation and Tina Grippa of Holdenville watch as Cheryl Cheadle, State Blue Thumb Coordinator, talks about groundwater tables while using the Groundwater Flow Model.

Terry Smith checks his pH test results.

Cheryl Cheadle oversees new volunteers Talon Coleman and Jake Williams while they add drops to their test.

Cappi Coleman checks on the progress of her dissolved oxygen test.

Left: Jean Williams & Cheryl Cheadle pull macroinvertebrates from the stream bed.

Above:  Rochelle Croce checks the results of her ammonia test.

Right:  Kevin Blackwood uses the secchi disk to check turbidity.