To Keep or Destroy

This topic submitted by Tekk Adams, Lisa Headen, Kelly Markle, Brad Shumaker on 2/13/03. [ Rivers Team: Tekk Adams, Lisa Headen, Kelly Markle, Brad Shumaker-Section: Cummins/Kaufman]

Rivers Proposal

Thomas Adams
Lisa Headen
Kelly Markle 2/12/03
Brad Shumaker

Introduction
The purpose of our study is to answer the question, “Is Four-Mile creek valuable?” We plan to explore the economic and aesthetic value of Four-Mile creek and its watershed, and then compare these values to the amount of money that is invested and any profit made from the creek (viewing it as a commodity).
One of our hypotheses is that the aesthetic value of four-mile creek is a lot more than its economic value. A second hypothesis is that the aesthetic value of Four-Mile creek is the reason that it is not economically valuable, but rather an economic burden. Our third hypothesis is that people who use Four-Mile creek and its watershed for its aesthetic value are ignorant to their contribution in degrading the watershed and creeks health.
Our proposal is interdisciplinary because we are combining science, math, interviews, history and photography in order to come to a synthesis of Four-Mile Creeks aesthetic and economic value.
Our proposal connects with everything that we have talked about in the rivers course so far from watersheds, to non-point source pollution, to point source pollution, to runoff, to chemicals in the water, to biodiversity, to riparian zones, to dams and etc.

Research Explanation
The research that we are going to discuss in our project is directly related with a question that burdens all wanting restoration, specifically concerning water quality restoration. The research discusses an array of information, from general watershed functions to reasons for restoration to economic inputs that would be necessary to implement necessary plans. Other things discussed will be case studies of various watersheds that have already been worked on. From these case studies we can determine failures and successes that have already been implemented in real situations. The information being derived from our sources are detailed as well as broad. They address the questions, why should we restore watersheds? What are the drawbacks economically and physically relating to the river? From the detailed monotony we will create a fluid, informativepresentation displaying the positive and negative influences of the watershed and what is lost if nothing is done to fix the problems of degradation that exist. After describing what is lost the positives of the watershed as they are now will be discussed and the two will be set against each other, further discussing what should be done, and what can be done.
Literature Review

1. Brenner, A. J.; Bush, L. A.; Martin, J. S.; Olsson, K. Y.; Rentscheler, P. L.; Wolf, J.
The Huron River Watershed Council: grassroots organization for holistic watershed management. Water Science and Technology Volume: 39, Issue: 12, 1999, pp. 331 - 337.

The Huron River Watershed case study is that explains why the Huron River Watershed is one of the most successful restoration processes ever. They delve into issues concerning non-governmental organization and volunteer work and how they are integral to the development of a working watershed protection design.

2. Corbett, Christopher W.; Wahl, Matthew; Porter, Dwayne e.; Edwards, Don; Moise,
Claudia. Nonpoint source runoff modeling a comparison of a forested watershed and an urban watershed on the South Carolina coast. Journal of Experimental Marine Biology and Ecology Volume: 213, Issue: 1, June 1, 1997, pp. 133-149.

This article describes water quality and physical attributes of two different watersheds; one a forested watershed and the other an urbanized watershed. Each is related to our watershed because Four Mile Creek Watershed and most of its estuaries are either urban or forested. It's another great case study article that will give us more background information.

3 & 4. Does Wilderness Have Intrinsic Value?
We will use the following two articles to analyze the perspectives for the humanities section of our project. The two were placed together in the NS reader last semester, and seem well suited to stay together for the purposes of our project.

Bass, Rick. “On Wilderness and Wallace Stegner.” The Amicus Journal. Spring. 1997.

Tucker, William. “Is Nature Too Good for Us?” Harper’s Magazine. March. 1982

5. Green, William J. and William H. Newell. “Defining and Teaching Interdisciplinary
Studies.” Improving College and University Teaching .Winter. 1982: 23-30.

This article has already benefited our project by clarifying the definition of interdisciplinary studies. We will consult it periodically to make sure that our project is following the guidelines for interdisciplinarity outlined in the article.

6. Hardin, Garrett. “The Tragedy of the Commons.” Science 162. December 1968:
1243-1248.

This article seems as though it may provide the philosophical base for the humanities section of our project. We will use the logic base of this article to explain why people should work together- perhaps even against their own immediate interests- for the ultimate betterment of Four Mile Creek.

7. Heal, Geoffrey. Nature and the Marketplace. Washington, DC: Island Press, 2000.

This book is basically about looking at nature as a commodity. It seems to come from a purely business background. We will read chapters like “Valuation” and “Policies and Institutions” to enlighten our discussion of the value of Four Mile Creek in terms of numbers and bottom lines.

8. Petersen, Mark M... A natural approach to watershed planning, restoration and
management. Water Science and Technology Volume: 39, Issue 12, 1999, pp. 347 - 352.

This Journal article describes component landforms that exist in a watershed. It describes that landforms functions and possible failures of the functions. It also sites a case study in Utah as to wear actions discussed in the article have been implemented and worked.

9. Schultz, M. T. A critique of EPA's index of watershed indicators. Journal of
Environmental Management Volume: 62, Issue: 4, August 2001, pp. 429 - 442.

This Journal article expresses indicators developed by the EPA, and their functions. Certain indicators to test watersheds have been developed to give the watershed an overall number indicating its health as far as the EPA sees it. It states the differences between vulnerability and condition of the indexes and discusses different actions taken for both.

10. Smits, A. J. et al. New Approaches to River Management. Netherlands: Leiden:
Backhuys, 2000.

This science based book provides a general outline for integrating knowledge and ideas of river management and discusses the value of sustainability. It will be beneficial to us as we are a general source.

11. USDA. Draft Watershed Plan and Environmental Assessment for Four Mile Creek
Watershed Ohio and Indiana. Washington: January 1992.

This Journal is a description of flood water plans and actions to implement on Four Mile Creek Watershed to retard floods while improving the water quality of Acton Lake. It gives an economic practical outlook at what needs to be done in the area, how much it will cost, and what effects (positive and negative) the actions they are discussing will have on the watershed.

12. Wilson, Alexander. The Culture of Nature. Cambridge: Blackwell Press, 1992.

This book examines how the dominant culture in America (it opens in Disneyland!) frames natural exploration and exploitation. This book will be part of our research backbone for the humanities section of the project.

Websites

1. http://ohioline.osu.edu/b873/index.htm l-This site is useful because it tells us exactly how to classify how bad streams, creeks, lakes and rivers. It also gives great definitions for basic terminology we will use throughout our research. It’s very creditable because the authors are the department of food, agriculture and biological engineering and the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency. It also has a lot of useful history on environmental acts and documents.

2. http://www.agr.gc.ca/pfra/water/facts/wtesting.pdf - This site describes water quality testing, a briefing on why each test is important and describes what should be done in residential and agricultural areas if water tests turn out poor. This site will relate to our project very well, the water quality testing that we are going to perform on Four Mile Creek is very similar to that shown in this web page. This site also tests in the same areas, (urban, agricultural) that we will be testing.

3. http://watershed.org/ - A very informative website about on going watershed management plans. This site will help us gain a better understanding of how an actual non-profit, non-government organization can and is getting the job done. The website features "The Watershed Management Council" and discusses some of their specific cases.

4. http://www.dep.state.pa.us/dep/deputate/watermgt/WC/default.htm - This site describes a lot of case studies and tells details about organizations around the US that are participating in watershed management. We will use this to relate to our watershed, the more case studies that are used the better and deeper we will understand the results that we have gotten in out testing and analyzing.

5. http://www.river-management.org/ - This website of a nonprofit organization which specializes in maintaining and protecting rivers in North America will help us outline practical ways to protect Four Mile Creek.

Interdisciplinary Approach
The goal of interdisciplinary studies, as defined by the Western website (http://wcp.muohio.edu) is: “to bring together insights from other disciplines, and create new insights through dialogue and exploring patterns.” Our project fills out this definition beautifully. First, we are going analyze the environmental health of Four-Mile creek. We will do this through water testing, a scientific endeavor. Next we will calculate the cost of restoring Four-Mile Creek to its “original” state using calculus equations, a mathematic endeavor. Finally we will incorporate the humanities by interviewing people who use Four-Mile Creek on a regular basis. Tentatively this group includes local farmers (such as Bob Harris), an event planning professional from Houston Woods, a photography professor, a geology professor, local people who boat in Acton Lake and Hays Cummins, a few diverse students and non profit organizations- like TVCT- who aim to preserve the land. These interviews will aid in cataloguing the aesthetic value of Four-Mile Creek. We will conclude by discussing community action that could be taken linking these diverse people to improve or maintain the health of Four-Mile Creek. The progress of this project follows the ideal interdisciplinary structure as outlined by Bill Newell: to study disparate perspectives (local people) and information (scientific data and environmental readings) about a specific issue (Four Mile Creek) and integrate them into a solution/conclusion [conversation with Ryan Pearl on February 10, 2003]. Finally, the arts will play a substantial role as we create a photo essay about the people and ideas that we confront in our project. We are considering making a documentary also. This project clearly integrates the humanities, the arts, science and mathematics: it is interdisciplinary by definition.
Research Design and Methodology
The basic research design for our project includes five major themes. Those themes are library research, river health determination, land use, geomorphology, interviews, calculations and arts (photography and film). We will be integrating these themes in a variety of ways. The detailed use of each of these methods are as follows:
1) Library Research
We will begin our project with library research. This research will focus around river systems and their watersheds to give us a basic understanding of how a river system works. We will also be looking at watershed management on or near four-mile creek watershed. We will be looking at the past and present steps taken in the restoration of four-mile creek. We will also look at various federal and state laws that help protect the river and its watershed. While doing research we will make sure to look at the history of the watershed.
2) River Health Determination
We intend on looking at that through water testing and biodiversity sampling. We will be doing all types of water chemistry tests as well flow and discharge rates. We will also be looking at sediment load. A significant amount of statistics will be needed to determine the chemistry of the water. For biodiversity sampling, we will look at what species and how many of each species is living within the watershed. We will also look at the factors, which may lead to the lack or abundance or certain species of organisms.
3) Land Use
We will be examining the land use within the four-mile creek watershed. We will be looking into agriculture, urbanization, natural areas and more. We will also be looking at how these areas and there uses have changed.
4) Geomorphology
We will be looking at how the land is formed and how that affects the land use and the water chemistry. We will be looking at what minerals in within the surrounding areas. While looking at the geomorphology of the river system we will also be looking at how that affects the biodiversity of the river system.
5) Calculations
We will calculate the cost of restoring Four Mile Creek using equations outlined in our research.
6) Interviewing
We will be interviewing people connected to the watershed to determine how and what they are doing to the land. We will also be interviewing government workers from various organizations to see what they are doing to help maintain the watershed. We hope to interview at least 5 people.
7) The arts
We will be using photography and videography as a method of displaying our findings.
Our group intends to keep in touch by weekly meetings. We will also use email and phone calls to make sure all work is getting done. The tentative timeline of our project is…
Research done 3/01/03
Interviews started 3/05/03
Water testing started 4/01/03
Interviews done 4/07/03
Water testing done 4/12/03
Project done 4/20/03