The Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps) hosts an annual volunteer monitoring conference each fall. The conference provides an excellent opportunity to stay up to date on monitoring methods and to meet and interact with other volunteer monitors. Participants join stream and lake monitoring volunteers and program coordinators from across Michigan to learn, network, and celebrate our collective achievements!
The 2023 conference was held at W.K. Kellogg Biological Station. The slides from conference presentations are available below.
Thursday, October 19 (Optional Pre-Conference Event)
1:00 pm Stream macroinvertebrate workshop – Dr. Paul Steen, MiCorps Stream Programs Manager, Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC), and Tamara Lipsey, EGLE MiCorps Program Lead, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)
Friday, October 20
9:00 am Welcome and MiCorps updates – Dr. Jo Latimore, MiCorps Director, Michigan State University (MSU)
9:10 am Aquatic research at Kellogg Biological Station: Past and present – Dr. Gary Mittelbach, MSU professor emeritus, and Dr. Alisha Shah, MSU assistant professor
9:40 am Volunteer recognition and awards – Dr. Paul Steen and Erick Elgin, MiCorps Lake Programs Manager, MSU Extension
9:55 am Volunteer recruitment and retention – Melissa DeSimone, Michigan Lakes and Streams Association, and Jason Frenzel, HRWC
11:00 am Breakout sessions
A. Stream monitoring success stories – Matt Bain, Lower Grand River Organization of Watersheds; Carlos Calderon and Kyle Hart, West Michigan Environmental Action Council; and Erin Pavloski, Olivet College and Eaton Conservation District
B. State agency use of MiCorps Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program data – Dr. Joe Nohner, Michigan Department of Natural Resources, and Sarah Holden, EGLE
1:00 pm Breakout sessions
A. Preventing pathogen pollution: E. coli monitoring in lakes and streams – Molly Rippke, EGLE
B. How to tell stories with data – Erick Elgin and Dr. Jo Latimore
2:20 pm Breakout sessions
A. Native mussel monitoring – Dr. Paul Steen
B. Aquatic invasive species: What’s new? – Bill Keiper, EGLE, and Dr. Jo Latimore
3:00 pm Connectivity: Lakes, streams, and their watersheds, and how monitoring helps us understand and protect them all – Dr. Katelyn King, University of Michigan
