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EAP21-0576.R1 - Implementing Community-Engaged Ecological Research in Proctor Creek, an Urban Watershed in Atlanta, GA

General Information
Data Package:
Local Identifier:edi.1197.1
Title:EAP21-0576.R1 - Implementing Community-Engaged Ecological Research in Proctor Creek, an Urban Watershed in Atlanta, GA
Alternate Identifier:DOI PLACE HOLDER
Abstract:
The Southeast Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) implemented community-engaged research in Proctor Creek, an urban watershed in Northwest Atlanta, Georgia, to sample for aquatic species of concern in Atlanta, Georgia’s Proctor Creek Watershed as a part of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership program. This research shifted the focus of the agency from the endangered and pristine natural spaces to a major city watershed negatively impacted by urbanization and other human influences for more than a century. Team members from USFWS, Proctor Creek Watershed residents, local students, and other stakeholders in the UWFP spent three months conducting stream surveys and participating in community-led events to build relationships and learn community priorities. The team collected data at 11 sites throughout the Proctor Creek Watershed, visually assessed each site, and collected aquatic species using dip nets, seines, and traps. We observed approximately 28 aquatic species, including 13 unique fish species, and eight macroinvertebrate species, including two unique crayfish species. We also observed varying degrees of ecological health throughout the watershed. Native aquatic animal species were found at all stream sites, no matter the condition of the stream. Through creating training resources and disseminating data among team members for future sampling, the team established pathways to keep natural resource stewardship sustainable outside of direct federal involvement. Through engaging in community-engaged research to achieve the mission of the agency, the USFWS Proctor Creek watershed survey helped shift the paradigm of how government agencies can connect their mission statements to the ever-changing complex needs of the American public.
Publication Date:2022-08-19
For more information:
Visit: DOI PLACE HOLDER

Time Period
Begin:
2017-05-23
End:
2017-07-26

People and Organizations
Contact:Johnson, Tamara C ((Former) Department of the Interior, Biologist) [  email ]
Contact:Jelks, Na'Taki O (Spelman College, Professor) [  email ]
Creator:Johnson, Tamara C ((Former) Department of the Interior, Biologist)
Creator:Jelks, Na'Taki O (Spelman College, Professor)

Data Entities
Data Table Name:
EcologicalApplications_Species List in Proctor Creek 2017.xlsx - ManuscriptFinalSpecies List-3
Description:
List of species identified in Proctor Creek, Atlanta, GA 2017.
Detailed Metadata

Data Entities

Data Table

Data:https://pasta-s.lternet.edu/package/data/eml/edi/1197/1/6af807a927eabb824bacc21477e06f71
Name:EcologicalApplications_Species List in Proctor Creek 2017.xlsx - ManuscriptFinalSpecies List-3
Description:List of species identified in Proctor Creek, Atlanta, GA 2017.
Number of Records:23
Number of Columns:4

Table Structure
Object Name:EcologicalApplications_Species List in Proctor Creek 2017.xlsx - ManuscriptFinalSpecies List-3.csv
Size:1222 byte
Authentication:e68ca8687318eb2324387174bbc0229a Calculated By MD5
Text Format:
Number of Header Lines:1
Record Delimiter:\r\n
Orientation:column
Simple Delimited:
Field Delimiter:,
Quote Character:"

Table Column Descriptions
 TaxaScientific NameCommon NameNumber of Individuals Observed
Column Name:Taxa  
Scientific Name  
Common Name  
Number of Individuals Observed  
Definition:Species group found in Proctor CreekScientific name of speciesCommon name of species in Proctor CreekNumber of Individuals Observed in Proctor Creek
Storage Type:string  
string  
string  
float  
Measurement Type:nominalnominalnominalratio
Measurement Values Domain:
DefinitionSpecies group found in Proctor Creek
DefinitionScientific name of species
DefinitionCommon name of species in Proctor Creek
Unitnumber
Typeinteger
Missing Value Code:        
Accuracy Report:        
Accuracy Assessment:        
Coverage:        
Methods:        

Data Package Usage Rights

This data package is released to the "public domain" under Creative Commons CC0 1.0 "No Rights Reserved" (see: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). It is considered professional etiquette to provide attribution of the original work if this data package is shared in whole or by individual components. A generic citation is provided for this data package on the website https://portal.edirepository.org (herein "website") in the summary metadata page. Communication (and collaboration) with the creators of this data package is recommended to prevent duplicate research or publication. This data package (and its components) is made available "as is" and with no warranty of accuracy or fitness for use. The creators of this data package and the website shall not be liable for any damages resulting from misinterpretation or misuse of the data package or its components. Periodic updates of this data package may be available from the website. Thank you.

Keywords

By Thesaurus:
(No thesaurus)Proctor Creek, urban watersheds, Atlanta, GA, Participatory Research, community-engaged research

Methods and Protocols

These methods, instrumentation and/or protocols apply to all data in this dataset:

Methods and protocols used in the collection of this data package
Description:
Methodology Study Area The Proctor Creek Watershed covers a 16 square mile area that includes parts of downtown and Southwest and Northwest Atlanta. The headwaters of the watershed begin in downtown, and the creek emerges above ground in the English Avenue Neighborhood, and it flows northwest for nine miles until it joins with the Chattahoochee River, the drinking water source for 70% of Metro Atlanta’s drinking water and the most heavily used water resource in Georgia (Rose 2007). Historically, residents in the watershed enjoyed Proctor Creek as a recreational resource--- as a place to play, fish, and swim. The waterway was also sacred, as a place where church baptisms were held. Connecting to a strong sense of place, watershed residents had also been active for over a century in work to protect and restore Proctor Creek from the impacts of urbanization, illegal dumping and other pollution, environmental injustices, and divestment of public resources in stormwater and wastewater infrastructure (LSBC 1978; Samuel 2017; Jelks 2020). Water quality in the creek does not support its designated use as a fishable stream (GA EPD 2020), and part of the area through which it flows has been identified as an environmental justice hotspot (GreenLaw 2012). The residents of the Proctor Creek Watershed, who are primarily Black, also experience social and economic disparities (USEPA 2021). One central neighborhood in the watershed has the lowest life expectancy in five core counties in Metropolitan Atlanta. Eleven (11) Proctor Creek sampling sites were chosen, by USFWS based on guidance provided by other federal agencies engaged in the UWFP, to gauge the relative stream health and the aquatic fauna through citizen science techniques. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sampled several sites in the watershed for water quality, and the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) placed stream gages at three sites within the watershed to measure discharge in real time. After reconnaissance was conducted with EPA representatives, a subset of sampling sites were chosen based on accessibility, to ensure that sampling team members (both skilled and novice surveyors) would be able to enter and exit the stream with relative ease. The sites were also chosen to ensure that the watershed was thoroughly sampled without geographic bias toward a particular section.
Instrument(s):Kicknets, seines, crayfish traps

People and Organizations

Publishers:
Organization:Environmental Data Initiative
Email Address:
info@edirepository.org
Web Address:
https://edirepository.org
Id:https://ror.org/0330j0z60
Creators:
Individual: Tamara C Johnson
Organization:(Former) Department of the Interior
Position:Biologist
Address:
14128 Grand Pre Road,
Apt 33,
Silver Spring, Maryland 20906 U.S.A.
Email Address:
johnsontamarac@gmail.com
Individual:Dr. Na'Taki O Jelks
Organization:Spelman College
Position:Professor
Address:
Atlanta, Georgia
Email Address:
nosborne@spelman.edu
Id:https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3737-4439
Contacts:
Individual: Tamara C Johnson
Organization:(Former) Department of the Interior
Position:Biologist
Email Address:
johnsontamarac@gmail.com
Individual:Dr. Na'Taki O Jelks
Organization:Spelman College
Position:Professor
Email Address:
nosborne@spelman.edu
Id:https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3737-4439

Temporal, Geographic and Taxonomic Coverage

Temporal, Geographic and/or Taxonomic information that applies to all data in this dataset:

Time Period
Begin:
2017-05-23
End:
2017-07-26
Geographic Region:
Description:Tributaries and the mainstem of Proctor Creek in northwest Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
Bounding Coordinates:
Northern:  33.798673Southern:  33.46339
Western:  -84.478873Eastern:  -84.26164

Project

Parent Project Information:

Title:Implementing Community-Engaged Ecological Research in Proctor Creek, an Urban Watershed in Atlanta, GA
Personnel:
Individual: Tamara C Johnson
Organization:(Former) Department of the Interior
Position:Biologist
Email Address:
johnsontamarac@gmail.com
Role:Organizer
Individual:Dr. Na'Taki O Jelks
Organization:Spelman College
Position:Professor
Email Address:
nosborne@spelman.edu
Id:https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3737-4439
Role:Organizer
Abstract:The Southeast Region of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) implemented community-engaged research in Proctor Creek, an urban watershed in Northwest Atlanta, Georgia, to sample for aquatic species of concern in Atlanta, Georgia’s Proctor Creek Watershed as a part of the Urban Waters Federal Partnership program. This research shifted the focus of the agency from the endangered and pristine natural spaces to a major city watershed negatively impacted by urbanization and other human influences for more than a century. Team members from USFWS, Proctor Creek Watershed residents, local students, and other stakeholders in the UWFP spent three months conducting stream surveys and participating in community-led events to build relationships and learn community priorities. The team collected data at 11 sites throughout the Proctor Creek Watershed, visually assessed each site, and collected aquatic species using dip nets, seines, and traps. We observed approximately 28 aquatic species, including 13 unique fish species, and eight macroinvertebrate species, including two unique crayfish species. We also observed varying degrees of ecological health throughout the watershed. Native aquatic animal species were found at all stream sites, no matter the condition of the stream. Through creating training resources and disseminating data among team members for future sampling, the team established pathways to keep natural resource stewardship sustainable outside of direct federal involvement. Through engaging in community-engaged research to achieve the mission of the agency, the USFWS Proctor Creek watershed survey helped shift the paradigm of how government agencies can connect their mission statements to the ever-changing complex needs of the American public.

Maintenance

Maintenance:
Description:The dataset will be maintained once a year.
Frequency:
Other Metadata

Additional Metadata

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Additional Metadata

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