Save The River® Upper St. Lawrence Riverkeeper®

Save The River is a non-profit, member-based environmental organization whose mission is to preserve and protect the ecological integrity of the Upper St. Lawrence River through advocacy, education and research.

by

ABOVE: TIBS set up pools with common St. Lawrence River fish for students to see and touch. LEFT: Group photo by the dock house.

The first Floating Classroom Camp Day of the summer visited the Thousand Islands Biological Station (TIBS) last week.

Local students, including a number from the Indian River Lakes Conservancy’s (IRLC) Project WHIRL, boated over to TIBS from Clayton Island Tours. They were welcomed on Governors Island by Dr. John Farrell, Dr. John Paul Leblanc, and the group of graduate and undergraduate students studying the St. Lawrence River fishery.


 

                                                                                                                                                      Dr. Farrell opened the day with a presentation about what he and the students at TIBS study, the complexity of the Great Lakes Watershed, and an introduction to current research about Muskellunge, Northern Pike, and other St. Lawrence fish species.

Afterward, students perused several stations, including three kiddie-pools filled with fish caught that morning by the TIBS undergraduate students. Between microscopes and fish hooks, Floating Classroom attendees saw first-hand what research on the St. Lawrence River can look like.

A student from TIBS pulls mussels from the River and identifies the native from invasive.
Dr. Farrell explains how delicate the jaw bones of smallmouth bass are and emphasizes proper handling.
A student picks out microbes from a River water sample to look at under a microscope.

During the boat ride back to Clayton, representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) Marine Safety Unit Thousand Islands demonstrated an underwater ROV and allowed students to operate the small vehicle. This is one way the USCG monitors and creates an action plan for oil spills in the region. Students also learned about Emergency Spill Response from the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) back at the STR Storefront.

MST 2 Ratikan (left) and MST 3 Tice (right) help a student (middle) operate the underwater ROV.
MST 3 Dobbs points out interesting things to see below the surface.
The ROV is launched from the front of the Clayton Island Tour Boat, Island Girl, while docked.

Save The River would like to extend a special thank you to the Marine Safety Unit Thousand Islands for their continued efforts to inform the public and our students about spill response and keeping the River safe. More information about what they do and how to get involved with the US Coast Guard can be found on their website.