Trout Story

3. Healthy Aquatic Environments
 Abundant with living organisms, especially macro-
invertebrates
 Healthy plant life
 Trees nearby
 Water is well aerated and flows quickly
 Many riffles
 Algae on the rocks

4. Macro invertebrates

5. Healthy Aquatic Environments
Solubilities Turbidity Land Precipitation &
Flow
Temperature Use Run off
Regime
Absorption pH Velocity High/Low
Chemical Ground Extremes
Nutrients Variables Water
Organics Hardness
Disease Predation Healthy Aquatic
Environments
Feeding
Biotic Factors
Reproduction
Parasitism Competition
Width/Depth Riparian
Bank Vegetation
Nutrients
Stability
Energy Seasonal Siltation
Sunlight Source Cycles Canopy
Current Habitat Channel
Structure Morphology
Organic Sinuosity
1 and 2 Gradient
Matter Inputs
Production Substrate Instream Cover

6. The Mahwah River -
Part of the Mahwah River Watershed

8. Trout Release in the Mahwah River
at Kakiat Park

9. Unhealthy Aquatic Environments
 Polluted water
 Debris left by humans
 Iridescent film on surface of water
 Little life: only pollution-tolerant organisms

10. Exploring and Observing
the Stream Behind Montebello School

11. The Stream Behind Montebello School:
A Tributary of the Mahwah River

12. Montebello School’s Eco-Citizens

13. Six Simple Ways to Preserve or Improve a
Stream’s Health
 Keep a ten foot buffer zone between the yard and the
stream
 Plant shrubs with dense root systems to prevent
erosion
 Do not dump leaves and grass onto the stream bank
or in the stream
 Help clean trash out of streams
 Don’t change the path of the stream
 Keep septic systems in good condition

15. Interview with Alden H. Wolfe,
Deputy Majority Leader of
The Legislature of Rockland County
 Drainage Agency: Oversees the Highway Department’s
Management and Care of Local Streams; Checks Streams
Twice a Year
 1976 Streams Law: Protects freshwater, wetlands, swamps,
and wildlife from problems caused by flooding
 2001 Stream Conservation Law: Streams designated as
“county streams” are maintained by the county
 County Permission Must Be Obtained for Development of
Land 100 ft. from a Stream

16. Montebello School’s Student Pledges
I am a responsible citizen of this world.
I promise to…