Stevens & Permanente Creeks Watershed Council

(Cupertino, California)  McClellan Ranch has not had a change of habitat.  SWAMP is the Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program that Eric Burres of the California State Water Resources Board discussed with us on Wednesday April 8, 2009 at McClellan Ranch.  I was not able to join the daytime field training, but the evening lecture was well attended by the SPCWC bug loving community and students who confessed they "just love bugs". 

Mr. Burres began by relating the importance of the concept of biological integrity.  "Clean water is not enough," he told us.  We are required by the Clean Water Act to strive for biological integrity which is defined as "the ability to support and maintain a balanced, integrated, and adaptive community of organisms having a species composition, diversity and functional organization comparable to those of natural habitats within a region" (Karr, J. R. and D. R. Dudley. 1981. Ecological perspectives on water quality goals. Environmental Management 5: 55-68).

We were then treated to the introduction of Ralph and Lisa Cutter's BUGS OF THE UNDERWORLD video that features remarkable video of a variety of fish and benthic macroinvertebrates in their natural submerged enivronment.  As I watched stoneflies, caddisflies, damsel flies, midges, crawfish and lobster swish and crawl across the screen, I was reminded of the remarkable genius of nature.  I came straight home and ordered a copy! 

I hope that you will be able to join us at future events and get involved with our Bug Club.  I suspect we all have an inner taxonomist just waiting to molt an exoskeleton and fly.

Cheers,
Christine Bush
SPCWC GIS Specialist