My Summer as a Writer in Residence at Rattlesnake Creek Dam

By Cassie Sevigny

A glint of white, a shine of running water ahead. The water is seeping in from the corner of the drained reservoir, opposite the headgates, already braiding through the ditches left by the trucks. The new trickle of stream already washes away the drying, damp, and cracking clay below my feet, the clear water flaunting the muted rainbow of glacial stones. These revealed rivulets of rainbow rocks are their own kind of slow, mini excavation alongside the deconstruction of the dam.

This is a note I wrote while exploring the drained Rattlesnake Creek reservoir as an artist in residence for Trout Unlimited. I was finishing my Master’s in Economics at University of Montana (UM) when I found Open AIR Montana’s artist residency program. Eager to work on a creative project after plunging into statistical econometric analysis, I applied. My excitement heightened upon seeing Rattlesnake Creek dam as a site option because of my prior experience in the creek with the Watershed Education Network (WEN) as a college student. I have participated in citizen science with WEN’s Stream Team and taught local students about river science on WEN field trips. The citizen-led efforts and success of initiating the defunct dam's removal inspired me on a civic level. I was not part of the initial process to approve the removal of the dam, so this was my chance to be involved! 

Since so much of my writing depends on what I see and feel, I did not know exactly where my writing would take me with this project. I wanted to express the importance of this body of water to Missoulians and beyond, the science behind the effects of dams on river ecology, the politics and history of its installation, abandonment, and removal, and the sheer subjective experience of this human-environment interaction. During the residency I spent many days hiking up to the dam overlook, or to the site itself when the construction workers had the day off. I wandered around, connecting pieces of historical and ecological information with aspects of the site itself.

To inform myself, I attended public talks, tours, and virtual lectures by Rob Roberts and Ladd Knotek. I read about bull trout and the importance of the Rattlesnake Creek to local native societies. I helped dig out items from a garbage-and-dirt heap when a local historian came to inspect its trash and treasure. I took pictures of the plants I found along the creek and learned about them with the iNaturalist app. I reviewed the plan for the dam’s deconstruction, and the reconstruction of a semblance of what the original creek might’ve looked like. And of course I ran into WEN staff members along the trail examining the dam removal’s progress.

WEN gave me experience in applied science outdoors with a local stream that connected me to my Montana environment in the first place. Trout Unlimited and Open AIR Montana gave me just the opportunity I needed and desired to explore creative writing and my relationship with an ecosystem that has a soft spot in my heart. 

Cassie's First Bear!

 By Cassie Sevigny

One Tuesday I dropped in on Level 2 Stream Team. I had to go to the bridge crossing Rattlesnake Creek but not cross it myself. Instead I stayed left, barely found the narrow overgrown trail along the bank, and followed it upstream. “Don’t forget to make noise to alert bears since you’re walking alone,” Deb had warned me. Aissa found me before I’d gotten far and showed me to the site.

I stood on mossy rocks and watched Aissa, Stephie, Reyna, and Joe wrangling insect samples from a special collecting net into a jar. It was a process that required all four sets of hands. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a dark figure leaning over a fallen branch in the woods across the stream. Weird spot for someone to be wandering, I briefly thought, but people are weird. A few minutes later I saw the black shape stretch up, and up, and up into a tree. It was no person. I couldn’t even form words in my excitement and surprise. I just pointed. “A bear!” Aissa told everyone. “It’s eating berries from the mountain ash.” 

The bear lounged for a while, ignoring us. Or perhaps not noticing us, for ten minutes later it lumbered toward the creek and suddenly stopped. There were people in the creek! I wondered if it had intended to come down for a drink or a splash. Likely bears do not usually encounter people in their creek so far upstream, away from main trail access. The bear paused for a bit, contemplating what to do, and eventually retreated into the woods. I wondered if it was going to find another spot.

Deb arrived later with Joe Glassy, WEN board member, who she ran into on the trail. I find this a common occurrence with Deb, who seems to know everyone. Joe had brought his dog Lucy and his camera. How unfortunate he had missed the chance to photograph the bear! But as we talked and the team returned to collecting the fatal insect sample, the bear re-emerged from the trees a ways upstream! It lay down at the edge of the water. If not for the slight movement, it could’ve been mistake for a large black boulder among the rocks. 

I’ve lived in Missoula six years now and seen plenty of deer, birds, insects and squirrels. I know bears frequent the Rattlesnake, and I’ve even been at Greenough during reports of bears in the creek. But this was the first one I’ve seen. I felt part elation and part realization that I couldn’t remember how you were supposed to respond to a bear’s presence. Stream Team had bear spray of course, and we didn’t need to use it. But the fact that I was in the bear’s territory and came face to face with one reminded me how wild the land is, and how easily we can ignore that when we build houses and ranches and roads and trails and bring our urban selves so close to the edge of a wilderness.

Resplendent Stream Team

By Cassie Sevigny

Returning to WEN as a staff member has felt a bit like a homecoming. Stream Team days pull me out of my apartment isolation and into the woods, resplendent with yellow and red leaves and striped with tree trunks among the dry blond underbrush. I see Rattlesnake creek, which is not cutting through the forest but embedded as part of it, and I realize sometimes we forget about things that make us happy.

The cool fall weather indicates Stream Team season is ending, so I’ve been lucky to go out several times in the past few weeks. One trip brought me to a location between Greenough and the dam site that I had not been to before. A family was leaving the area around the tilted narrow stone table and bench when we arrived. Upon the table we spread out our gear around a little fall fairy house someone had made. Red berries perched in the shelves of pinecones, and leaves and pine needles stuck out like flags from a mossy wood-and-bark house. That day ended with wine and a light plum cake made with Deb’s recipe and Aissa’s plums. The immediate feeling of being among family and working to a common goal makes me happy.

I also helped with a special Stream Team day with University of Montana’s Water Policy class, taught by Ada Montague, this time at a familiar site by the Duncan trailhead bridge. Clouds clung thickly to the sky and the thin conifers swung about in the wind. It was hard to find insects in our tubs with all the leaves and other fall debris. They needed someone “solid on bugs” to teach the volunteers what to look for and how to identify the insects we were counting. I wasn’t sure how much I would remember but trusted in my ability to recognize and relearn. Turns out even after a few years’ absence from leading any stations, I still know my aquatic insects! Pointing out the tiny wiggling ones reminded me of when I was a new volunteer, delightedly soaking up every bit of Al’s professional expertise that I could. 

Working with WEN has taught me to take the lead with whatever they throw at me. I’ve also been reminded that I have plenty of skills and knowledge from years of working with WEN. That expertise makes me comfortable teaching and leading stations, even if I’m initially hesitant, so that others can learn the excitement of their watersheds too.

Washington Middle School Flagship Water Explorers: Part Four

Introducing the Watershed Education Network’s Washington Middle School Flagship Water Explorers 2020 

By Deb Fassnacht and Jenna Rolle

Week Four: Marsh Soup

Our fourth week of Water Explorers I was really excited to try out a lesson I had found in a curriculum book in the WEN office: Marsh Soup! The goal of this lesson is to familiarize the students with the marshy area that surrounds Bancroft pond. The marshy areas may not be as classically beautiful or fresh as a flowing stream or an idyllic pond, but they support the bulk of riparian habitat for important plants, animals, and insects. Luckily, this batch of Water Explorers was more than happy to muck around in the marsh, regardless of stinky smells or unappetizing squishing sounds underfoot. 

To make marsh soup (or salad, or casserole, or whatever the students want it to be) each team was given a bowl and instructed to build a meal from the marsh. The teams were then to be scored on two criteria: quantity of ingredients and presentation. Both teams took different approaches. Team one opted for quantity, and ended up with 15 different plants, 6 different types of mud, and ice, stream water, and pond water. Team two created a beautiful presentation of seeds, moss and leaves, and still fit quite a few different ingredients in there.

 

It was really wonderful to see the whole team of explorers out there hunting for marsh treasures and mucking about in an area of the hydrologic cycle that most people ignore. We returned to Washington covered in mud and still chattering about all the cool stuff we found in the marsh. After a quick apology to the parents for the state of their clothes, I sent the students off for their Spring Break.

Washington Middle School Flagship Water Explorers: Part Three

Introducing the Watershed Education Network’s Washington Middle School Flagship Water Explorers 2020 

By Deb Fassnacht and Jenna Rolle

Week Three: More Cattails and Bugs!

Our numbers were cut in half for the third week of Water Explorers, with two of the team in band practice. But the weather was semi-decent so we packed our clipboards and colored pencils and walked down to Bancroft Pond. After seeing the students’ interest in cattails, I had thought to do a miniature plant lesson. Each student found two plants around Bancroft Pond and sketched them, and wrote down two things that they thought made that plant stand out from the others. We then looked in a Wetland Plant Identification book to try and identify the plants they sketched. Finding the dichotomous key to be a bit over even my head, we ended up looking up the plant names and comparing the page to the sketches. They had done a really awesome job identifying the key features of their plants and what set those apart from the others for easy identification.

Once the plant lesson was finished, we still had another 20 minutes before we had to head back to Washington, so the students had free ‘wander and explore’ time. During this time we encountered a gigantic bug, at least 2 inches long, crawling around on a log in the ice of the pond. Much shrieking and excitement ensued. Once we had safely escorted the bug back to its habitat, we packed our bags up once again and headed back to the school. 

Washington Middle School Flagship Water Explorers: Part Two

Introducing the Watershed Education Network’s Washington Middle School Flagship Water Explorers 2020 

By Deb Fassnacht and Jenna Rolle

Week Two: Meeting all the Water Explorers and Exploring Bancroft Pond

The second week of Water Explorers at Washington Middle School was the first time the troupe of water-lovers was all together. All four 6th graders were able to attend, Deb joined for the first part of the lesson, and I was excited to lead a group outing to Bancroft Pond. After introducing ourselves to each other and setting some ground rules for the program, we grabbed our best outdoorsy shoes, jackets, and gloves and headed down to the pond.

The aim of the first week was to get the students oriented to Bancroft Pond, a beautiful park just down the road from their school, and get a feel for their interests in the water-sphere. To prompt this, I had each student write down two observations and two questions they had after a day of exploring the area. The hope was to use these questions and observations as guides to help plan curriculum. I quickly noticed that what the students seemed most interested in were the cattails, which had recently begun to seed out and could be ripped apart and thrown like confetti. All in all, the students seemed to be incredibly happy to be outside, in spite of cold temperatures, and I was excited to have such an energetic and engaged group.

 

Washington Middle School Flagship Water Explorers: Part One

Introducing the Watershed Education Network’s Washington Middle School Flagship Water Explorers 2020 

By Deb Fassnacht and Jenna Rolle

In January of 2020, Watershed Education Network’s team reached out to Washington Middle School to see about expanding citizen science with students there. We were encouraged to consider the after school program, Flagship. In the winter, we met with Flagship leader, Kristian Stipe to learn about how we could work with the afterschool program and lead students in grades 6-8 on water observations, explorations, and record change over time as citizen scientists. Lucky for us, Jenna Rolle, a winter volunteer and former hydrologic technician, wanted to join the afterschool explorations. Deb and Jenna kicked off this spring’s program.

Week One: Meeting the Flagship Explorers and heading out to discover Pattee Creek and Bancroft Pond

On the first day, Deb met with a few interested students at the school. We met in the cafeteria room with the big cafeteria tables. All the Flagship programs had a table and sign directing kids to their activities. There were crafts, dungeons and dragons, robotics, and some martial arts. I went for one more trip from my car for art supplies and when I returned, I saw one young girl at our table. I asked if she was there for Water Explorers and she replied with a big smile, “Yes.” Then she quickly blurted out, “I LOVE water” and we both laughed. And I said, “I do too, it is one of my favorite places.” We decided to wait for others before going out the back door for a recess. One student came by and said he would be there next week. 

We played ‘Ga-ga-ball,’ a form of dodge ball in a fenced area where the goal is to bounce the ball twice (saying "ga-ga") trying to hit the other person with the bouncing ball. I was the one trying to avoid the ball. The ball pit was filled with ice, water and mud, so soon we were a bit wet and muddy. Since it was a March day with sun shining and the smell of melted snow was in the air, we both wanted to go explore! We decided to go follow Pattee Creek to Bancroft Pond and do some observing and scouting for the rest of the group the following week. 

Such a beautiful day! We enjoyed the sun, the feel of spring, melting snow and a breeze on our faces. Bancroft Pond was frozen and still, sun and shadows with a few birds overhead. We looked for geese and ducks that would be coming back as the weather warmed. Old snow, feathers, and cattails from the year before were bending near the icy trails. My student explorer checked out the ice along the edge of the pond and in the puddles we came across on the trail…snap, crackle, and crunch. We hurried back to the school so we could be on time. I was impressed that my young explorer wanted to pick up garbage we found along the storm drain and beside the sidewalk as we went. We timed our walk for the following weeks. It took 20 minutes from the door of the school to Bancroft Pond. We knew we could explore and have students back each week.

Hellgate Elementary Exploration

October 15, 2019
By Bailey Bartell

Hey everyone! I felt incredibly lucky to go with Deb, the Executive Director of WEN, to the classroom as well as the field on this recent project that we accomplished. The WEN team and about 20 volunteers took the entirety of Hellgate Elementary’s second grade class to the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF) for a field trip. With support from the Hellgate PTA, WEN was able to reach close to 180 students in order to expose them to the river ecosystem. 

While in the classroom, Deb began the lesson connecting the students to the river by thinking about things they already know. We talked about what allows us to know that a river is healthy and what we wonder about rivers. We drew pictures of what a healthy river looks like and we collected some wonderful curiosities from the kids like: how far does the river go? Where does it come from? How do we know if it is clean? How do the bugs get there? In addition to introducing musings about the Clark Fork River, we played games and sang songs to help us learn how to identify a mayfly, stonefly and caddisfly. These were the same aquatic macroinvertebrates that we searched for during our field trip at Grant Creek.

On the mornings of our five field trip days, volunteers arrived to the RMEF early to collect insects from the creek for the students to search for in tubs and identify. I was able to guide the experience for students as they found and sorted these various aquatic macroinvertebrates. The level of excitement that was derived from each insect was contagious. Each time a student found a new insect, they would exclaim and treat it like a prize they won. This reaction came from all the students. It was really fun to watch the students who were hesitant in the beginning become excited and involved in the process of searching through the tubs of cold water, insects and detritus. The energy was palpable and helped to create an engaging and positive learning environment.

In addition to finding macroinvertebrates, the students wandered through the property on their riparian walk. They were introduced to the concept of what makes up a riparian area and the benefits of maintaining the natural spaces next to our water sources. We talked about what animals live there, what plants and space help to create a healthy riparian area and took time to connect to the place. We accomplished this by taking interactive walks around RMEF’s property. We listened to the creek sounds, made observations about the downed trees and tall grasses and became young scientists by drawing in our field journals to document our findings.

We ended our afternoons with an active game, Macroinvertebrate Mayhem, that models what happens to our rivers when heat and sediment are introduced to the cold mountain streams. The students were a caddisfly, stonefly, or mayfly and moved down a cold, clear river. As heat and sediment moved into the river as well, the cold water insects changed to warm water compatible insects. At the end, we discussed how the river goes through yearly cycles and why it is important to maintain healthy conditions of cold, clear rivers as much as possible.

I feel incredibly lucky to have witnessed the relationships built with WEN from introductions to waving goodbye after being told one thing that they learned while being with us.

My Stream Team Introduction

My Stream Team Introduction 

October 15, 2019

By Bailey Bartell

These past few weeks I have been part of two different groups who go out to collect data on watersheds with the downstream idea of positive impact. I have been part of two different citizen science Stream Teams collecting data on Rattlesnake Creek.

During my time with Stream Team Level Two, we took two different cross sections of the creek in order to measure the creek bed depth. We did this so in the following years we can measure the changes after the dam is removed upstream. David, Aissa and I waded across the creek and setting up a tape for measurement and using a fancy scope (hand level) in order to get a level reading. It took us a good few hours to do so, all the while slipping and sliding under the grey clouds that rolled around the valley. 

My second experience with Stream Team Level Two involved taking longitudinal profiles of Rattlesnake Creek beginning about 100 feet downstream from the currently existing dam. David, Joe and I were essentially measuring the gradient of the creek by taking measurements every forty feet. This required us to run a measuring line forty feet from each reading that we took, we measured the depth at the bankfull, the wetted edge and the thalweg. The bankfull is where the water would rest if the creek bed were full, the wetted edge is where the water is currently sitting in the bed and the thalweg is where most of the downstream current is going. So we took each of these measurements and one additional backsight, every forty feet down this creek until we got to our original cross sections. It was slow moving, but it was incredibly beautiful and humbling to witness the experimental process of new research.

My third experience with Stream Team was with Level One. This group is a group of young adults that go to Rattlesnake Creek every Sunday in order to take varying sets of data. This past Sunday we went to a spot 100 feet below the dam in order to collect physical (cross-section, pebble count, velocity, and photo points), chemical (temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen), and bug diversity from the creek. We had eight people and lots of work to accomplish. This time, everyone was stationed in one location with no intention to move. It was so powerful to witness so many people dedicating their free time to citizen science! We rallied on getting things done quickly and sharing responsibilities so we collected all of the data for the day in just around three hours. We were lucky to spend the day in dappled sunshine and a light breeze.

It is really rewarding to be part of a process that is paving the way for citizen science in our country and gain so much experience in the process. It is really easy to sign up to be part of the research. All you have to do is email Aissa Wise who is WEN’s Stream Team Coordinator and come to a training. There will be several trainings over the next season and it is a great way to give back to the community.