the Healthy Watershed Series

Hello everyone.
We wrapped up the Healthy Watershed Series in June. The last talk was given by Tim Haller from the Fish and Wildlife Service and was followed up by a display model of the Missouri River. Tim discussed the history of river traffic and the huge effort that went into channelizing the Big Muddy. The model was in a trailer and helped the attendees understand the hydrology of the Missouri River. Water was pumped into the model and bits of some type of material (sand, grits or vermiculite) would form mini sand bars. The model really helped us conceptualize how the dike system works to keep the river channelized. This last event had the best attendance. This was because the library had a water theme for that month and co-sponsored the event. The lesson here might be to look at the upcoming themes of events of various larger organizations and try to partner with them. The library co-sponsoring our event lent legitimacy to our organizational event. Many people have heard of the library but few have heard of Missouri River Communities Network. Tim also had his display model at the June 19, somewhat impromptu, Floody Muddy event which replaced our doomed Canoe for Clean Water event. The Healthy Watershed Series was a learning experience and I am not certain that it should continue in its' current form. The speakers and content were great but the public was difficult to attract. Partnering with larger organizations will give the speakers more audience and serve the public much better. Take Care everyone.