Winter 2025 Newsletter

Most have heard the phrase “it takes a village to raise a child”. The phrase describes the difficulty of parenting and the need for community support extending beyond the family to raise children. The phrase is often shortened to “it takes a village”, which expands the need for community action to all sorts of difficult endeavors. This sentiment is so ubiquitous to the human experience, that we can easily call to mind many synonymous phrases throughout the world and many re-phrasings through the passage of time - “Many hands make light work”, “there is strength in numbers”, “united we stand”, and one of my favorites, “teamwork makes the dream work”.

Well, my fellow Stream Teamers, this sentiment most certainly applies to our Missouri streams and the watersheds that drain into them. Without a doubt, this sentiment is the reason why Missouri Stream Team was created in the 1980s. The program’s sponsors and many concerned Missourians and conservation professionals had witnessed destruction of stream habitat, degradation of water quality, and alteration of natural stream flow. With limited conservation and natural resource professionals, we knew that conditions would only get worse without the help of “the people”.

Our mission is to educate as many Missourians as possible about our amazing streams, their problems, and how to protect and restore them. We know this is an endeavor that requires “a village” and “all hands on deck”. In that sense, it’s crucial that Stream Teamers invite friends, family, co-workers, and others in their communities to join our mission. We also know that the greatest achievements will come if we invite Missourians from all walks of life to participate. From picking up litter and collecting water quality data to teaching school children and feeding volunteers - there is a task for everyone regardless of what you look like, your age, your education, what language you speak, your political views, or your physical capabilities.

Come one and come all! Just remember to live up to the Missouri Stream Team Promise:

As a Missouri Stream Team member, I promise to:

Remember that I live in a watershed and anything I do in that watershed can affect a stream positively or negatively.
Learn all I can about Missouri streams.
Engage in activities that promote and preserve the health of Missouri streams.
Conduct myself in a professional manner so that my actions do not reflect negatively on my Stream Team, other Stream Teams, or the Missouri Stream Team program.
Consider others’ points of view regarding water resource issues; recognize that our state’s waters serve many purposes, some of which may appear to conflict; and advocate for the health and values of Missouri streams based on good science and accurate data.
Respect the property rights of private landowners and always ask permission before entering private land.
Report my Stream Team activities so my efforts can be included with all other Stream Team activities to show we are making a difference locally and globally.

I started with the Stream Team back in 2018 and it has been nothing but a pleasure to learn from and work within this program. I feel like I started my journey like most Stream Teamers, I just cared about the environment, was proud to be from this state, and I wanted to help make the world a slightly better place.

Throughout the years I learned how much I cared for the stream resources and how much others care and protect these resources as well. It made me feel inspired and dedicated to provide a service and message to Missourians. Keeping in line with my passion for improving Missouri’s stream resources, I have accepted a new position in the Missouri Department of Natural Resources as the 319 Nonpoint Source Unit Chief. As I’ve been telling folks, it’s time to put some “money where my mouth is,” meaning that within this new role the goal is to provide grant funding for Nonpoint Source Stream Improvements.

Nonpoint source pollutants, or pollutants caused by rain runoff, is the source of ~80% of the pollutants causing Missouri’s streams to be impaired. With 319 Nonpoint Source Grants, we can provide funding to help restore and protect waters that have been impaired or threatened by nonpoint source pollution through funding planning and implementation of on the ground practices that control, reduce, or manage pollution.

There are quite a few non-profits, universities, soil and water conservation districts, and municipalities that apply for funding to help improve their local streams. Stream Team Volunteers can help partner with these organizations for stream improvements by collecting data to assess changes, conducting stream clean-ups, or educational events. In that sense, I look forward to continuing to foster partnerships with water quality improvements and the stream team program.

Examples of 319 funded improvements that have partnered with the stream team program are, the South Creek Restoration project in Springfield and Deer Creek Watershed Alliance in St. Louis.

I have been so grateful for all of my opportunities within Missouri’s Stream Team program, and I look forward to many more!

Laura Richardson

After almost two and a half years with Missouri Stream Team, the time has come for me to move on to the next chapter. In the time I've spent here, coworkers and volunteers alike have taught me an amazing amount about our aquatic resources and their importance. It's been truly inspiring to be a small part of a group so dedicated to and passionate about Missouri streams!

I've grown immensely both personally and professionally during my time here and will forever be grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this team even for just a short few years. I will still be an MDC employee, and it's because of this wonderful team that I have been blessed with the opportunity to join the Runge Conservation Nature Center as an Hourly Naturalist! In this position, I have the chance to educate the public through interpretive programs about the importance of our natural resources.

Thank you to my teammates for supporting me, helping me improve, and always believing I could achieve whatever I set my mind to. And thank you to all the volunteers of this astounding program, many of whom I've had the pleasure of meeting, for everything you do and will continue to do in the future!

Malcolm DeBroeck

Please welcome the newest member of Missouri Stream Team’s staff, Garrett Frandson. Read more about Garrett below:

Garrett’s path through life has been as meandering as the streams he now works with. An outsider to Missouri, he’s no stranger to the outdoors, having been hiking, camping, cycling, paddling, botanizing, fishing, birding, herping, and more since childhood across the Midwest and Upper South. A sharer by nature, these outdoor experiences would be captured and described through photographs and writing, which encouraged participating in outreach through running booths at fairs to leading visitors through the night at a planetarium.

The question of “how does this work?” has driven his studies, during which he earned a B.S. from the University of Central Arkansas in Applied Mathematics & Physics and an M.S. from the University of Missouri in Water Resources. That same question, in addition to formative experiences conducting research in stream ecology labs and field work with the Flathead Lake Biological Station in Montana and Northern Arizona University in Alaska, influenced his change of career paths from astrophysics to stream ecology.

Garrett joined Missouri DNR in 2021, focusing on monitoring streams, data analysis, and water quality assessments. It wasn’t long before he was assisting his coworkers with VWQM trainings. Their guidance allowed him to organize, teach at, and lead trainings and connect with an immense network of people across Missouri who share a care for healthy waters and the organisms who depend on them. He believes in the multifaceted approach of VWQM and Stream Team, fostering analytical, hands-on, and interpersonal skills for the betterment of the environment for its own sake and the sake of life.

While not working, he can often be found hiking with a camera, unable to decide if he wants to keep a good pace or stop to inspect everything that catches his eye, or at home working up photos with his cat, Oscar, sleeping away on his lap.

Burrrrr! It’s cold outside! Have you ever wondered why it might be worth it to brave the cold and go collect some data on your local stream? Winter monitoring adds more to the story about water quality when you put it together with the other seasons. So, what can you add to the story of your stream if you monitor in the winter?

First, dynamics between temperature and dissolved oxygen can be different in the wintertime. Dissolved oxygen is necessary for aquatic life to breathe. While we breathe oxygen in the air, aquatic life breathes dissolved oxygen (DO) from the water. When the water is cooler, it can hold more DO, and so more DO is potentially available for organisms to use. So, when you’re monitoring in the winter and the water temperature at your stream is quite low, that means it has the capacity to hold more DO than when the temperature is hotter, like during the summer months. Gathering this data can be helpful when comparing your data to other seasons.

What else can we be aware of while monitoring in the winter months? How about road salt. Road salt is a blessing for us to make sure that we can travel safely during the wintertime, but sometimes we can overdo it a bit. Spreading too much road salt or spreading it before rain events can cause it to run-off and get carried into nearby waterways. This can be toxic (harmful) to freshwater organisms who aren’t used to more salty waters. Some of our Level 2 and 3 volunteers monitor regularly for salt in the form of Chloride during the winter months. If you think salt might be an issue in your area - reach out to us for more information about this type of monitoring. Being conscious of how much salt you’re spreading on your sidewalks and driveways during the winter is a good practice to help protect aquatic life. While we don’t want anyone getting hurt, we don’t have to overdo it and turn our fresh-water streams into salt-water streams.

Akuna Stream Team – ST#6600

The 10th of November was not just a sunny Sunday afternoon, it was an after-lunch period with a wider conservation stance. Recently in the Spring River Basin several conservation organizations have met and started some focus groups on improving aquatic habitats and addressing continued needs of some declining species. The Neosho Mucket is one of those Federal Candidate, Species of Concern that is found in the downstream waters of Joplin, MO in the Shoal Creek and Spring River watersheds. The Akuna Team wanted to tie this effort into the Wild Waterway Rescue and later use as an education example for the community that area waters are connected to wildlife beyond state and national borders. Three new MO Master Naturalists “in-training” were introduced to the MO Stream Team with this activity, thus helping the important stewardship grow. Thanks to all!

Stream Teams United enjoyed celebrating our 25th anniversary year in 2024 and reflecting upon the many accomplishments of the Missouri Stream Team Coalition during that time.

Over the past 25 years, we have helped connect Stream Teams around the state, led water advocacy efforts, helped summarize and report results from volunteer water quality monitoring, facilitated many water stewardship and education programs like Missouri Clean Marina, Paddle MO, and several focused watershed level projects, and formed and supported Stream Team Associations working together in their part of Missouri.

There is never a shortage of work to be done in efforts to protect our precious water resources, and we are excited to jump into 2025 for another year of promoting stream stewardship, education, and advocacy in our Great Rivers State! We invite you to join us for any of our 2025 activities. These are some dates to place on your 2025 calendar!

Tuesday, April 15th for Great Rivers State Day at the Missouri State Capitol. Join us at the 3rd floor rotunda from 9 AM to 3 PM as we meet with state legislators to communicate our support for clean water and healthy rivers, lakes, and groundwater resources in Missouri. We will have an RSVP in early spring of 2025 to help facilitate meetings with your specific representative and senator. Check out our Advocate tab to follow advocacy efforts in 2025.

Saturday, July 26th at Meramec State Park for the Annual Watershed Celebration and Stream Team Award Ceremony. Join your Missouri Stream Team family for a day of meeting Stream Team friends old and new, joining together for a lunch, riding tubes on the river, games for kids, prizes, and the annual Stream Team award ceremony. Complimentary tent camping is available at Group Site C for Missouri Stream Teams on Friday, July 25th and Saturday July 26th.

Paddle MO 2025! We are hosting three opportunities for paddlers to connect to some of our greatest rivers and streams in a supported multi-day educational program. Our 2025 dates and destinations are the upper Current River on August 16-18, the Missouri River from Brunswick, MO to Jefferson City on September 13-17, and the upper Meramec River from Oct. 3-5. Learn more on our Paddle MO page. Registration begins January 2 at PaddleMO.org.

We hope that you join us at one of these Stream Teams United led events in 2025. If you are not yet connected to us through our weekly e-bulletin, you can sign up at streamteamsunited.org. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube. We’re @mostreamteam.

Here’s to continuing to care for Missouri’s rivers and streams in 2025!

Stream Team Promise

The missouri stream team promise

Fact Sheet

#37 Cold Weather Safety Tips

Activity Prizes

4th Quarter Activity Prize Drawing

Farewell Laura Richardson

Moving on Downstream!

Farewell Malcolm DeBroeck

Farewell malcom

Welcome Garrett Frandson

Welcome Garrett

Monitoring Minute

Monitoring Minute

Riffle Review

lots happening!

Coalition Corner

save the dates!

Mailing address