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 he Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) is pleased to announce that Linda Conlin and the River Wranglers are the 2005 recipients of the Wendell McCurry Excellence in Water Quality Award. The award was established in 1999 to recognize the efforts of longtime NDEP employee, Wendell McCurry, in protecting water quality throughout Nevada. The River Wranglers were recognized for their leadership role in providing environmental education to residents of the Carson River Basin. Allen Biaggi, Director of the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, presented the award November 17th during a Conserve the Carson River Days environmental education event.
The River Wranglers is a non-profit organization with a mission to explore, conserve and celebrate rivers through community programs, projects, and hands-on education. Spearheaded by Conlin in 1994, two of the group's initial goals were to incorporate water quality monitoring of the Carson River into high school science programs and to provide field experience for science students in rural communities along the river. Since that time, Conlin has expanded environmental education by working with local, state and federal agencies, local schools and citizen groups to help implement Conserve the Carson River Days, Celebrate the Carson, Trout in the Classroom, Make a Splash with Project WET and other events.
Conserve the Carson River Days is an outdoor classroom where students learn about the hydrologic cycle; analyze water samples for pH, temperature and turbidity; collect and identify macro-invertebrates; learn about animals that live along the river; and plant willows for bank stabilization and habitat. Local high school students are trained to teach younger peers. During this year's event, students from Fernley, Dayton, and Silver Springs High Schools mentored students from Sutro, Dayton, and Silver Stage Elementary Schools. Since its inception in 1995, more than 13,000 students have participated in this event.
Each year in conjunction with Environmental Education Week, River Wranglers coordinates Celebrate the Carson River. This event offers hands-on opportunities for families and friends to learn about the river environment and the impacts we have upon the watershed. Again, teens participate in extensive training to prepare for this event by job-shadowing professionals in the environmental field, teach activities to younger peers, and conclude by volunteering during this Earth Day event.
In partnership with Nevada Department of Wildlife, Conlin helps coordinate the Trout in the Classroom program with participating Lyon County schools. She works directly with teachers and students to raise trout eggs into fry, then culminates the six weeks of caring for eggs and fry with the release of fingerlings into the river.
River Wranglers also works in partnership with NDEP to coordinate Make a Splash with Project WET water festivals, a national water education day held each September. Each year as many as 500 students travel to a near-by water body or park to engage in a variety of hands-on activities related to water quality and the environment.
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