Other Resources

Volunteer Monitoring Resources

MiCorps and Monitoring in the News

• Volunteer Program Watches Over Michigan Lakes for Over 35 Years (Lake Scientist, July 18, 2011)
• Monitoring Produces Dramatic Results (Freshwater Future, July 11, 2011)

Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Resources

• EGLE MiCorps homepage
• EGLE Lake Monitoring
• EGLE Hydrologic Data Collection and Analysis
• Water Resources Division Webpage
• Biosurveys Webpage
• Inland Lakes and Streams Protection
• Aquatic Invasive Species
• Water Quality and Pollution Control in Michigan Integrated Report
• Targeted Monitoring Request Form
• Water Quality Standards
• EGLE District Office Contact Information
• EGLE Minute videos on Aquatic Invasive Species:

U.S. EPA Volunteer Monitoring Resources

• Quality Assurance Handbook and Guidance Documents for Citizen Science Projects
• The Volunteer Monitor, now available from the Web Archive, was the EPA’s national newsletter of volunteer water monitoring. Back issues from 1993-2010 are available on-line.(More recently, the National Water Quality Monitoring Council has hosted “The Volunteer Monitoring News,” available at: https://acwi.gov/monitoring/vm/newsletters.html.)
• Starting Out in Volunteer Water Monitoring, Factsheet
• Volunteer Lake Monitoring: A Methods Manual. EPA 440/4-91-002, December 1991.
• Volunteer Stream Monitoring: A Methods Manual. EPA 841-B-97-003, November 1997.
• Volunteer Wetland Monitoring: An Introduction and Resource Guide. EPA 843-B-00-001, December 2001.
• Volunteer Monitor’s Guide to Quality Assurance Project Plans. EPA 841-B-96-003, September 1996.
• EPA National Lakes Assessment

USDA CSREES Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring National Facilitation Project

This Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring National Facilitation Project is designed to build a comprehensive support system for Extension volunteer water quality monitoring efforts across the country. The goal is to expand and strengthen the capacity of existing Extension volunteer monitoring programs and support development of new groups.

• Why Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Makes Sense (CSREES Factsheet) Describes the benefits of volunteer monitoring to local communities.
• Designing Your Monitoring Strategy: Basic questions and resources to help guide you (CSREES Factsheet) Designed to help new program coordinators start designing their monitoring strategy. Provides information needed to help choose which monitoring methods are most appropriate for meeting your monitoring objectives and links to a variety of monitoring procedures manuals and quality assurance project plans.
• Training Volunteer Water Quality Monitors Effectively (CSREES Factsheet) Provides an overview of the basics of training and suggestions for tailoring training methods to meet your needs. Also provides extensive information for developing safe and effective classroom and field training sessions, as well as links to additional information on learning styles and other educational issues.
• Volunteer Management and Support (CSREES Factsheet) Emphasizes the need for comprehensive program coordination. Highlights tools and techniques used with success by CSREES monitoring programs.
• Building Credibility: Quality Assurance and Quality Control for Volunteer Monitoring Programs (CSREES Factsheet) Provides information to help focus on meeting your own program’s objectives and associated QA standards- not necessarily on having your program follow the most stringent methods.
• Data Management (CSREES Factsheet) Considerations for designing a data management system to manage your volunteer data.

Please visit https://acwi.gov/monitoring/vm/ and/or http://blog.uvm.edu/kstepenu/ to access valuable resources and training modules that can help you with developing, managing and growing a program.

Water Quality Data Sources

• How’s My Waterway: How’s my Waterway (formerly Michigan Surface Water Information Management System (MiSWIMS)) is an interactive map-based system that allows users to view information about Michigan’s surface water. Users are able to view and download data collected by the Michigan Dept. of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and Michigan Dept. of Natural Resources from surface water monitoring sites located throughout Michigan.
• Water Quality Exchange (WQX): U.S. EPA’s Water Quality Exchange (WQX) has replaced the STORET Warehouse as the online repository for water quality monitoring data and is used by federal, state, tribal, and other partners, as well as the public, to submit and retrieve water monitoring data from the EPA.
• Envirofacts: Envirofacts is a single point of access to select U.S. EPA environmental data. This website provides access to several EPA databases and provides information about environmental activities that may affect air, water, and land anywhere in the United States.
• Surf Your Watershed: U.S. EPA’s Surf Your Watershed is a service to help you locate, use, and share environmental information about your state and watershed.
• National Water Quality Standards Database: This U.S. EPA web site provides access to several water quality standards reports with information about designated uses, waterbody names, state numeric water quality criteria, and EPA recommended numeric water quality criteria.
• USGS Water Resources Data: Provides links to USGS water data, water resources maps and GIS Information, water resources applications software, USGS water-resources reports, and more.
• Michigan Maps: Michigan Department of Natural Resources online maps.

Additional Resources and Links

• Michigan Lakes and Streams Associations
• Michigan Inland Lakes Partnership
• Michigan Clean Boats Clean Waters
• Michigan Natural Shoreline Partnership
• Michigan State University Extension: Lakes, Streams and Watersheds
• USGS Water Resources
• North American Lake Management Society
• Understanding Lake Data (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources)
• Understanding Lake Ecology (Water on the Web)