PORT ANGELES — The 142 active volunteers in Streamkeepers of Clallam County logged 9,951 hours during the past two years and performed about $300,000 worth of work, Associate Planner Ed Chadd told county commissioners Monday.
Streamkeepers is Clallam County’s volunteer stream monitoring and watershed involvement program.
Volunteers collect data, perform data entry and analysis, and conduct public education and outreach.
“We’ve got a strong direct volunteer core,” Chadd said in his report to the three commissioners on Streamkeepers’ activities for 2009 and 2010.
“We’re currently pretty much just operating with me as a staff. And given that I’ve also been working on a stormwater project, which is kind of another whole thing, we’ve essentially gotten down to where we have less than one full-time staff.”
Technical aspects
But with a core of skilled volunteers, Steamkeepers is operating at the equivalent of 2 1/2 full-time positions, Chadd said.
“They’ve continued to take on more and more of the technical aspects of the work,” he said.
“If you really try to figure into their true value, if you look at the jobs they’re doing, they’re doing a lot of jobs that are $50-an-hour consultant jobs.”
Some of the accomplishments in Chadd’s report include:
• Quarterly water quality and flow monitoring at 46 sites on 18 streams in 2009, and 44 sites on 21 streams in 2010.
• Quarterly bacterial grab-sampling at 69 sites on 21 streams in 2009, and 77 sites on 25 streams in 2010.
• Yearly benthic macroinvertebrate sampling at 13 sites on 11 streams in 2009, and 17 sites on 12 streams in 2010.
“Everybody seems very happy with our work, particularly if they don’t have to pay for it,” Chadd said.
In addition to its water sampling and public outreach, Streamkeepers has collaborated on grant-funded projects with various agencies on the North Olympic Peninsula.
“We have been able to get some outside money for some of the work that we do,” Chadd said.
Quality volunteers
County Administrator Jim Jones said there is a pool of high-quality volunteers in Clallam County.
“But if you don’t have a decent program that makes them feel like it’s worth their time, they come and go,” Jones said.
“If you put a program together that not only honors but respects the volunteer’s time and give them high-quality things to do, they’re lining up. And this is one of those examples. You just don’t hear enough about that.”
Community Development Director Sheila Roark Miller thanked the volunteers for their hard work.
Commissioner Mike Chapman said Streemkeepers is a good example of how things can get accomplished in tight economic times. He thanked Chadd for trimming his budget and not complaining about cuts.
“Very little tax dollars are being expended to provide these services to the community,” Chapman said.
“I think that’s a job well done.”
Chadd said there is still a need for more volunteers on the West End of the county.
“I feel really lucky to be in this position,” he said.
“The volunteers are amazing people. Every day, I walk into this place happy.”
To volunteer or inquire about Streamkeepers, phone 360-417-2281 or e-mail streamkeepers@co.clallam.wa.us.
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Reporter Rob Ollikainen can be reached at 360-417-3537 or at rob.ollikainen@peninsuladailynews.com.
