· Water & Rivers
Algae blooms in rivers: green mats, toxic scums and golden algae
Why summer rivers grow green mats, how to tell plain algae from toxic cyanobacteria and golden algae, and what the signs mean for swimmers, dogs and anglers.
Maren Holt
Maren trained in freshwater ecology and spent years kick-netting riffles and logging dissolved oxygen for a university stream lab. She writes about rivers, water quality and the insects that tell you how a creek is doing.
Pieces by Maren
· Water & Rivers
Volunteer stream monitoring: a beginner's guide to your first season
How volunteer stream monitoring works, how to find a group, and a first sampling day step by step: chemistry, kick nets, bug sorting, safety and clean gear.
· Water & Rivers
Acid mine drainage, and why some mountain creeks run orange
Why creeks below old coal and metal mines run orange, how pyrite turns water acidic, what that does to stream life, and how treatment brings creeks back.
· Water & Rivers
How to read a water quality report for the stream down the road
A freshwater ecologist walks through a stream water quality report line by line: units, qualifiers, standards, and what each number can and can't tell you.