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Wetland Volunteer Monitoring Programs
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Arkansas
Arkansas Department of Environmental Quality: The Stream Team program has branched out into wetlands, partly due to droughts (which left wetlands as the only places with water to sample). Greg Patterson has put together a wetland monitoring guidance that will be used in wetlands monitoring workshops.
| Contact: | Greg Patterson and Steve Filipek Arkansas Stream Team 102 NE 2nd St. Bryant, AR 72022 (501) 847-2987 sfilipek@agfc.state.ar.us |
Connecticut
The Salisbury Association in conjunction with the New York State non-profit Hudsonia and The Nature Conservancy, Connecticut Chapter: The "Moore Brook Volunteer Monitoring Demonstration Project" began in 1995-96, and was a biological monitoring project in a Marble Valley wetland which has conservation easements placed on it by the Nature Conservancy, and is relatively undisturbed. The goal of the project was to demonstrate that volunteers can conduct scientific monitoring of nature preserves. The project consisted of several surveys including: flora, fish, amphibian and reptile, and insects. The following biota were monitored: birds (continuing), amphibians, butterflies, sweet coltsfoot (continuing), Phragmites (continuing), and water quality. The project was conducted by an eight-member Scientific Advisory Committee, seven staff members, and 28 volunteers. Some aspects of the project are still ongoing as of fall, 1999.
| Contact: | Eric Kiviat Hudsonia Ltd. Bard College Ecology Field Station Annandale, NY 12504 (914) 758-7273 |
Georgia
State of Georgia: The Georgia Environmental Protection Division's Adopt-a-Wetland Program has partnered with Izaak Walton League to hold a training workshop in volunteer wetland monitoring, and is adding wetland monitoring to the activities at its five "regional training centers", where stream and other monitoring is already taking place.
| Contact: | Michele Droszcz Adopt-a-Stream Coordinator 7 Martin Luther King Jr. Dr. Suite 643 Atlanta, GA 30334 (404) 656-0099 michele_droszcz@mail.dnr.state.ga.us |
Great Lakes States
(Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
New York)
The Great Lakes
Marsh Monitoring Program's
Long Point Bird Observatory identified 43 Areas of Concern (AOCs) around
the Great Lakes. These areas of concern have been identified as being
stressed by pollutants, habitat loss, and habitat degradation and are
in urgent need of rehabilitation. The Marsh Monitoring Program (MMP) provides
baseline information to help measure the success of these rehabilitation
efforts and may help in suggesting improvements to restoration techniques.
Although a special emphasis is placed on the monitoring of those Great
Lakes coastal wetlands that are heavily polluted, information on marshes
throughout the Great Lakes states and the province of Ontario is also
very important to the success of the program. Over the long-term, information
gathered by MMP volunteers can be used to track population trends of marsh
birds, frogs and toads throughout the Great Lakes region.
Naturalists help conserve marshes and their inhabitants by monitoring
either marsh birds or calling amphibians (frogs and toads), or both. Surveys
are conducted during the spring and early summer, and volunteers may choose
to monitor a marsh in one of the 43 Areas of Concern, or can select a
route elsewhere in Ontario or the Great Lakes' states. To date, amphibians,
marsh birds, or both have been surveyed on over 500 routes in the Great
Lakes basin. This work has been done by more than 300 volunteers, contributing
over 6000 hours of their collective time.
| Contact: | Program Coordinator Long Point Bird Observatory P.O. Box 160 Port Rowan Ontario NOE 1MO (519) 586-3531 aqsurvey@bsc-eoc.org |
Illinois
The Illinois Natural
Resources Information Network
has an EcoWatch Network, part of which is Wetland Watch, which is gearing
up to begin in 2000. The EcoWatch program aims to collect valid scientific
data that will go into the state data base. The Wetland Watch program
will focus on palustrine, ermergent marshes, which are the dominant wetland
type in Illinois. Forested swamps (mostly cypress) will also be looked
at for cypress recruitment and biodiversity. In general wetland monitoring,
parameters studied will be plant communities, macroinvertebrates, and
habitat types. Some sampling techniques which require no entrance into
the wetland are being developed.
| Contact: | Michael Jeffords Illinois EcoWatch Network 524 S. Second St. Springfield, IL 62704-1787 (217) 333-5986 ctap2@dnrmail.state.il.us |
Kentucky
Kentucky's Adopt-a-Stream Program: Kentucky's program (see Kentucky Water Watch) contains a wetland component which is largely educational, but some wetland monitoring occurs under the program. Wetlands that are part of riverine systems are monitored by volunteers. The most sustained wetland monitoring is done by landowners who are managing their lands for duck hunting are involved in monitoring adjacent lands for compliance with Army Corps of Engineers wetland permits.
| Contact: | Ken Cooke Kentucky Water Watch Program Kentucky Division of Water 14 Reilly Rd. Frankfort, KY 40601-1189 502-564-3410 kywwp@igc.org |
Maine
Maine Audubon Society:
During the spring and summer of 1997, four workshops were held to train
about 60-70 volunteers in "Tidal Marsh Stewardship." Monitoring focuses
on restrictions to tidal flow such as tidal gates and culverts, as well
as the presence of invasive spp. such as Phragmites australis and purple
loosestrife. Monitoring sites are largely chosen according to towns where
volunteers live. Monitoring is done in two stages - first a general survey
of tidal gates, culverts and road crossings, and then indications of restrictions
such as changes in vegetation. Salinity monitoring and mapping of Phragmites
is done at some sites. Maine Audubon also coordinates a vernal pool monitoring
project.
| Contact: | Rob Bryan, Director Maine Audubon Society P.O. Box 6009 Falmouth, ME 04105-6009 (207)-781-2330 rbryan@Maineaudubon.org |
Maryland
Calvert County Natural Resources Department: The county naturalist works with third-graders from several counties to monitor the movements and abundance of salamanders from March to May and from September to November. Students also record weather parameters so that weather patterns can be correlated with salamander movements. Funnel traps are placed in both uplands and wetlands. Staff is currently mounting an effort to train an adult "volunteer corps" to check the traps when students are not present. The monitoring program began in 1994, and has yielded data that has led to the ability to predict when salamanders will be migrating and breeding. Contact: Andy Brown, (410) 535-5327.
Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary: Since 1987, Jug Bay staff
and area scientists have been conducting studies (15 in all) involving
volunteers. The sanctuary owns a large area of riparian and freshwater
tidal wetlands, where volunteers have helped monitor birds, turtles, chemical
water quality parameters, and some vegetation as well. Some of the studies
are long term, and all are oriented toward the study of wetland ecology
at the sanctuary. This is one of the longest-running and most productive
volunteer wetland monitoring programs in the U.S. Contact: Judy Burke,
(410) 741-9330.
State of Maryland: The Maryland Department of the Environment is implementing a citizen-based program to monitor nontidal mitigation wetlands. The project has developed a monitoring manual and training seminars. Volunteers are trained to collect baseline data on vegetation density and groundwater elevations on state-developed programmatic wetland mitigation sites. Information gathered from this study provides resource managers with quantitative, site-specific data for direct comparison with established performance standards. Contact: Denise Clearwater, (410) 631-8094.
Massachusetts
Salem Sound 2000 and Eight Towns and the Bay: These two citizen groups have participated in an EPA Wetlands Division volunteer salt marsh monitoring pilot project in conjunction with UMass Extension Service, Massachusetts Bays National Estuary Program, and Massachusetts Coastal Zone Management. Avifauna (Jan Smith, Mass Bays NEP). During the summer of 1999, over 40 volunteers participated in workshops and field work on a variety of parameters: Water Chemistry; Land Use Index (a habitat assessment); Aquatic Macroinvertebrates; Tidal Influence; and Vegetation. Professional scientists did independent assessments, and the volunteers conducted assessments (using the same sampling protocols as the professionals) with the guidance of trained staff members. The project is expected to be used as a model in other areas of New England.
| Contact: | Vivian Kooken Salem Sound 2000 201-203 Washington St. Suite 9 Salem, MA 01970 508-741-7900 ss2000@cove.com |
Vernal Pool Association:
the association's goal is to encourage the appreciation, protection, and
interdisciplinary study of vernal pools, particularly by students. The
Vernal Pool Association encourages individuals and classes to find and
study vernal pools near their homes and schools. Once located, in Massachusetts,
vernal pools can be "certified" so that the pool "exists" in the legal
sense. When a vernal pool has been certified in Massachusetts, it receives
automatically any protection afforded to vernal pools under the Massachusetts
Wetlands Protection Act. Massachusetts has over 1000 certified vernal
pools.
| Contact: | RMHS - Vernal Pool Association 62 Oakland Road Reading, MA 01867 vernal@sun.simmons.edu |
Minnesota
State of Minnesota and Dakota County: The Minnesota Pollution
Control Agency is training volunteers from Dakota County towns to assess
the biological integrity of wetlands in a pilot project. The volunteers
learn sampling methods, quality assurance protocols, and how to identify
plants, insects, and other animals living in the wetlands. Initial results
indicate that the volunteer assessments, although not as rigorous as the
professional assessments, provide repeatable results that are consistent
with the more detailed assessments.
| Contact: | Charlotte Shover Environmental Education Coordinator Dakota County Environmental Education Program 4100 220th St. West Farmington, MN 55024-9539 (651) 480-7734 cshover@extension.umn.edu |
New York
Linda Gette: New water quality monitoring program for a 2,200 acre freshwater wetland near the Catskills; planning to start a volunteer group to measure chemical/physical parameters: pH, DO., Temp., turbidity, Nitrate, as well as coliform. Contact: Linda Gette, (914) 267-4758.
Hudsonia Ltd.: This organization has begun a "Volunteer Observer Network," meant to be Hudson-Valley-wide, and focusing on monitoring the spread of invasive and/or exotic plant species such as purple loosestrife and Phragmites australis. The initiative will ask amateur and professional naturalists to observations on invasive plants such as their interactions with animals, and the data will be incorporated into existing research programs.
| Contact: | Eric Kiviat Hudsonia Ltd. Bard College Ecology Field Station Annandale, NY 12504 (914) 758-7273. |
Rhode Island
Save the Bay
and Narragansett Bay Estuary Program Collaboration: in
1995, Save the Bay's Habitat Protection and Restoration Program developed
a method for characterizing the health of tidal and formerly tidal coastal
marshes. Over 100 trained volunteers have participated in the evaluation
of Bay marshes in Rhode Island and Massachusetts. Nearly 1,885 acres (or
60 percent) of Narragansett Bay's marshes have been evaluated by volunteers
and reviewed by Save The Bay's staff. There is a standard QA/QC protocol
for all such evaluations. Several of the monitoring sites are on golf
courses, and cooperation with these golf courses has been a carefully
orchestrated part of the marsh monitoring effort.
| Contact: | Andy Lipsky Save the Bay 434 Smith St. Providence, RI 02908-3770 (401) 272-3540 savebay@savebay.org |
Texas
Caddo Lake Institute (Project WET Texas): Caddo Lake, a large, shallow, cypress-dominated wetland, is used as a living laboratory for wetland science training. The institute targets teachers in local colleges, universities, and public schools with the intention of getting students involved in a long-term commitment to environmental research. Groups from five different schools associated with the institute currently monitor 23 sites on Caddo Lake. Other sites in the upper watershed, including constructed wetlands, will be monitored as well.
| Contact: | Sara Kneipp Caddo Lake Institute 3703 Bridle Path Marshall, TX 75670 (903) 938-3545) administrator@caddolakeinstitute.org |
Utah
The State of Utah is working with a high school teacher who is monitoring along the Jordan River, doing some water quality tests in inlets, sampling invertebrates, doing amphibian surveys in nearby ponds, and also conducting bird surveys. The State is also working with the Army Corps of Engineers to monitor wetland sites in the Wasach Front area, using the Adopt-a-Beach volunteer training manual.
| Contact: | Cecile Leblanc Wetlands Specialist Division of Wildlife Resources P.O. Box 146301 Salt Lake City, UT 84114-6301 (801) 538-4864 |
Washington
Adopt-a-Beach (a non-profit) has partnered with different levels of government to produce some wetland monitoring manuals, train volunteers to monitor wetlands, and conduct wetland monitoring with local organizations. EPA Region 10 and the State of Washington have provided funds for these projects. A pilot project to develop the manuals and training programs began in the early 1990s, and, after three tiers of manuals were completed (according to levels of technical complexity), volunteer wetland monitoring has focused on two counties in the Puget Sound National Estuary Program (King County and Snohomish County). The goal is to establish volunteer monitoring groups in each of the counties within the Puget Sound Region. Currently, these monitoring projects are part of Adopt-a-Beach's "Watershed Community Link" program. Both natural and restored wetlands are being monitored. Some of the local community groups that provide the volunteers to do the monitoring work include the Audubon Society and Jaycees.
| Contact: | Linda Storm EPA Region 10, (206) 553-2578 and Adopt-a-Beach, (206) 632-1390 |