When you’re out on a spring hike, you might not find a Pikachu or a Charmander, but a group from Colorado State University is hoping you'll find a small stream - and tell them about it, using their new Pokémon-inspired Stream Tracker App.
Small unnamed streams that only have water flowing through them during the spring runoff, or sometimes only after large thunderstorms, are called intermittent streams.
“We found that they are often poorly mapped, and there is little to no data on their flow conditions throughout the year,” said Kira Puntenney-Desmond, hydrologist, and project manager of Stream Tracker.
Puntenney-Desmond and Dr. Stephanie Kampf, hydrologist, and associate professor in the Department of Ecosystem Science and Sustainability at CSU, has made it their mission to fill the gaps in the water story, and bring some attention to an underdog.
“These intermittent streams really are the underdog of streams because they are everywhere, and they are a major component of where we get our water, and these intermittent streams make up a large portion of our river networks, and yet we pay so little attention to them," Puntenney-Desmond said.
The idea for a citizen science app was born last year on a hike in Larimer County.
“And we had chosen a stream on a map, and when we got out in the field, and that mapped point, there was no stream there," said Puntenney-Desmond. "So to have put in all that energy and effort we got to talking, wouldn't it be great if people who are willing to navigate on their phone to go find Pokémon, would navigate and start recording when and where these streams are, and when they’re flowing?”
Two other members of the Stream Tracker team, Abby Eurich - Master candidate in Watershed Science at CSU, and Ry Weber - CSU undergraduate alumni in Watershed Science, demonstrated to 9NEWS how easy it is to use the app, near a small stream in Ft. Collins.
All they need reported is if you see flowing water, standing water, or if there is no flow - or it is frozen. They say it is beneficial if you frequently visit the same locations throughout the year, but it is not necessary.
It is a perfect application for citizen science, because people are already out, covering a lot of ground with their cell phones in hand.
“It’s using your smartphone and its capabilities to navigate offline, to go find a point that is important. It's like Geocaching, and Pokémon Go,” Puntenney-Desmond said.
The stream tracker app is not even a year old yet, and CSU has already received more than 400 observations in 26 different states.
Here is more information on how to download and operate the Stream Tracker App.
