Big Piney River, Texas County By Peter Maki, Stream Team 4623 7 5 4 3 2 THIS ISSUE INSIDE 8 www.mostreamteam.org at 781-1989, online look or 1-800- acopy, call request To asking. the for free is 2011 the photos, Report YOUR and accomplishments, Team data, Stream with Filled THE PRESS! HOTIS OFF Annual Report Team Stream Our Stream Teams the Water Goes Down Water Goes the Things You Find When Winners Prize Activity Activity Report Teams Action in Team Calendar ReviewRiffle Team Snapshots Workshops Scheduled Level 1VWQM Return & Reorder Equipment Minutes: Monitoring TeamStream Awards from MSTWC News Corner: Coalition Plates License Reminder: Stream Team Strong! 4654

. O Stream Teams Protect to Stream Unite Big PineyBig River O By Susan Higgins, DNR VWQM Coordinator By VWQM Susan Higgins,DNR Rolling one of five large truck tires out of the river. the of out tires truck large five of one Rolling offered volunteers free campground space, as as space, campground free volunteers offered Team(Stream 1622) Company Canoe of Raftville Wade Scott green. and clean help them keep to River, Big pledging the on Piney Accesses Springs Dog’s the adopted Mineral and Bluff have jointly Scouts cleanup, the the Since Troop Scout Pack 6270166. Scout Girl Cub and of Houston members included volunteers Those site. on 72 volunteers registered they and cleanup for point the starting the was Access Springs Waterdogs Team (Stream 3419). Boiling The a 23 with start hey got agreat off to June on Cleanup River Big Piney successful getting organized. organized. getting have had they success the with happy very is and January since facilitator meeting as serving been has &Development, Inc. Conservation Resource Team (Stream 4623)Maki of Top of the Team Peter Stream Watershed Association. River Big name Piney the adopting Association, rd , organized by Debbie Miller from the Kabul Kabul the from by Debbie Miller , organized T came together to start a Stream Team aStream start to together came finally WatershedBig Committee Piney n May 24 Information for and about Stream Teams th , after several false starts, the the starts, false several , after The Houston Scouts – ready to get some garbage! some get to –ready Scouts Houston The canoes for the river cleanup. river for the canoes of use 20 the and service shuttle well free as water quality of River. Big the Piney quality water the protecting in go far will group ambitious this Wal-Mart. Houston at the 29 September on PoliceHouston Department Take-Back Event the aDEA host with Drug will they issue, To this streams. address and rivers in problem ofthe household pharmaceuticals belts, their event under to attention successful one ith their turn now to plan Association Team Stream Watershed River Bigthe Piney prizes. with complete lunch for aBBQ Springs atBoiling back gathered cleanup, volunteers the After accomplishment! amajor was That weighpounds. overto 400 estimated tire askidder was one and tires truck five large were retrieved, tires the Of lid. trunk a car and barrel, aburn carpet, chairs, like things were river the from pulled total the to Adding of 1,466 trash. 18.6 covered and pounds volunteers metal, the all, miles scrap in ll 215 55 in of tires, brought of and pounds river Did you know . . ? know you Did W A September – October 2012 – October September Continued on page 2 page on Continued

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Stream Team Awards For Activities Conducted in 2011 Stream Team Ambassador Awards By Amy Meier, MDC Stream Team Biologist l Billy Backues Stream Team 4193–Missouri Master Naturalists–Lake Ozark Area Chapter Equipment Reorder & Return l Sam Allison erhaps it has been a while since you last visited your Stream Team 4169–Big River Baggers Padopted stream, but you’re ready to get your feet Stream Team 4520–Four Rivers Stream Team Association wet again. Fall is upon us and the weather is perfect l Stuart Caswell for monitoring. In preparation, if you begin sorting Stream Team 2264–Brush Creek Mid-Shed Project through your chemical equipment and realize that your Stream Team 3949–Prairie Creek Stream Team buffers and reagents are outdated–no problem! There Stream Team 4503–Platte River Rats are several easy options for replacing your expired VWQM Ambassador Awards chemicals: l John Rothgeb • Visit www.mostreamteam.org and find the Chemical Stream Team 2958–Missouri Master Naturalists–Ozark Chapter Equipment Reorder Form under the “Forms” tab. Simply Stream Team 3798–White River Hills Stream Team Association fill out and submit the online form to request replacement l Don Pierpont monitoring equipment; Stream Team 2898–Wheaton School FFA • Send an e-mail listing the materials you need to [email protected] or [email protected]; or • Leave a voicemail at 1-800-781-1989 to request equipment and chemical replacements. Remember to include your full name, phone number, and shipping address. Maybe you have a lot of expired chemicals, but are just not sure what to do with them. The only materials that must be returned to the VWQM Program for disposal are expired Nitrate Reducing Reagents in the small brown bottle, NitraVer 3 and 5 reagents for the nitrate colorimeter, and any waste generated from nitrate tests. All other reagents may be disposed of at home, either in the trash (such as those in powder- pillow form) or down the drain with water, including: Congratulations to our 2011 Ambassador Award winners! From left to right, John • All Dissolved Oxygen, Phosphorus, Ammonia, Hardness, Rothgeb, Billy Backues, and Sam Allison. Not pictured are Stuart Caswell and and Alkalinity reagents and test wastes Don Pierpont. • Yellow (7.0) and blue (10.0) pH buffers • Conductivity calibration solution • Mixed Acid reagent • Chloride test strips Level 1 Water Quality Monitoring If you no longer intend to monitor, we understand and strive to make the equipment return process simple. Workshops Have Been Scheduled Test kits, meters, and nitrate waste can be returned (Intro Level Workshop is prerequisite.) to any MDC or DNR regional office in a box marked “Stream Team” with a label stating what the box Sign up soon! contains. You may also contact VWQM staff to request See calendar on page 4. a pre-paid shipping label to return equipment by mail. If you choose this option, please remove any expired reagents that can be disposed of at home. This will reduce the weight of the package and shipping costs. As always, we encourage seasoned volunteers to . . . the large, predacious . . . attend a Level 1 workshop as a refresher. You might be Continued on page 3 surprised how much you learn the second time around!

Channels 2 September–October 2012 Team Snapshots The Riffle Review a bi-monthly glimpse of Stream Team activities Since our last issue of Channels, Stream Team members reported: l 1,223 total activities l 276.9 tons of trash collected l 19,314 total participants l 300 water quality monitoring trips l 113,848 total hours l 3,242 trees planted Check out more highlights below . . . Team 246 Ozark Sunrise Expeditions planted 125 tree seedlings and 25 shrubs, including willow pegs and wildlife bundles, along Shoal Creek in Newton County. Stream Team Assistant Darlene Haun helps Garvey’s Team 463 Greenway Network’s 9th Annual Spring Dardenne Creek Crawdads (Team 2160) measure dissolved oxygen in a Monitoring Day was a success. Sites were tested over a 27 mile stretch of tributary to Dardenne Creek. creek, from the headwaters to the last road crossing before the confluence with the . Team 1995 Tom Mazurek and his grandson, Trevor, collected one bag of trash, a tire, and two pillows during a floating and fishing trip on Big River. Tom says, “I’m very proud of him. He doesn’t like to see trash on the water, be it lakes or streams.” Keep up the good work, Trevor – every little bit helps! Team 2145 Cub Scout Pack 202 spent the 10th Annual Waynesville Pride Day cleaning an illegal dump site full of trash and tires along Roubidoux Creek. They collected three truckloads of trash, including 19 tires, a television, and a tricycle. Now that’s something to be proud of! The USDA Forest Service Team (Team 4442) in Houston Team 3381 45 students helped build a new duck habitat, repair duck houses shows off the haul from their annual Big Piney River Cleanup. and docks, and trim trees at the Bootheel Youth Museum Pond in Malden. They rewarded themselves with two hours of fishing on Combs Lake. Not too shabby! Team 3879 ADM Mexico collected 12 bags of trash from Teal Lake and a small tributary. Brooks Pettit reports, “The weather was great and four of the nine volunteers were kids. They had a great time and it was good to see how they enjoyed picking up litter and making the lake safer and cleaner.” Team 4031 It was Linda Bishop’s first time monitoring her adopted stream when there was no flow. She was able to conduct chemical monitoring in a pool, but the macroinvertebrates had to wait for another day.

Team 4369 During their first storm drain stenciling outing, the Missouri Master Naturalists–Hi Lonesome Chapter marked over 60 storm drains This family brought their homemade wooden kayaks to around Sedalia. the Scenic Rivers Stream Team Association’s (Team 674) 6th Annual Current River Cleanup. Team 4473 The River Rovers joined Teams 211 and 3917 for a cleanup on the Big River in St. Francois County. They pulled 38 tires out of the river but, Bo Jarvis reports, are “finding fewer and fewer tires along this short stretch of river. We are seeing progress!” That’s what we like to hear!

Team 4606 Jennifer Eyers said, “This was our first trash pickup event as a Stream Team! It was a lot of fun. Anytime we would spot trash we would shout, ‘Stream Team!’ and someone would pick it up.” 12 Team members picked up trash while floating eight miles of the Current River.

A group of Boy Scouts and their families pose with the . . . larvae of Megaloptera . . . results of a hard day’s work at the 22nd Annual Blue Continued on page 4 River Rescue.

September–October 2012 3 Channels TEAM

A Man of Deeds 8 CALENDAR here is an old saying that goes, “a September person of words and not of deeds is 8 Columbia Crawdads Stream Team Cleanup, Columbia. T For information or to register, contact Mike Heimos at like a garden full of weeds.” John Curtis [email protected] or call 573/817-6447. (Stream Team 4077) is a man of deeds. He 8 Stockton Lake Cleanup, Stockton. is an inspiration to the entire membership For more information call 416/276-3113. 8 VWQM Level 1 Workshop, St. Joseph. of Team 4077. Team member Ted Brown, Register online at www.mostreamteam.org. Teams in Sr. calls John their “golden goose member” 9 7th Annual Outfitters & Stream Teams Niangua River and describes him as “a master salesperson Cleanup, Lebanon. For more information, contact Carl at [email protected] or 417/426-5112. for the Stream Team Program.” He action! 15 Fox Creek Water Quality Monitoring, St. Louis. has been known to give heart-warming Contact Leslie Lihou at 314/726-2140 or Jim Rhodes at speeches about being a Stream Teamer that [email protected]. are credited with increasing participation in collaborative water quality 15 Grand Glaize Creek Monitoring, St. Louis. Contact Darlene at 636/225-3946 or [email protected] monitoring projects and swelling the ranks of Team 4077. Mark Van Patten, or Bob Jung at 314/494-8432. Stream Team Biologist for the St. Louis Region, notes, “John is very active 15 VWQM Level 1 Workshop, Ozark. as a leader in his community. He cares for the environment and loves to Register online at www.mostreamteam.org. 27 Deer Creek Chemistry Monitoring, St. Louis. Contact share his knowledge.” Danelle at 314/961-4410 or [email protected]. 29 VWQM Level 1 Workshop, West Plains. Register online at www.mostreamteam.org. 29 Tree Planting at the Confluence, St. Louis. To register, call 636/498-0772 or e-mail [email protected].

October 6 City of Manchester Stream Cleanup. For more information, contact Eileen Collins at 636/391-6326 x 402. 6 St. Joseph Cleanup with Relief. John’s family and Register online at www.riverrelief.org. Stream Team 6 VWQM Level 1 Workshop, Jefferson City. members joined Register online at www.mostreamteam.org. him at the Capitol 7 Bike With Your Boots On, Gravois Creek, St. Louis. for the Senior For information or to register, go to www.riverdesperes.org. Service Awards 11 VWQM Level 1 Workshop, Troy–St. Louis. ceremony. Register online at www.mostreamteam.org. 13 River des Peres Trash Bash on the Greenway, St. Louis. Contact Eric Karch at 314/603-8834 or ekar76@ For these reasons and many more, members of Team 4077 nominated hotmail.com, or Dona Anderson at [email protected]. John for the Lieutenant Governor’s Senior Service Award. Senior Service 13 VWQM Level 1 Workshop, Wildwood–St. Louis. Register online at www.mostreamteam.org. Awards highlight the accomplishments of Missouri’s senior citizens in their 17 Scenic Rivers Stream Team Association Meeting, local communities. To be eligible, individuals must be at least 60 years of Mountain View. For information, contact Ted or Pat age and volunteer a minimum of 25 hours per year in their local community. Haviland at 417/932-4363 or e-mail [email protected]. On May 9th, John Curtis was among 34 senior citizens, chosen from 20 Kansas City Cleanup with Missouri River Relief. Register online at www.riverrelief.org. a record 145 nominees across the state, to receive this prestigious honor. 20 9th Annual Hinkson Clean Sweep, Columbia. For Fellow Stream Team members joined John at the Capitol for a luncheon and information or to register, contact Volunteer Programs at awards ceremony, where John received an official declaration of recognition 573/874-7499 or e-mail [email protected]. 25 Big Piney River Watershed Meeting, Houston. Contact and a Senior Service Award lapel pin from Lieutenant Governor Peter Peter Maki at [email protected] or 417/967-0676. Kinder. “John Curtis sets an example for all Missourians with his kindness and willingness to serve. His selfless service is an inspiration to all who know him,” said Kinder. He also noted that John is a devoted member of the Stream Team Program. . . . can inflict . . . Congratulations, John! We wish you and all the members of Team Continued on page 7 4077 many more triumphs!

Channels 4 September–October 2012 ACTIVITY PRIZE DRAWING Activity Prize items will change every three months. Missouri Stream Team Activity Report This report can be turned in after only 1 activity. If you would like to be included in our “Activity Prize Drawing,” please check box at  Stay active -- you make a difference for Missouri streams! right and attach a list of participant names. Please print clearly. The more activities Activity Prize you submit, the better your chances! New prizes will be drawn every three months. or Channels Attention teachers and youth group leaders: For a youth group prize, please check Stream Team Identification: the box at right, but you do not need to include a participant list for group prizes.  Please help us New prizes will be available and drawn every three months. Youth group save on shipping prize Team Number:______costs; ship to your THANK YOU ITEMS office or school You may request these free items in any combination. Team Name:______if possible! ITEM: Number requested: Reporter Name:______Bandannas (Stream Team) Please check one: Commercial Bookmarks (dragonfly) Business/School: (if applicable)______ Residential Bookmarks (spring peeper)  Shipping Address: (no PO Box please)______Bumper Stickers (Quality Water, 3 1/2” x 9 1/4”) Buttons (Stream Team mini-buttons 1 1/2” pins) City, State, Zip:______Carabiners (Stream Team Key Chain) Colorbook (Stream Team Most Wanted, Grades 4-6) Home Phone: (_____)_____-______Work Phone: (_____)______-______Colorbook (Stream Team Superstars, Grades K-3) Updated E-mail:______Mood Cups (Stream Team, 17 oz. plastic) Please allow up to three weeks 5 Patches (Stream Team, 3” round, embroidered) for delivery. Contact Person for Team:______Thanks! Pencils (Get Into Missouri Streams, blue sparkle) Is there a change in Contact Person? Yes No Post-it Notes (Stream Team, 3” x 4”) Is there a change in Contact Person address? Yes No Scratch Pads (Stream Team, 5 1/2” x 8”) Stickers (Get Into Missouri Streams, 3” round) If yes, new address:______Stickers (I Love Missouri Streams, 3” round) ______T-Shirts (Stream Team, adult sizes only) S____ M____ L____ XL____ XXL____ Please provide details about your activities on the reverse side.

Mail this Activity Report to: ACTIVITY SUPPLIES MISSOURI STREAM TEAM These free supplies are available for your activities. PO BOX 180 We welcome ITEM: Number requested: JEFFERSON CITY MO 65102-0180 your activity photos. Be aware they may be First Aid Kits (limited availability) For more information, contact us at: published in our news- Litter Pickup Bags (green mesh 24” x 36”) for larger trash Phone: 1-800-781-1989 (voice mail) letter or annual report. Thank you! Litter Pickup Bags (red mesh 14” x 26”) E-mail: [email protected] Web site: www.mostreamteam.org Work Gloves (adult size) Fax: 573/526-0990 7/23/2012 Work Gloves (youth size) September–October 2012 Channels Stream Team Activity Report Stream Team Activity Code List Stream Team Activity 1 Stream Team Activity 2 Stream Team Activity 3 Activity Code Measurement

Type of activity: (see code list at right)______Type of activity: (see code list at right)______Type of activity: (see code list at right)______Litter pickup LPU Number of litter bags Water quality monitoring WQM Number of trips Activity date: ______Activity date: ______Activity date: ______Pre-activity planning PLN Number of events

Stream name: ______Stream name: ______Stream name: ______Stream Team meeting MTG Number of attendees Activity county: ______Activity county: ______Activity county: ______Stream workshop attended WKS Number of attendees Education project EDU Number of events Activity basin: ______Activity basin: ______Activity basin: ______Letter written on stream issue LET Number of letters

Miles of river covered: ______Miles of river covered: ______Miles of river covered: ______Article written for newspaper, etc. ART Number of articles Number of volunteers involved: ______Number of volunteers involved: ______Number of volunteers involved: ______Media contact/interview MED Number of interviews Tree planting PLT Number of trees Hours spent on project: ______Hours spent on project: ______Hours spent on project: ______Presentation to groups PRE Number of presentations

Measurement : Please list number of monitoring Measurement : Please list number of monitoring Measurement : Please list number of monitoring ST display at school, fair, etc. DIS Number of events trips, bags of trash collected, letters written, trees trips, bags of trash collected, letters written, trees trips, bags of trash collected, letters written, trees planted, events held, etc. See code list at right. planted, events held, etc. See code list at right. planted, events held, etc. See code list at right. ST Inventory Guide submitted INV Number of inventories GPS Reading GPS Number of trips ______

6 Zebra mussel monitoring form ZEB Number of trips Location Description: Please provide a de- Location Description: Please provide a de- Location Description: Please provide a de- Storm drain stenciling SDS Number of drains stenciled tailed location for your activity. (Example: 100 tailed location for your activity. (Example: 100 tailed location for your activity. (Example: 100 yds. upstream from Hwy. 63 bridge.) Include yds. upstream from Hwy. 63 bridge.) Include yds. upstream from Hwy. 63 bridge.) Include Monofilament recycling project MRP Weight of line recycled township, range, and section if possible. A good township, range, and section if possible. A good township, range, and section if possible. A good Streambank stabilization project SSP Number of events resource for maps can be found at www.USGS.gov.resource for maps can be found at www.USGS.gov.resource for maps can be found at www.USGS.gov. Habitat improvement HAI Number of projects ______Advocacy on stream issue ADV Number of events ______Photo Point Monitoring PPM Number of photos Greenway development GRE Number of projects ______Recruited new Team/members REC Number of people recruited ______September–October 2012 September–October Stream Team mentoring MEN Team mentored & events

______Stream Access Maintenance SAM Number of litter bags/events

Project Description: Please include as much Project Description: Please include as much Project Description: Please include as much Adopt-An-Access AAA New Accesses Adopted information as you can about your activity. Include information as you can about your activity. Include information as you can about your activity. Include Forestkeepers monitoring FOR Number of events facts about the project not covered above. (Exam- facts about the project not covered above. (Exam- facts about the project not covered above. (Exam- ple: “Held 4th Annual litter pickup and picnic at Dry ple: “Held 4th Annual litter pickup and picnic at Dry ple: “Held 4th Annual litter pickup and picnic at Dry ST Association activity ASC Number of events Fork Creek.”) ______Fork Creek.”) ______Fork Creek.”) ______Award received AWA Number of awards

______Grant applied/received GRT Number of projects Watershed mapping WAT Number of trips ______Assisted MDC fish stocking FIS Number of events

______Other: please describe OTH Number of Projects Activity Prize Drawing Prize Winners The Things You Find When Jan Schillinger–Pacific, MO  Team 2991–Friends of LaBarque Assoc. Connie Ferro–Kansas City, MO Team 4484–Good Stewards Team the Water Goes Nancy Weeks–St. Louis, MO By Stuart Caswell, Stream Team 4503 Team 3762–The Lesa Urban Team ne Saturday evening, I decided Dean LaBoube–Bonne Terre, MO to go to Humphrey Access on the Down Team 1920–Jacktown 10 Team O Danelle Haake–St. Louis, MO Platte River, near Platte City, to see how Team 2760–Litzsinger Road Ecology Cntr. low the water level was. I was shocked Mike Lahm–St. Louis, MO by what I found. There were exposed Team 1316–Mattese Creek/Cardinal Springs  gravel bars and you could actually walk Deanna Rhinesmith–St. Louis, MO Team 3824–Hodgen Elementary School across the river from bank to bank. Just Prizes Won three months ago the river was almost at  Colorado Canoe flood stage and now the upstream gauge An engine block lodged in the mud was just  Maglite (2 D-cell) reading is just over four feet. Amazing! one of the surprises revealed by low water  Missouri Wildflower Book With the water so low, I saw many levels.  Eureka Sleeping Bag things I have never seen before. I saw Even better, my nephew, who was  Cast Net (3.5-ft. radius) roughly twenty live mussels, plus twenty part of the Sunday crew, plans to have  Stream Team Engraved Paddle more empty shells. During previous his Eagle Scout candidates replace the  Youth Prize: Discovery Channel visits I had only seen three shells total. “Life on Earth” DVD Collection defunct ramp boards at the access. I have Sadly, the other things I saw were two wanted to repair the Humphrey Access complete engine blocks, tires, lots of ramp since I began monitoring the Platte NEXT Prize Drawing metal, and a pickup truck! That is the bad  Uniflame 10,000 BTU Gas Grill River last fall, at which time I contacted news. The great news is that I was able to  Pocket Guide to Eastern Streams Book the MDC Area Manager to come up with pull together a small team on Sunday and  Galileo Water Thermometer a plan to get the boat slide repaired.  Coleman Lighted Tent Fan we removed the engines, three tires, and a It occurred to me after the cleanup  Outdoor Trekking Pole bunch of metal and trash, including forty that the Stream Team training and my  Coleman One-Gallon Insulated Jug cinder blocks! work with the Program completely  Youth Prize: Discovery Channel Macro empowered me to take action. Microscope I didn’t even pause. I just got my gloves and trash bags and went to work. There was no trepidation, no waiting, no asking, “Oh no, what are we going to do?” I just got it done. All in all, it was a great Stream Team weekend on the Platte River!

The receding waters of the Platte River expose gravel bars, as well as banks littered with cinder blocks.

Please keep sending us your Activity Reports ...... a painful bite to . . . YOU might win NEXT! See page 8

September–October 2012 7 Channels Attention Stream Teams! he MSTWC has reached their pre-sale goal of 200 applications for Tthe new Stream Team license plate! Proceeds from these plates help support the MSTWC and the good work they do. Consider showing your committment to Missouri streams with a personalized Stream Team license plate and send in your application today! Go to www. mostreamteam.org for more information, including the application form.

Coalition Corner News from the Missouri Stream Team Watershed Coalition 319 Non-Point Source Summit: A Celebration of Success By Holly Neill, Executive Director, MSTWC he Section 319 Nonpoint Source Management Program Tof the Clean Water Act was established to provide greater federal leadership to help focus local non-point source efforts. Under Section 319, non-profits can receive grant money to support a wide variety of activities that reduce non-point source pollution in our waterways. Over the years I have had many opportunities to administer and partner on 319 projects. After taking my current position Recognition awards were presented to 319 staff from DNR and EPA at the summit. as Executive Director of MSTWC, I became more aware of statewide efforts, many of which were accomplishing wonderful we hosted the first statewide 319 Non-Point Source Summit in things as part of 319 projects. It became clear that Missouri Branson on June 12 and 13. was overdue to bring those working on non-point source efforts The summit kicked off with a reception and networking together to learn, share, and be inspired. Together with Ozarks session at the new U.S. Army Corps Dewey Short Visitor Water Watch and the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Center. It was great to see current 319 recipients getting to visit with others from across the state and having a chance to visit with DNR staff face to face. The summit also provided an opportunity for prospective 319 grant recipients to learn more about the program from experts in the field. The second Gopala Borchelt (Team 2247) gives a day was devoted to showcasing a diverse set of 319 projects presentation about from 17 watersheds across the state. The projects ranged from the Table Rock education to restoration, and included presentations from Lake Community several Stream Teams. There were also exhibits to view, Stormwater Project. awards presented, a People’s Choice Award Luncheon, and, of course, an ice cream sundae break. It was a pleasure to help host this event that brought together so many individuals doing great work to protect . . . humans? our water resources. We hope the participants were inspired for continued success in their watersheds. Sincere thanks is See the Fact Sheet in extended to the summit sponsors: City of Branson, Branson this issue to learn more. Convention Center, Chateau on the Lake, Ozark Rivers Heritage Foundation, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

Channels 8 September–October 2012