Gunpowder RIVERKEEPER® is excited to announce we will be providing capacity to Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) Fisheries Ecosystem Assessment Division for their 2026 anadromous (up-river migratory) fish spawning survey.
Volunteer pairs will be directed to four-five sampling sites at key road crossings of the Big Gunpowder Falls once a week from the end of February to the middle of May. Each week, volunteers will deploy a kick net into the water to collect larval fish and a YSI Conductivity sensor to note Conductance in microSiemens per centimeter (µS/cm) and water temperature. Collection data will be recorded on a data sheet and fish samples will be transferred into mason jars, topped off with a preservative, and transported to MDNR for Fisheries to analyze and document. Each site will require about thirty minutes of sampling and a day of sampling should last approximately from 10am to 2pm. Sampling days will be scheduled on weekdays: Tuesdays and Wednesdays, depending upon availability.
The data we collect will be used by Fisheries in their annual report and will be made available to Gunpowder RIVERKEEPER® to inform our advocacy and outreach work as well.
To see MDNR’s historical data for spawning of White Perch, Yellow Perch, American Shad, and River Herring, check out their interactive Fish Spawning Site Map.