Vol. 9, No. 9
Sept. 2017

Photo Feature: 2017 Project Aware

The 15th annual Project AWARE was a record-breaker before it began. Three weeks prior to the July 10 – 14 river clean-up, more volunteers than ever had signed up, causing the Iowa DNR to close its registration for the first time because of maxed out capacity.

A group of AWARE volunteers gather on the banks of the upper Cedar River.Limnologist Kyle Skoff (second from left) and Seth Zimmerman, environmental analyst (far left) work with others to remove a tangled ball of trash from a canoe.AWARE volunteers prepare to pull wheels and axle from the river.Heavy equipment gathers trash from the upper Cedar River.Mike Birmingham, limnologist and AWARE veteran, shows children some live aquatic insects collected from the Cedar River in Charles City.Limnologist Mark Johnston with Jackie Gautsch, of Iowa DNR’s Wetlands and Shallow Lake Monitoring program.Lynette Seigley, AWARE coordinatorLimnologist Travis Morarend and Anja Lein, daughter of Nathan and Jamie Lein from Oelwein.Seth Zimmerman (center) with an assistant (left) collects fish from the upper Cedar River with limnologist Kyle Skoff driving the boat.Kyle Skoff (center) and Seth Zimmerman (far left) hold fish during an educational session.