Volunteer stream monitoring grants awarded

Agency: Environmental Quality

For More Information                               Bill Dimond, 517-241-9565, dimondw@michigan.gov

                                                                        Dr. Paul Steen, 734-769-5123, psteen@hrwc.org

The DEQ and the Great Lakes Commission today announced eight organizations have been chosen to receive volunteer water quality monitoring grants under the MiCorps Program.

The MiCorps Program was established to involve and assist the state's volunteer water quality organizations with water quality assessments, protection, and stewardship of Michigan's lakes and rivers. These volunteer-dependent monitoring groups further expand the existing network of committed citizens who work to monitor water quality in Michigan.

The grants, awarded through the DEQ's MiCorps Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program, provide training and support for volunteers to collect quality data on the state's rivers and streams.  Grants are funded by the approved Clean Michigan Initiative.

This year's awardees included four full grants and four start-up grants. Full grants provide two years of support for existing volunteer programs to monitor macroinvertebrate communities and habitat characteristics in wadeable streams and rivers. Start-up grants provide one year of support for organizations seeking to develop volunteer monitoring programs. The funding supports design of a monitoring strategy as a first step toward the development of a full proposal for a monitoring program.

The data collected through these volunteer water quality monitoring programs is used to support local activities and the DEQ's efforts to protect and manage the state's water resources. The eight organizations sharing nearly $54,000 in grant funds to support their volunteer monitoring work beginning in 2012 are:

Full Grants:

• Macatawa Area Coordinating Council - $12,236.46 to study water quality trends over time through the assessment of macroinvertebrates and habitat at seven sites in the Macatawa watershed.
• Kalamazoo Nature Center - $11,997 to monitor seven sites to assess the nature and status of the Kalamazoo River watershed and its ecosystem.
• Benzie Conservation District - $11,871 to collect data on habitat and macroinvertebrates in the Platte River, Betsie River, and Herring Lakes watersheds, while engaging and educating county residents.
• The Yellow Dog Watershed Preserve - $7,465.50 to monitor eight sites along the Salmon-Trout River in Michigan's Upper Peninsula to establish long-term baseline studies of the health of the watershed.

Start-Up Grants:

• Calhoun Conservation District - $2,990, Wilder Creek (a tributary of the Kalamazoo River).
• Alger Conservation District - $2,929, Bohemian Creek and Slapneck Creek.
• Coldwater River Watershed Council - $2,170, Coldwater River (a tributary of the Thornapple River).
• White River Watershed Partnership - $1,600, Cobmoosa Creek.

The DEQ established the Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program in 1998 and contracted with the Great Lakes Commission to administer it as part of MiCorps in the fall of 2004. The Great Lakes Commission also partners with the Huron River Watershed Council, the Michigan Lake and Stream Associations, Inc., and Michigan State University in administering the MiCorps Program. For additional information about the Michigan Volunteer Stream Monitoring grants, please e‑mail Dr. Paul Steen, Huron River Watershed Council, at psteen@hrwc.org.

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