Guest Blog by: Dr. Jo Latimore, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University, and Alicia Symanski, Northwestern Michigan College Register today for the 2018 Joint MiCorps Conference/Michigan Inland Lakes Convention This year, MiCorps is joining together with the Michigan Inland Lakes Partnership to offer a conference event that combines the best of each program!… Read More
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Each summer, I have the privilege of joining ten Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program volunteers on their lake. Lakes are randomly selected for sampling with the goal of completing six Chlorophyll sampling side by sides and four Summer Total Phosphorus sampling side by sides each field season. I find these meet-ups as the perfect opportunity to… Read More
Guest Blog by: Paige Filice and Tara Eavy, Department of Fisheries and Wildlife, Michigan State University For those of us who like to experience nature at home, keeping an aquarium, water garden, or pond may be the perfect solution. But what you may not know is that your tiny slice of nature can have a… Read More
Guest Blog by: Kathy Jelsema and Gerry Koning, Trinity Christian Reformed Church (Grandville/Jension area, MI) From the simple beginnings of seeing a need for keeping our little spot on Rush Creek cleaner, to venturing into independent annual stream invertebrate surveys and sending in those findings to the Michigan DEQ, to now having the funds and… Read More
How can we prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species? Most of Michigan’s rivers, streams, ponds, lakes, shorelines and wetlands provide hospitable habitat for native and invasive species alike. Aquatic invasive species are costly to control once they’re in a waterbody and have established reproducing populations. Invasive species disrupt food webs, foul infrastructure and recreational… Read More
Over the past 10 years, the St. Joseph County Conservation District (SJCCD) has participated in several water quality projects funded by MiCorps grants. There is no telling just how important these grants have been to the SJCCD, but one thing is for sure, without them we would never have been able to accomplish as much… Read More
MiCorps was created in 2003 to assist the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality in collecting and sharing water quality data for use in water resources management and protection programs. It is comprised of two programs: the Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program (VSMP) and the Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program (CLMP). With support from MiCorps staff, volunteers participating… Read More
Do you get annoyed with those weeds in your lake? Do you wish there was an easy way to rid your entire lakefront of those pesky weeds just to make your life easier? Before you take any action, there is a side to the story that you might not have thought about. Those “weeds” are… Read More
If you think volunteer-collected data is not a big part of national lake water quality monitoring, think again! A newly released lake water quality database contains geographic data on over 50,000 US lakes, and water quality data on about 10,000 of those lakes — most of which come from citizen volunteer programs, including the MiCorps… Read More
MiCorps volunteers have been monitoring water quality for over 13 years. What a great opportunity to look at the coverage across the Great State of Michigan! Take a look at this map showing all 458 lakes surveyed under the Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program and the 57 stream groups that were awarded grants under the Volunteer… Read More
