Our Story

Stacy “River” Arnold is the Founder, Facilitator, and Watershed Planner of Stormwater Solutions LLC, and she has devoted over 20 years to gain knowledge and experience in the watershed management field. As a lifelong resident of Missouri, she grew up in the rural southwest area of the state observing and learning from water in the form of an Ozark stream and gained a deep appreciation for the natural world with landscapes, livelihoods, and water in mind. She is now a human bridge as she has spent her adult life in the St. Louis urban area, and she can easily talk to and connect with various audiences to better navigate different scenes. Her coursework completed through the forestry program at University of Montana (U of M) in northwestern Montana with a 21,432 acre living classroom, the Lubrecht Experimental Forest, and the Bob Marshall Wilderness Complex, an area of more than 1.5 million acres, has helped her gain an additional perspective that is not taught in other areas in the U.S. to add to her wealth of knowledge in this field and extreme respect for and understanding of the natural world.

“Water has been and always will be my greatest teacher.” ~ Stacy

SOME of Stacy’s VAST Field Related Training and Work includes:

• Co-facilitating 319 NPS 9E Lower Meramec Hamilton Creek Subwatershed Planning efforts with Open Space STL (ongoing through Sept. 2026)

• Writing and managing Section 319 Nonpoint Source (NPS) Implementation & Planning Subgrants (ongoing)

• Sampling on MoDNR Cooperative Stream Investigation (CSI) Projects through the Missouri Stream Team Program with Steve McCarthy, a Stream Team Level 3 volunteer (ongoing since 2021)

• Gaining acceptance of 2023 319 NPS 9E Deer Creek Watershed Management Plan by Missouri Department of Natural Resource (MoDNR) & U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) (Feb. 2023)

• Leading and securing federal grant funds through the Farm Bill for the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) Farm Bill Energy & Water Efficiency Outreach Workshops across the state of Missouri (2019 & 2020)

• Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) geographic information system (GIS) Water Conference (Feb. 2016)

• 319 Watershed Workshops ( Feb. 2016, 2015, & 2014)

• Missouri Stream Team insect orders Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera, and Trichoptera (mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies) Workshop (Dec. 2015)

• Missouri Stream Team Level 3 Certification (April 2015)

• Control and ID of Invasive Plants (Nov. 2014)

• 319 Nonpoint Source Summit (June 2012)

• Approaches to Stormwater Management (Oct. 2010)

• Co-developed the Deer Creek Watershed Alliance (DCWA) Rainscaping Cost-Share Program & first rainscaping incentive program in the St. Louis Region, Missouri, and the midwest (2011 & 2012)

• Co-authored Missouri Botanical Garden’s Rainscaping Guide (2011 & 2012)

• The Art and Science of Trees Conference (March 2012)

• Approaches to Stormwater Management Technical Workshop (Oct. 2010)

• Storm Water Management and Rain Garden Initiatives Seminar (Aug. 2009)

• Rain Garden Seminar  (July 2009)   

• Missouri Stream Team Level 2 Water Quality Monitoring Workshop (Jan. 2008)

• AmeriCorps Stream Team Assistant (2007 & 2008)

• Missouri Stream Team Introductory Level Water Quality Monitory Workshop (March 2006 & Sept. 2007) 

• Missouri Stream Team Level 1 Water Quality  Monitoring Workshop (Aug. 2006) 

• ESRI Virtual Campus - Learning ArcGIS 9 (Jan. 2006)

• Landscape & Livelihood Field Semester (Sept. 2004 – Oct. 2004)  

  Completed an independent study on promoting healthy streams and protecting property.  Conducted stream surveys using Rosgen Stream Classification.  Completed a Watershed Dynamics course. Practiced and gained field journal skills on 10 day backpack trip in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. Studied flora, fauna, geology and geography of the Swan Valley and surrounding areas.  Developed navigational skills using topographic maps, compasses, and GPS.  Conducted Whitebark Pine Survey. Examined several local stewardship logging projects.

• 277.5 hr. Internship with NRCS in Barry County and St. Charles County MO (June 2004 – Aug. 2004)

• Cultural Resources Training Series - Part 1 (July 2004)

• Introduction to Water Quality (July 2004)

• Introduction to Conservation Planning on Cropland (July 2004)

• Agricultural Waste Management Systems - A Primer (June 2004)