For those planning to visit a lake this summer, the MiCorps Cooperative Lake Monitoring Program is looking for help tracking water quality.
Michigan has over 11,000 inland lakes. “There are only so many biologists who can sample it at a professional level,” Erik Elgin, an aquatic ecologist with MSU Extension, said. “This volunteer network adds so much more data.”
Elgin said volunteers can get to the lakes biologists can’t access. “Our volunteers are the ones out on the water every day, or they have a cottage out there”.
Water quality data helps state agencies and lake management companies know what’s going on in the lake. “Having long-term data all in one public dataset can get a glimpse at what management should occur,” Elgin said.
He said, it’s beneficial for the volunteers who have a favorite lake. “It just helps get you more connected with your lake and that helps as people talk about the data,” he said. “That gives people a greater appreciation of what’s happening there.”
Volunteers can choose what kind of data they will test for. “From water clarity to how much algae is in water, or also looking around for invasive aquatic plants,” Elgin said. “All of this information, either individually or together, gives us a nice picture of what’s happening in the lake.”
Depending on what volunteers choose to test, the time commitment varies. Elgin said there are certain protocols for each test, so it could range from a single sample to multiple samples over five months.
Training is offered in person and online. Volunteers need to pay a small fee depending on the test to keep the program running and help with laboratory costs for analyzing samples.
Applications are open until May 10.
