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Creating a Volunteer Monitoring Program

Question

From: “Steven Witmer”
To: “VOLMONITOR”
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2004 11:28 AM
Subject: [volmonitor] Seeking advice on creating a volunteer program

Greetings Everyone,

The municipality I work for is looking at facilitating the creation of a new volunteer water quality monitoring group. The hope is that if an effective group of volunteers can be put together, it will be a cost-effective way of gathering data on water quality in and around the community, and also assist in monitoring outfalls and for illicit dumping, assist with public education, and so on.

What I’d like is some advice from folks who have been involved with the creation of such groups, or running such groups, or for that matter, anyone who has been involved in a monitoring group that would like to share some advice or suggestions.

One question I specifically have is (though of course any suggestions are appreciated, not just to this question): how to generate interest and recruit new volunteers in order to get the group operational (if only two volunteers sign up in the next six months, that’s going to be pretty thin resources to base a monitoring program on).

A little background on our community, if it will help – We are in the Midwest, with one of the state’s major rivers forming the eastern border of town and a Corp of Engineers reservoir along the northeast border that is open to the public for recreation (fishing, boating, swimming, hiking, etc.). The population is currently about 10,000, but it is part of a larger metro area with a total population of about 350,000. It’s a rapidly growing community (population has increased approximately 40% in the past ten years, and is still growing at about the same pace). We are also a new NPDES Phase II community (permit still undergoing review, but likely to go into effect this year).

Any information folks wish to share is appreciated.

Thanks!

Steve

Responses

(Note: some responses are missing from this string)

Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2004 12:54:08 -0500
From: Steven Witmer
Subject: [volmonitor] Re: Seeking advice on creating a volunteer program

Thanks so much for the replies so far! I’ll provide a little more information.

Kristine is correct – we’re in Iowa, and I am an IOWATER volunteer (which is why this task has largely devolved onto me – I’m the only trained volunteer water monitor on staff). I have arranged for an IOWATER training to take place in our community in April, and hopefully will have a newspaper announcement on it in the next week or so (I’m meeting with the reporter this afternoon) as well as a notice in next month’s city newsletter. I’ve posted a flyer at city hall on the bulletin board and also put a notice in our water department where water customers can see it. And of course the IOWATER program has it on their website and a number of organizations across the state have links to their site.

The net result of that, so far (over the month or so), has been that the training is half-filled (maximum 30 participants), but only 4 of the 15 are Johnston residents. This isn’t a bad thing, of course, and I’m excited to have gotten statewide interest in attending the training. But on the other hand I’m hoping to attract more community residents – the intention is, after all, to try to get a core of trained local volunteers.

I’ve been monitoring in town myself since I became an IOWATER volunteer last spring, and I am working with the county extension on a water quality project in one of our newer neighborhoods that has a nutrient problem in the local park pond (the pond also serves as a stormwater detention pond,and lawn runoff has resulted in nutrient enrichment that has cause vegetation in the pond to grow out of control).

Steven Witmer
Planning Assistant
City of Johnston

 

Date: Fri, 13 Feb 2004 12:01:42 -0500
From: Nancy Hadley
Subject: [volmonitor] Re: Seeking advice on creating a volunteer program

After some false starts we started a volunteer based monitoring program in fall 2002. We actually started it in Jan 2002 but didnt get much in the way of participation until fall 2002 when we highlighted National Water Monitoring Day. We have some faithful regulars and some others who tend to promise more than they deliver. There is also quite a bit of turnover due to the use of students. Therefore we are constantly recruitng and training new volunteers to fill these gaps. Here are some suggestions for initial recruitment:
Find some established groups with compatible interests (environment, land use) and target their membership
Suggestions might be Sierra Club, Audubon, any local land trusts or environmental action groups, Scouts, community groups near your proposed monitoring sites, etc.)
Do not start recruiting until you are ready to deliver. Nothing turns off the volunteers more than being told we will get back to you when we are ready to start.
Provide plenty of support in the way of training, etc.
Provide feedback. Our volunteers enter data online and can immediately graph results and compare sites.
Offer refresher training regularly.

Nancy Hadley
SCORE project manager
Marine Resources Research Institute
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
PO Box 12559
217 Fort Johnson Road
Charleston, SC 29412
(843) 953-9841
(843) 953-9820 (fax)
http://www3.csc.noaa.gov/scoysters

 

From: mark a kuechenmeister [mailto:markkstreamteam888@juno.com]
Sent: Friday, February 13, 2004 11:04 PM
To: VOLMONITOR
Subject: [volmonitor] Re: Seeking advice on creating a volunteer program

Go to the Missouri stream team website and there you can find tons of info on volunteering monitoring. In Missouri there are over 2400 Stream Teams with over 48,000 volunteers working with their adopted streams. Hope this helps you out.

Monitoring and helping
Maline Creek. for
over six yrs.
your friend
Mark K.

 

Date: Sat, 14 Feb 2004 13:37:59 -0500
From: Bob Carlson
Subject: [volmonitor] Re: Seeking advice on creating a volunteer program
To: VOLMONITOR

Dear Steve

You’ve gotten some great advice so far. You may have some extra challenges getting volunteers since you are looking for volunteers on specific waterbodies. I did a survey of Dip-In volunteers that suggested that the majority of volunteers monitor, and continue to monitor, because of some sense of ownership or involvement in the monitored waterbody. You might look to residents near the waterbody for help. We found that another group of volunteers are monitoring in order to protect their environment or monitor as a matter of civic duty. Your advertisements might focus on why you need the monitoring done.

I would certainly invite you to make a focus event around the Great North American Secchi Dip-In this July. Programs use this event to attract media and public attention to their program and to the environmental problems in their area. You can see how some programs have used the Dip-In as an event at our website (below). We have had coverage in Polk County, IA since 1996 and would welcome your contribuitions in the future. IOWater is a major contributor to our database, both with Secchi disk readings and with turbidity tubes and turbidity meters.

You might also start posting the data that has been gathered. A weekly or monthly article in the local paper showing the data, and the data gaps, might catch people’s attention. People really like to see that their data are being used for some worthwhile purpose.

Bob Carlson Phone: (330) 672-3992
Dept Biological Sciences FAX: (330) 672-3713
Kent State University E-mail: rcarlson@kent.edu
Kent OH 44242

 

Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 12:44:54 -0500
From: Melinda Hughes
Subject: [volmonitor] Re: Seeking advice on creating a volunteer program

Dear Steve,
Your inquiry about starting a volunteer program for water monitoring and public education was forwarded to me. I am with the Environmental Alliance for Senior Involvement (EASI), and basically our mission is to involve retirees and other seniors in environmental projects that better their community. More information about EASI and our programs can be found at www.easi.org.

We have several Senior Environment Corps around the country that perform water testing (8 parameters). In addition to their monthly water testing, the volunteers also perform bi-annual macro-invertebrate testing and physical assessments of the stream sites. Many of the volunteers are also trained for Homeland Security purposes, and some even monitor for Abandoned Mine Drainage.

Besides the water testing, their are many other programs that EASI volunteers participate in including: brownfields revitalization, radon programs, West Nile Virus and children’s environmental health. Again, most of our programs can be found on our website at www.easi.org.

If you want information about any particular programs, please let me know. I can be reached at 540-788-3274 or at melinda@easi.org

Sincerely,
Melinda

Melinda Hughes

 

Date: Mon, 16 Feb 2004 12:24:27 -0500
From: Linda Green
Subject: [volmonitor] Re: Seeking advice on creating a volunteer program
To: VOLMONITOR

Hi Steve,
I’m one of the folks who works with Kris Stepenuck on facilitating volunteer water quality monitoring programs. I also am program director for a volunteer monitoring program in RI. Quite often letters to the editor of local papers are read more than articles, so you might consider writing a concise one about what you hope to accomplish and who you are trying to attract as well as specifics about how much time the training and monitoring will take. Is there a municipal web page that you could post a notice to? CAn you include a flyer in water department bills? Here in RI not many folks pay their water bills in person. How about church newsletters? Or contacting Scouts? Does your high school have an environmental club? A town wide-recreation department? Lately we find a good number of families volunteering as a chance for an outdoor family activity and we have had a few state science fair winners from students who have been volunteer monitors. As a bit of a reality check, for every 100 folks who contact us about volunteering (and we speak to just about every one of them on the phone or via email), approx 50-60 come to one of our 1/2 day classroom trainings, about 25-30 come to follow up 1/2 day (or early evening) field trainings, and about 25 become active monitors. Of those 25, approx 15 will continue for the following year and 10 for the year after that. Once we have ’em for 3 years they’re hooked (pun intended). Our program, URI Watershed Watch is fairly intensive, with lake monitors going out weekly, and stream monitors biweekly, from May thru October. Our program started in 1988.

Best Wishes!
Linda Green

 

Date: Tue, 17 Feb 2004 09:03:22 -0500
From: John Murphy
Subject: [volmonitor] Re: Seeking advice on creating a volunteer program

Steve,

We’re in a 765-square mile watershed in central Virginia (Charlottesville, home of Monticello and the University of Virginia). Urbanization, forestry, and some cattle farming are biggest threats.Our program is a little over a year old. The formula for success has been: 1) a supportive community, including environmentally-minded public employees, 2) an explicitly stated community-identified need for a monitoring program, 3) a lot of hard work, much of it on a volunteer basis (including a great deal of volunteer time given by me, the program coordinator), 4) grant monies, and 5) tons and tons of communication.

Our program is a little over a year old. The formula for success has been: 1) a supportive community, including environmentally-minded public employees, 2) an explicitly stated community-identified need for a monitoring program, 3) a lot of hard work, much of it on a volunteer basis (including a great deal of volunteer time given by me, the program coordinator), 4) grant monies, and 5) tons and tons of communication.

You might check out our website (not yet public) at http://streamwatch.org/ 

Good luck!

John

John Murphy
Program Manager
StreamWatch
P.O. Box 181
Ivy, VA 22945
streamwatch@cstone.net
Cellphone: 434-242-1145

 

Categories
Listserv

Chemical Safety and Procedures

Question

Date: Fri, 13 May 2005 10:09:24 -0400
From: Danielle Donkersloot
Subject: [CSREESVolMon] safety procedures & volunteers

I am looking for input as to how some of the other monitoring groups deal with and safety procedures for the volunteers using chemical kits.

“As part of our chemical monitoring program, we have drafted a memo on chemical safety procedures for the chemical volunteers. The memo lists all of the chemicals that the CATs use while sampling, and tells them how hazardous it is and what to do if they spill the chemical, accidentally eat it, etc. However, some of the antidotes for the spills are not common substances. For example, if a volunteer spills alkaline potassium iodide azide, they need to neutralize it with dilute hydrochloric acid. Hydrochloric acid is not a common household substance. We’re wondering if we need to even send this memo to the volunteers, and if so, do we need to supply them with hydrochloric acid in case they spill something? We have a large spill kit in our office. Do we need to supply our volunteers with spill kits? If you have any experience with chemical programs and could provide us with how you handle this?”

Any input or advise you could provide us on this matter would be great!
Thanks

“In order to achieve something, you must get started” Fortune Cookie
wisdom
Danielle Donkersloot
609-633-9241 (direct line)
609-633-1458 (fax)
PO Box 418
Trenton, NJ 08625
http://www.nj.gov/dep/wms/bwqsa/vm/

Responses

Date: Fri, 13 May 2005 11:35:41 -0400
From: Linda Green
Subject: RE: [CSREESVolMon] chemical safety procedures & volunteers

Hi folks,

In terms of chemical safety the first course of action is to thoroughly rinse the affected area with water, even using the water you just collected. We had 1 volunteer (a chemist mind you) spill alkaline potassium hydride on himself and not wanting to contaminate the stream, drive home before washing it off. So now we explicitly remind our volunteers to plunge their hands into the water. We also tell them that even if they took all the reagents in the DO kit and poured it into the water it would not harm the water. Forget the HCl, you are just substituting one potentially hazardous material with another. Often info on how to deal with a spill assumes you are in a lab. If you are using LaMotte kits, contact LaMotte at 800-344-3100. Linda Watts is the person I deal with, she is quite knowledgeable. If you are using another brand contact the manufacturer and tell them that what you are looking for is advice for volunteers, not if the chemical is spilled in a lab. We do supply the notoriously hard to decipher MSDS’ with the kits, and also give the kits out with a strong rubber band around it to help make sure it doesn’t get knocked over. You can also purchase absorbent pads from a variety of scientific supply houses. Our Safety and Risk department has given all labs a bucket of sand to pour on spills. Garden soil works well too. We give all our volunteers goggles and at least 1 pair of nitrile gloves. We don’t expect the gloves to last all season but to serve as a reminder to use gloves, which they can buy in hardware stores or supermarkets. We tell our volunteers to keep a roll of paper towels handy. We also give our volunteers paper plates (Chinet brand) and urge them to do all their titrations on the plate. The plates are fairly thick, the top is more absorbent than the really shiny ones and the lip of the plate contains most spills. The 6 3/4″ plates will contain 100 ml and the 8 3/4″ ones, 300 ml of liquid (I just checked). We are now also using these paper plates in the lab, especially for salinity titrations which involve the use of silver nitrate, which stains everything brown. The best approach to safety is training carefully and thoroughly and using common sense.

Good luck!
Linda Green

URI Cooperative Extension Water Quality
Department of Natural Resources Science
1 Greenhouse Road
Kingston, RI 02881-0804
401-874-2905
www.uri.edu/ce/wq/
www.usawaterquality.org/volunteer

Categories
Listserv

California Watershed Assessment Manual

Question

Date: Sat, 17 Apr 2004 16:22:17 -0700
From: “Shilling, Fraser”
Subject: [volmonitor] California Watershed Assessment Manual

Monitoring Colleagues

I am the lead for the California Watershed Assessment Manual (CWAM) project. An important part of this project is describing protocols for collecting water quality data, storing and retrieving the data, using them in modeling, using data to assess impairment relative to water quality standards, the use of water quality indices, water quality data in combination with geogrpahic information systems, the role of assessment in developing monitoring programs, and the role of monitoring in iterative watershed assessment. I was wondering if people could take a few seconds or minutes and send me their favorite links, references, or electronic material regarding these topics. Those of you in California, please feel free to send me your email address and I will let you know when the draft Manual comes out (beginning of June).

Fraser Shilling
Department of Environmental Science and Policy
University of California, Davis
CA 95616
530-752-7859 (ph)
530-752-3350 (fax)
http://cwam.ucdavis.edu

Responses

From: Kris Stepenuck [mailto:kris.stepenuck@ces.uwex.edu]
Sent: Monday, April 26, 2004 11:38 AM
To: fmshilling@ucdavis.edu
Subject: Re: [volmonitor] California Watershed Assessment Manual

Hi

You might be interested in a listing of volunteer monitoring programs that have online accessible databases. We’ve compiled a list with links to each of these database on our project website at:(introductory page) http://www.usawaterquality.org/volunteer/DataReporting/index.html or (the list) http://www.usawaterquality.org/volunteer/DataReporting/onlinedatabases.html

Also, within Wisconsin we are currently working with the Aquatic and Terrestrial Resources Inventory – an effort between the Department of Natural Resources and the University of Wiscosnin, to create GIS maps of both volunteer stream and volunteer lake monitoring data (which are stored in online databases, but link to the GIS maps). You can view sample maps (not the lakes and streams one yet) online.

I hope these links will be helpful.

Cheers,
Kris Stepenuck
Date: Mon, 26 Apr 2004 11:59:48 -0700
From: “Shilling, Fraser”
Subject: RE: [volmonitor] California Watershed Assessment Manual

Thanks for the links

We did somehitng similar here a few years ago, though we did not integrate it into our ArcIMS product for the watershed.

Fraser Shilling

Categories
Listserv

Beavers and Lakes

Question

Date: Tue, 22 Jan 2008 15:29:43 -0500
From: Kelley Curran
Subject: [volmonitor] Beavers

Hello:

I was wondering if anyone has had any experience with the following or could
point me in the direction of finding additional information:

1. The lake community association that I belong to is preparing to trap and
kill a local beaver family that has been building a dam on our lake. The
board members claim that they have been mandated by the state to get rid of
them. It just seems to me that there may be more humane ways to handle the
beavers and their dam building activities. Has anyone had any experience
with this?

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Kelley A. Curran
Director of Water Quality Programs
Great Swamp Watershed Association
ph: 973-538-3500 x16
fax: 973-538-5300
e-mail: kcurran@greatswamp.org
website: www.greatswamp.org

Responses

Date: Wed, 23 Jan 2008 06:43:15 -0800 (PST)
From: Kelly Stettner
Subject: Re: [volmonitor] Beavers

Hello, Kelley & group;

As far as the beaver problem goes, has anyone thought about beaver baffles? Essentially, it’s a tube type of structure which is installed at the bottom of the dam, draining a portion of it into the stream below. The level of water behind the dam is maintained at a height to serve the beavers’ needs, but the streamflow is kept to a level that meets landowner needs and fish needs downstream. My buddy Mary Beth Adler has installed many; she works with Vermont Fish & Wildlife and would LOVE to explain and answer any questions you may have: marybeth.adler@state.vt.us

A link to more information: www.loudounwildlife.org/PDF_Files/Build_Beaver_Baffle.pdf

Categories
Listserv

River Clean Ups

Question

Date: Fri, 19 Feb 2010 15:30:16 -0800 (PST)
From: jenni kempf

Greetings:

Although this question is not monitoring specific, I thought I would ask all of you River Experts about purchasing bulk trash bags for River Clean-Ups.

We go through about 1200 per year and are shopping around for the best deal on bags. We would prefer to buy bags with recycled content, but in the research I have done so far, the bags with recycled content seem to be thinner than the industry standard.

Does anyone have a recommendation?

jenni kempf
Friends of the Fox River
Crystal Lake, IL

Responses

Date: Fri, 19 Feb 2010 18:43:05 -0800 (PST)
From: Kelly Stettner

Try linking your event with a larger one, like American Rivers’ National River Cleanup Week. I found that my watershed council has an annual cleanup event for which they have trash bags printed; both of these options supply me with free bags and a terrific network of support.
Or try asking around some local “clean” businesses to see if they have anything you can use; I found a soy candle company that stored their waste wax in large, heavy-duty trash bags. When they had emptied 50 or so, I went and picked them up. The bonus was that our smelly river trash adopted a lovely fragrance!
Cheers,
Kelly Stettner

Black River Action Team (BRAT)
45 Coolidge Road
Springfield, VT 05156

 

Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 07:14:10 -0600
From: Chris Riggert

Hi Jenni, I can’t send an attachment to the ListServe, but if you contact me, I can forward you the list of companies we have used for the Missouri Stream Team’s Stash Your Trash Program. Most of the bags we get are a mesh bag for floaters to use while enjoying our Missouri streams. However, we also have a larger version for stream clean ups, as well as a 3 ml plastic bag large enough to use in a 55 gallon trash can. I can tell you since we are a state agency, the suppliers are based in Missouri (all are out of St. Louis, I believe).
We get a pretty good price on these, but most of this is because of the quantities we get every year. For example, we provide over 300,000 of the red mesh bags…mostly to the businesses in the floating industry. But the larger mesh bag, and poly bags go to our volunteers while conducting their stream clean ups.
Thanks!
Chris
Christopher M. Riggert
Stream Team Program
Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Coordinator
Missouri Department of Conservation
P.O. Box 180
2901 W. Truman Blvd.
Jefferson City, MO 65102-0180
Phone: (573) 522-4115 ext. 3167
Fax: (573) 526-0990
Chris.Riggert@mdc.mo.gov
www.mostreamteam.org

 

Date: Mon, 22 Feb 2010 10:10:37 -0800
From: Erick Burres

Jenni,
One of the groups out here in Southern California stopped using single
use bags for their clean ups. They use recycled content bags. The
collected trash is put into a dumpster and the bag is reused.
Save Our Beach
PO Box 1014
Seal Beach, CA 90740
Phone 562 884-6764
Fax (877) 222-6345
kim@saveourbeach.org

You can also try: http://www.wecarebags.com
Janet Price, Account Executive – Sales
(213) 300-8001 Direct
WE CARE Media
Division of EZ Products International LLC *California ??? Arizona ???
Arkansas ??? Florida**
866.578.0682 Phone and fax
Sincerely,
Erick Burres
Citizen Monitoring Coordinator
SWRCB-SWAMP-Clean Water Team

Categories
Listserv

Road Salt Monitoring

Question 1: Does anyone have any information on road salt accumulation, etc.?

Question 2: I would love some feedback on starting a road salt monitoring program.

Question 1

From: Tony Williams
To: Volunteer water monitoring
Sent: Tuesday, March 22, 2005 1:58 PM
Subject: [volmonitor] road salt accumulation

Does anyone have any information on road salt accumulation, road salt runoff to lakes, rivers, estuaries, or other concerns with road salt?
Or a link to a web page on this concern.

Tony Williams
Water Monitoring Coordinator
The Coalition for Buzzards Bay
Nashawena Mills – 620 Belleville Avenue
New Bedford, Massachusetts 02745
Tel. 508-999-6363 x.203
Fax. 508-984-7913
www.savebuzzardsbay.org

Responses to Question 1

(Editor’s note: Not all responses are compiled here; some were lost before being posted…)

Date: Tue, 22 Mar 2005 17:45:30 -0500
From: Jeff Schloss
Subject: RE: [volmonitor] road salt accumulation

Tony-
Not knowing your specifics I have listed some suggestions for starting below:

I have a host of circa 1970, 1980 and early 1990 references on road salt impacts that I can fax you if you need. The one seminal paper is by Robert Bubeck et al. (note: Lucky for you Bob was one of my graduate advisors):
Runoff of Deicing Salt: Effect on Irondequoit Bay, Rochester, New York (in Reports) Robert C. Bubeck; William H. Diment; Bruce L. Deck; Alton L. Baldwin; Stewart D. LiptonScience, New Series, Vol. 172, No. 3988. (Jun. 11, 1971), pp. 1128-1132.

This was one of the first to suggest that accumulated salts in bottom waters could prevent mixing of lakes.

It seems Science had an article on road salt each issue for a while -one of local interest may be:
Release of Mercury from Contaminated Freshwater Sediments by the Runoff of Road Deicing Salt
G. Feick; R. A. Horne; D. Yeaple
Science Vol. 175, No. 4026 (Mar., 1972), pp. 1142-1143

Also closer to home for you (in Mass.) I know Normandeau Associates in NH did a “Generic Environmental Impact Report” on road salt accumulation in February 1992 for the Massachusetts Department of Public Works Snow and Ice Control Program. I only have the draft report of this document but I expect you have better connections.

Also Mark Mattson and others at UMass did a very nice GIS analysis showing water quality impacts to streams nearest to highway networks if you were looking for cause/effect studies. It is available on the JAWA web site.

I also know there has been some funded work by USGS Water Resources Research Centers on salt impact to inverts:
http://water.usgs.gov/wrri/02-03grants_new/2003MD30B.html

In terms of salt alternatives there has been a lot of work up in Alaska on using acetate compounds but they found a pretty high BOD resulted. See Lake and Reservoir Management Vol 5 (2):
Effects of Calcium Magnesium Acetate Deicer on Small Ponds in Interior Alaska
Jacqueline D. LaPerriere and Caryn L. Rea
pp. 49-57

I would also follow-up on Elizabeth’ recommendations for even more current references.

-Jeff

 

Date: Fri, 25 Mar 2005 12:02:45 -0500
From: Marie-Françoise Walk
Subject: Re: [volmonitor] road salt accumulation

Hi Tony,
A late reply in case nobody mentioned this person to you: At the COLAP meeting this past January, Douglas Heath, of USEPA Region 1 in Boston gave this talk and knows a lot about road salt pollution in the region: ROAD SALT IMPACT TO LAKES, STREAMS AND GROUNDWATER from Interstate 93 and Adjacent Roads in Southern New Hampshire —

Marie-Françoise Walk

Question 2

Date: Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:39:09 -0800 (PST)
From: Kelly Stettner
Subject: [volmonitor] Sodium chloride sampling?
To: Volunteer water monitoring

Good morning. I would like to start a modest program to monitor for road salt at a location where a brook meets the Black River. I would love some feedback if you have any experience with this!
Caveats or warnings? Inexpensive equipment? Best practices & procedures? Testing done yourselves or by a lab? Any other advice?
Many thanks,
Kelly Stettner

Black River Action Team (BRAT)
45 Coolidge Road
Springfield, VT 05156
http://www.blackriveractionteam.org

Responses to Question 2

From: Stepenuck, Kris
Date: Friday, November 13, 2009, 12:27 PM

Kelly

You might be able to use simple conductivity meters such as the Oakton EC Testr.

Kris

 

On Fri, Nov 13, 2009 at 12:08 PM, Kelly Stettner wrote:

Thanks, Kris! I’m right there with you, that a conductivity test would be a great first-stage indicator as to whether further testing is warranted. I’ll check around to see who carries the one you mention ~ have you used that one yourself or know anyone who has? I’d love to know if it has any quirks or particularly helpful features!
Much appreciated,
Kelly

 

From: Stepenuck, Kris
Date: Monday, November 16, 2009, 5:00 PM

Kelly

Yes, we have used it with some on-farm monitoring, rusty crayfish monitoring and in marshes. I like it, though we haven’t put them to tough tough use. They can be easily calibrated with a solution I was able to buy in small packets, but they come factory calibrated too, which is nice. Batteries do run out esp. if left sitting for a long time.

Kris

 

Update 2015: See here for Wisconsin’s volunteer road salt monitoring program: http://watermonitoring.uwex.edu/level3/UrbanRoadSalt.html

Categories
Listserv

Transparency Monitoring

Question 1: I would like to know how people make their own secchi disks.

Question 2: I am wondering about the pros and cons of using a one liter container to collect transparency tube samples.

Question 1

I am interested in hearing from people who make their own Secchi disks. I would like to know how you make them. Thank you!

Ellie
Eleanor Ely
Editor, The Volunteer Monitor Newsletter
50 Benton Avenue
San Francisco, CA 94112

Responses to Question 1

Date: Thu, 22 Jan 2004 10:35:39 -0500
From: Elizabeth Herron
Subject: [volmonitor] Re: Secchi, transparency tube photos & info

Hello:

In response to Ellie’s inquiry regarding making Secchi disks, I would like to offer this link to our website for our “Measuring Water Clarity” factsheet. Among other things, this pdf document includes instructions for making your own disk, as well as a primer on basic water clarity.

http://www.uri.edu/ce/wq/ww/Publications/Secchi.pdf

Then of course, the definative site for measuring water clarity is the “Great North American Secchi Dipin” found online.

Thanks

Elizabeth Herron

Question 2

Date: Thu, 24 Jul 2008 09:23:24 -0500
From: Anne Lewis <annelewis@sd-discovery.com
Subject: [volmonitor] t-tube sample size

Hello,

I am in the process of putting together a loaner kit for teachers who want
to try volunteer monitoring. I expect most of the borrowers to be upper
elementary/middle school teachers. The kit will include 60cm. transparency tubes. In looking at the different SOPs out there in volunteer monitoring land, I notice that the recommendation for collecting the sample is to use a large bucket.

Since the volume of a 60cm tube is a little less than a liter, I am
wondering about the pros and cons of using a one liter container to
collect the sample. The benefit would be a greater chance for a
homogenized sample; the drawback – a risk of spilling and sloshing so the
sample size is "short".

Thoughts?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Anne Lewis
Information and Education Project Administrator
Project WET South Dakota
SD Leopold Education Project

SD Discovery Center
805 W. Sioux Ave.
Pierre, SD 57501
605-224-8295
605-224-2865 (fax)

Responses to Question 2

Date: Fri, 25 Jul 2008 12:57:46 -0500
From: Erik Olson
Subject: RE: [CSREESVolMon] Fwd: [volmonitor] t-tube sample size

Boozhoo,

Two things of comment.

1. We noticed during our river surveys in Northern Wisconsin that in some cases the 120 cm transparency tubes were even to short. And on every stream we sampled the 60 cm was way to short. With that being said we were working in Northern Wisconsin were watersheds are still covered with more “undisturbed” surfaces. So it depends on the stream or river, but I would recommend having a couple 120 cm tubes on hand.

2. It seemed pretty easy for us to just fill up the tubes in the river/stream instead of transferring water in a bottle then to the tube. I prefer filling the tube directly up in the stream if possible over filling a bottle and then filling the tube. Although, it would definitely be an option in the stream was too shallow or too dangerous to wade into, or if your crew wanted to keep their feet relatively dry. And I suppose if you fill directly from the stream you run the risk of getting large objects, i. e. leaves, into your sample.

Erik Olson
Natural Resource Specialist
Lac Courte Oreilles Ojibwe Community College

Categories
Listserv

Service Provider Network

Question

Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 13:18:12 -0500
From: Danielle Donkersloot
Subject: [volmonitor] Service Provider Network:

Hi Everyone:

I would like to know how many states have a volunteer monitoring service provider network? I am familiar with C-SAW in PA but I am looking for other examples.

My definition of a Service Provider Network is an existing mechanism that provides technical assistance and quality control to groups throughout the state consisting of professional staff of watershed associations, agencies, environmental organizations. This work/hand holding is done on a case-by-case basis for a fee.

Let me know if you have been involved in something similar or if you know of a group I can contact. Thanks again for you help!

“In order to achieve something, you must get started” Fortune Cookie wisdom
Danielle Donkersloot
609-633-9241 (direct line)
609-633-1458 (fax)
PO Box 418
Trenton, NJ 08625
http://www.nj.gov/dep/watershedmgt/volunteer_monitoring.htm

Responses

Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 14:32:03 -0500
From: Peggy Savage
Subject: Re: [volmonitor] Service Provider Network:

Hi Danielle,
When I was in MA, Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) got a grant from EOEA (Executive Office of Environmental Affairs) along with 4-5 other groups to create a Service Provider Network. We were given specific geographic areas to cover – where we were to be the “first line of defense” for any requests for help from groups within our area. As the Network went along, we eventually created a list of skills that each of us could provide — and then if one of us got a request for assistance on a topic we didn’t specialize in, we could direct them to someone else. The Service Provider Network only lasted as long as the funding did (2-3 years). It took a while to get it up and functioning, since no one was aware of what monitoring groups existed where. But I would say that the majority of requests came from groups who were unaware that the Network existed.

I will dig around in my files at home and send you another contact of one of the other Service Providers who basically was already doing it for groups in their area. He may be able to give you more info — or let you know if it has been reinstated since I left.

Hope this helps! Take care — Peggy

 

Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 13:38:58 -0700
From: Rich Schrader
Subject: RE: [volmonitor] Service Provider Network:

Danielle,

My company in many ways is providing a network like you describe for New Mexico. There are many monitoring service providers, but very few who work with volunteers. Go to riversource.net to see some of the projects River Souce has using an informal network of contractors.

Also, I’m on the board of the Rocky Mountain Watershed Network, a regional network for service providers.

Rich Schrader

 

Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 16:14:13 -0500
From: Geoff Dates
Subject: Re: [volmonitor] Service Provider Network:

Yes! It’s a great small-scale (but growing) model that grew out of a school program. I’ve recommended Rich to groups and tribes in NM and have been impressed with his adaptations of our training materials and the creation of his own approach to linking data to local planning, and even place-based stream restoration projects.

Geoff

 

Date: Mon, 03 Apr 2006 10:35:07 -0400
From: stacey@vasos.org
Subject: [volmonitor]

We are starting something similar in Virginia. We are just in the beginning stages of development. We have based some of our organization on what’s going on in other state’s. We have some information about other states’ programs on our website.

Stacey Brown
Virginia Save Our Streams
P.O. Box 8297
Richmond, VA 23226
804-615-5036
stacey@vasos.org

 

Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 14:09:59 -0500
From: Geoff Dates
Subject: Re: [volmonitor] Service Provider Network:

Hi there,

Try these for starters.
Angie Becker Kudelka in MN (Minnesota Waters – was the Rivers Council of MN)
Eric Mendelman of Texas Watch
Missouri Stream Teams
IoWater
MA Water Watch Partnership (Jerry Shoen)

Your definition casts a broad net, especially with agency-run lakes programs. I think most states have something that looks like what you describe.

Have a great weekend. I’m off to Wyoming next week. Anyone in Jackson I can give your regards?

Geoff

 

From: HANSON Steve
Subject: RE: [volmonitor] Service Provider Network:

I’m not sure if my program fits in. I am a state funded, no charge to
monitoring groups, program. More info at
http://www.deq.state.or.us/lab/wqm/volmonitoring.htm

 

Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2006 12:08:54 -0800
From: Bridget Hoover
Subject: RE: [volmonitor] Service Provider Network:

Hi Danielle, I guess you would say that I provide a roll of “Service Provider” within the boundaries of the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. We have a listserv, I loan equipment and can provide training to do water quality monitoring for smaller groups. We also have a QAPP that can act as an umbrella for smaller organizations, however, that has only been done once. We also try to standardize protocols and data management between groups. The Network has been in existence since about 1998. My website is below for more info or you can call me if you want to discuss further. Bridget

Bridget Hoover
Monterey Bay Sanctuary Citizen Watershed Monitoring Network Coordinator
299 Foam Street
Monterey, CA 93940
B (831) 883-9303
F (831) 883-4748
www.montereybay.noaa.gov/monitoringnetwork/welcome.html

Categories
Listserv

Apps

Discussion 1: Creek Watch App Updates

Discussion 2: How do programs go about sending text reminders to volunteers?

Discussion 3: Does anyone have knowledge of scanning field forms and using IT tools to align the information in the database?

Discussion 4: Are any volunteer monitoring programs using electronic field forms or mobile applications in any way?

Discussion 5: We’re hoping to learn more about the tools/technologies currently being used for citizen science as well as features people would like to see.

Discussion 6: Does any monitoring group have a stream walk data app?

Discussion 7: We are looking for low-cost, reliable sampling methods to increase amount of streams sampled.  Suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Discussion 1

From: Erick Burres (eburres@waterboards.ca.gov)Date: Mar 21, 2012

CREEK WATCH APP UPDATES- New Version Available and More…

The new version of Creek Watch is now available!!!

Creek Watch now integrates with Facebook and Twitter to help get the word out about water quality in our waterways! Full details here: http://www.ibm.com/creekwatch. A video detailing the new features can be seen at www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tOkdIKm1Nc

Over 4,000 users in over 25 countries are using the Creek Watch app. Creek Watch makes collaborating easy. Collaborative efforts can learn about creek seasonality, discover nuisance flows, pin point trash hot spots and more. Learn how the City of San Jose is using the app and how IBM volunteers participated in a Snapshot Day monitoring event.
www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/water_management/article/creek_watch.html

If you’d like to join the conversation on Facebook, you can share the announcement from ibm research: http://www.facebook.com/IBMResearch. You can also tweet or re-weet about Creek Watch on twitter- our hashtag is #creekwatch.

A guest blog on Creek Watch written by SWAMP’s Clean Water Team Coordinator, Erick Burres, can be found at http://ibmresearchnews.blogspot.com/2012/03/creek-watch-iphone-app-goes-social.html.

Free Creek Watch downloads: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/creek-watch/id398420434

———————————————————————————–
Erick Burres
Citizen Monitoring Coordinator
SWRCB-SWAMP-Clean Water Team
eburres@waterboards.ca.gov

Desk (213) 576-6788
Cell (213) 712-6862
Fax (213) 576-6686

Clean Water Team c/o LARWQCB
320 W 4th Street
Suite200
Los Angeles, CA 90013

Responses to Discussion 1

From: Alice Mayio (Mayio.Alice@epamail.epa.gov)
Date: Mar 21, 2012

Erick, can you clarify how the photos and judgements about flow and trash are used? It seems like the data are sent to a central location/database where they can be accessed by agencies or anyone else. Who maintains the database? Do data sent in by someone in Kansas or Mexico go to the same database? It seems also as though people in Kansas or Mexico might be thinking their photo and data are valuable, when in fact no agency in Kansas or Mexico is looking at the database and reacting to the information in it (as an example).

I can see the value locally if your local agency (or vm group) regularly checks the database and sees a big spike in trash at a certain location and therefore directs a cleanup action there, or if the agency consults the flow information before sending crews out to conduct biological assessments, as in the San Jose example.

I ask because we have frequently discussed internally whether an app that allows a simple assessment of habitat or other indicators of stream or lake health would be valuable…the biggest hurdles would seem to be managing the information that comes in, ensuring the data are useful, and ensuring that the data are used. And managing the expectations of the people who use the app.

Thanks for sharing this info on the Creek Watch app!

Alice Mayio
USEPA Office of Water
Phone: 202-566-1184, Fax: 202-566-1437
Mail: 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW (4503T), Washington, DC 20460
Delivery: 1301 Constitution Ave NW (Rm7330Q), Washington, DC 20004

From: Kara Rockett (kara@plumascounty.org)
Date: MMar 21, 2012

On another note- I think it would be helpful if a person could note if the creek is dirty for other reasons besides just trash (ie. sediment, algae bloom, oil, etc). I don’t know if someone can pass that on to the creators of the app.
-Kara

Discussion 2

From: Julie Wood [mailto:jwood@crwa.org]
Sent: Friday, May 18, 2012 3:47 PM

I noted that at the NWQMC some presenters mentioned sending out text alerts and reminder to their volunteer, if you do this, how do you do it? Do you use your personal cell phones and text packages to send them out? Are there websites or programs that allow you to send mass texts not via your personal cell?

Thanks,

Julie Dyer Wood
Senior Scientist
Charles River Watershed Association
190 Park Road
Weston, MA 02493
Phone: (781) 788-0007 ext. 225
Fax: (781) 788-0057

Responses to Discussion 2

From: Donkersloot, Danielle (Danielle.Donkersloot@dep.state.nj.us)
Date: May 29, 2012

Yes. It is “edmodo”, a website program that we used to communicate that way

Discussion 3

From: Melanie Trost (Melanie.Trost@matsugov.us)
Date: Jun 19, 2012

Hello!

I’ve just become aware that there are programs which can be used to scan field forms, mapping the handwritten data directly into the appropriate places in a database.

Eliminating the time-consuming task of manually entering data would free us up a bit more to accomplish other exciting and wonderful things for our volunteer lake monitoring program, if this technology really is a good fit for us. Our data is stored in Excel, though we are open to other possibilities if there is a better program to use.

If you use this sort of software or have any thoughts or information on the subject, please share!

Thanks much,

Melanie Trost
Watershed Coordinator
Matanuska Susitna Borough
Planning Department
Environmental Division
350 E. Dahlia Avenue
Palmer, Alaska 99645-6488
Phone: (907)745-9608
Cell: (907)354-1293
Fax: (907)745-9876
mtrost@matsugov.us
www.matsugov.us/lakemonitoring

Responses to Discussion 3

From: Revital Katznelson (revitalk@sbcglobal.net)
Date: Jun 19, 2012

I talked to Phil Kaufmann (EPA Corvallis) about this a few years ago: The EPA’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) has a system for physical habitat assessments data in which rigidly-structured field data sheets are filled by operators who are applying their best penmanship skills… Back in the office, the data sheets are aligned (using their coded frame) and scanned by an OCR machine. The information is read directly into a set of data files; these are fed directly into a SAS software program that calculates the desired Endpoints (metrics, descriptive statistics, percentiles, indices, etc.).
It costs an arm and three legs, it is extremely rigid, but it worked very well for EMAP.

There are a number of Excel templates with drop-down menus for direct data entry in the field, using a PDA or a field computer. I have developed and used them for water quality measurements and physical habitat assessments. And we are getting ready for tablets: my mobile-device Excel guru Stephen Bye told me in January 2012 that he is working on an Excel program for android tablets, but it will be a while before it is ready. The program will support Excel features such as drop-down menus that are needed for field data-entry.

The water quality measurements template for the PDA is available on the California Clean Water Team toolbox, at
http://www.waterboards.ca.gov/water_issues/programs/swamp/cwt_toolbox.shtml

I hope this information is helpful,
Revital
===================

Revital Katznelson, Ph.D.
Environmental Scientist
Berkeley, California
revitalk@sbcglobal.net
510 406 8514

Discussion 4

From: Mayio.Alice@epamail.epa.gov
Date: Nov 1, 2012

Informal survey: are any volunteer monitoring programs using electronic field forms and smart phones/tablets/iPads etc to note field observations and sampling data and send it directly to a central database? are you using mobile applications in any other way?

I’m aware of the California Creek Watch app but not much else. I know we have periodically had this conversation on the listserve, but times are moving quickly.

EPA is looking into possible options for supporting volunteer monitors in the field using mobile technology, and it would help to know if anyone is already doing this (or is working on it, or thinks it would be helpful!). Any comments (yea or nay) welcome!

Alice Mayio
USEPA Office of Water
Phone: 202-566-1184, Fax: 202-566-1437
Mail: 1200 Pennsylvania Ave NW (4503T), Washington, DC 20460
Delivery: 1301 Constitution Ave NW (Rm7330Q), Washington, DC 20004

Responses to Discussion 4

From: Danelle Haake (danelle.haake@gmail.com)
Date: Nov 1, 2012

There are a couple of volunteers with the Missouri Stream Team Program who are working on apps. One is starting out with an android app to submit ‘activity reports’ (rather than the WQM data), but is leaving the design open to allow future expansion to data submission. The other I believe is working on an I-phone app… Both of these are volunteer-led development efforts rather than efforts funded by the program, so I would say they are driven by demand. At least some of the volunteers want this.

Danelle Haake

From: Clement, Dennis (Dennis.Clement@epa.state.oh.us)
Date: Nov 2, 2012

Steve Kerlin at Northern Kentucky University (NKU) is in the process of creating an app for the IPhone called River of the Web. Not sure that the website is completed or when the app will be available at the Apple Store. The website is http://row.nku.edu/.

From: Meghan Ruta (mruta@hvatoday.org)
Date: Nov 2, 2012

The organization I work for hasn’t really made much use of it since our staff doesn’t have IPhones, but I know that IBM worked to develop an app a little while back. I had looked into it for a project and it appears fairly simplistic, basically a quick and easy way for the average person to be able to get involved by documenting a stream they pass by normally. Along with taking a photo the user submits visual observations related to water level, flow rate, and trash. Since the photo is automatically geotagged when it is submitted it is included in the app’s database and the map on the IBM site. http://www.ibm.com/smarterplanet/us/en/water_management/article/creek_watch.html

Meghan Ruta
Water Protection Director
Housatonic Valley Association
PO Box 28, Cornwall Bridge, CT 06754
Tel (860) 672-6678
Fax (860) 672-0162
www.hvatoday.org

 

From: Nancy Mueller (nysfolanancy@verizon.net)
Date: Nov 2, 2012

In New York, we have an older volunteer population. We would be happy if they would all read e-mail! While we have discussed developing on-line field data entry capability, we know that only about 75% of our volunteers would use it. Even if we do have on-line entry available, we would probably still want to have hardcopies of the field data. It’s easier to spot errors (ft vs m) (degrees F vs degrees C)–cross outs, etc.

Our iMAP invasive team has developed an APP, and we hope that many of our volunteers will be trained to use it. However, we are not yet comfortable with the computer literacy of our volunteers to rely solely on electronic means of communication.

Nancy J. Mueller, Manager
NYS Federation of Lake Associations, Inc.
P.O. Box 84
LaFayette, NY 13084
(800)796-3652
fola@nysfola.org

From: ecovrar (ecovrar@gmail.com)
Date: Nov 2, 2012

Can’t remember if it was mentioned on this list or somewhere else, but there’s EpiCollect. It was originally developed by Imperial College London to collect field data for epidemiological research (hence the name), but it is generic enough to be used for environmental data.

http://www.epicollect.net/

EpiCollect.net provides a web application for the generation of forms and freely hosted project websites (using Google’s AppEngine) for many kinds of mobile data collection projects.
Data can be collected using multiple mobile phones running either the Android Operating system or the iPhone (using the EpiCollect mobile app) and all data can be synchronised from the phones and viewed centrally (using Google Maps) via the Project website or directly on the phones.

What could I use it for?
Anything you wish to collect data for: eg wildlife or plant surveys, questionnaires, locations of favourite places, keep a record of where you’ve been etc.. It is also being used for epidemiological studies e.g. mapping cases of disease in Africa.

How much is it?
EpiCollect is a completely free and open source project.
—-

May save you from having to reinvent the wheel.

-David

From: Melanie Trost (Melanie.Trost@matsugov.us)
Date: Nov 2, 2012

Our program would be very interested in moving toward electronic data recording in the field. Like some of the other programs, several of our volunteers are not likely to either have their own smart phone or to have the desire to attempt reading/typing information into one.

Currently, our volunteers complete the field form by hand – Four pages of Secchi, observational data, lake profile data then we manually enter the information into Excel. Finding a way around this time consuming process would be priceless! We entertained the idea of working with field forms that would have the fields on the form ‘mapped’ so upon scanning, the data would automatically populate the database. EQuIS LakeWatch www.earthsoft.com/products/equis-lakewatch/ does this and apparently can also be programmed to automatically update data displayed on a website. It’s not cheap, but with the time savings, it’s hard not to entertain the idea.

However, the ability to enter data digitally in the field would eliminate the need for an expensive program (and how much trouble would it be if you ever need to make changes to your mapped field form?), BUT – I do have reservations about not having a hard copy and the ability to double-check the data.

At the NWQM Conference in April, I visited a few vendors whose lake profiling equipment is set up to send data to a digital display (laptop or smart phone), or to a standard handheld display like what we use (and data is handwritten on a hardcopy form). Just switching to the laptop setup could certainly be a timesaver but would also mean switching over to new equipment…

I will stay tuned to hear what is out there and what is on the horizon!

Melanie Trost
Watershed Coordinator
Matanuska Susitna Borough
Planning Department
Environmental Division
350 E. Dahlia Avenue
Palmer, Alaska 99645-6488
Phone: (907)745-9608
Cell: (907)354-1293
Fax: (907)745-9876
mtrost@matsugov.us
www.matsugov.us/lakemonitoring

From: Diana Muller
Date: Nov 2, 2012

Good Afternoon,
My experience with water quality apps has been extremely positive, people that use them LOVE them. Our Waterkeeper oranization in Ontario had an app developed for bacteria monitoring, it is now nationwide and I use it for my South RIVERKEEPER, South River, Maryland summer bacteria monitoring program. We found that our volunteers and members love this app and want us to expand it. So I am looking into expanding it for all of my othe water quality parameters and misc items.
http://theswimguide.org/

Cheers,
Diana

Captn. Diana Muller, South RIVERKEEPER
South River Federation
2830 Solomons Island Rd., Suite A
Edgewater, MD 21037

From: Corse, Kristi (kristi.corse@h-gac.com)
Date: Nov 5, 2012

The Texas Stream Team has an iphone app.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/texas-stream-team/id441789617

I have an android phone, so I haven’t used it. You can contact one of the folks over at the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment for more information:

http://txstreamteam.meadowscenter.txstate.edu/about-us/staff.html

Regards,

Kristi

Kristi Corse Alexander
Public Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator
Houston-Galveston Area Council
3555 Timmons Lane, Ste 120 Houston, TX 77027
P.O Box 22777, Houston, TX 77227-2777
direct: 832-681-2564 | main: 713-627-3200 | fax: 713-993-4503
www.h-gac.com

From: Jason Frenzel (jfrenzel@hrwc.org)
Date: Nov 5, 2012

We’ve been looking into options, but haven’t found the right thing. Have been collecting best practices from a number of existing platforms and plan to submit an application to our local Google team for potential development. My thought, also, would be an open platform so other organizations could edit the fields and drop downs as needed for their use. I’d be happy to discuss further.

Best, ~Jason

Jason Frenzel, CVA
Adopt-A-Stream & Stewardship Coordinator
Huron River Watershed Council
734.769.5123 x600

From: Anne Lewis [mailto:annelewis@sd-discovery.com]
Sent: Tuesday, November 20, 2012 10:55 AM

As far as I can tell the resources below require a data plan and smartphone.

Does anyone know of any data collection tool that utilizes texting capability?

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Anne Lewis
SD Discovery Center
805 W Sioux Ave.
Pierre, SD 57501
605-224-8295
http://www.sd-discovery.org/

Stepenuck, Kris

Nov 20

Mike Feinen with USGS in Middleton WI has a text tool he’s developed for having citizens upload staff gage height readings. Here’s a link to an abstract about that project: https://gsa.confex.com/gsa/2012AM/webprogrampreliminary/Paper211230.html and a presentation he gave at NWQMC: http://acwi.gov/monitoring/webinars/social.water.pdf

Kris Stepenuck
—
Kristine Stepenuck
Water Action Volunteers Stream Monitoring Program Coordinator
445 Henry Mall, Rm 202
Madison WI 53706
608-265-3887 (MTF)
608-264-8948 (WR)
608-575-2413 (mobile)

From: Kimberly Cressman (Kimberly.Cressman@dmr.ms.gov)
Date: Nov 20, 2012

There is a group that uses text messaging to keep track of water level at staff gages. The homepage is http://crowdhydrology.org

They did a webinar a few months ago, and the slide show is archived here (it’s a pdf): http://acwi.gov/monitoring/webinars/social.water.pdf

It’s pretty interesting; they put signs up near the staff gages with a station number and a note saying “text water level to (xxx)xxx-xxxx” and anybody walking by can participate. Some of the biggest contributors are people who walk their dogs by the gages on a regular basis, but there are also random participants.

All the contact information is in the linked presentation.

Have a happy Thanksgiving!

Kim Cressman
SWMP Coordinator
Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve
228-860-1957 Cell
228-475-7047 Office
kimberly.cressman@dmr.ms.gov

From: ecovrar (ecovrar@gmail.com)
Date: Nov 20, 2012

There is also SnowTweets out of the University of Waterloo (CA):

http://snowcore.uwaterloo.ca/snowtweets/

From: Filbert, Jennifer M – DNR (jennifer.filbert@wi.gov)
Date: November 02, 2012

We have a mobile-friendly version of the data entry screens for our Surface Water Integrated Monitoring System (SWIMS) database.

I foresee us continuing to work on it little by little, especially to beautify it.

For now, it’s simple, and it does work. It is not an app you install on a phone, but a mobile-friendly web page.

This was forwarded via Kris Stepenuck from a different listserv having a similar discussion:

From: Steve Kerlin
Date: November 28, 2012 6:57:20 PM CST
To: “environmentalscience@list.nsta.org” , “” , Teri Censoplano
Subject: Water Quality App

Here’s one iPad/iPhone/iPod Touch app that we just developed and released on the apple app store. We pilot tested and routinely use different parts of it with stream study programs for 4-12 grade students. Some parts we also use with college students and citizen science groups.

Greetings all,
Our “Water Quality” app Version 1.0 is now available on the Apple App Store for iPads, iPhones, and iPod Touch! You can find it by searching for the title “Water Quality”. The app includes stream study data collection and information to understand the data that was collected in sections for site profiles, chemical and bacterial sampling, and macroinvertebrates (digital field guide and Pollution Tolerance Index calculator). Only $4.99, and most of the revenue goes directly back into water education programs and maintenance of the app.

The Water Quality App 1.0 includes the following features and functions:
Site Profile – pictures, gps location and map, waterway naming, date, air temperature, water level, weather in past 48 hours.
Measurements – dissolved oxygen (concentration and saturation), biochemical oxygen demand, E.coli, fecal coliforms, pH, water temperature at site and upstream, phosphates, nitrates, turbidity (tube, and secchi disc), conductivity, and water hardness.
Benthic Macroinvertabrates – PTI three and four taxa automatically calculated, stonefly, mayfly, caddisfly, dobsonfly, riffle beetle, water penny, right-handed snail, damselfly, dragonfly, sowbug, scud, crane fly, clam/mussel, crayfish, midge, black fly, planaria, leech, left-handed snail, aquatic worms, blood midge, rat-tailed maggot.
Each measurement and macro has a pop-up that helps the user make sense of the parameter, what the data they collect means in terms of water quality, pictures, and other information.

Here is the link to find it in the iTunes App Store:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/water-quality/id569193509?mt=8
Here is some more information about the app as a short press release from one of our technical programmers. We should have a more formal press release soon.
http://aaroncorsi.com/waterquality/
River on the Web (ROW) is the accompanying website with more water quality information and curriculum:
http://row.nku.edu/

Thank you,
Steve Kerlin, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Science & Environmental Education
Director of the Center for Environmental Education
http://environmentaleducation.nku.edu/
Northern Kentucky University
272 MP
859-572-6380

Discussion 5

From: Darlene Cavalier (darcav1@gmail.com)
Sent: November 14, 2012

SciStarter is hosting a forum with Cornell this week. We’re hoping to learn more about the tools/technologies currently being used for citizen science as well as features people would like to see.

This is part of a small, Sloan-funded research project. This week-long forum closes on Friday.

Can you please share this link with your network? I’m particularly interested in hearing from the water-quality monitoring community. They are missing from the conversation.

Thanks for considering.

http://www.citizenscience.org/community/blog/2012/11/09/what-tools-and-technologies-are-powering-new-frontiers-for-your-citizen-science-projects/

Darlene

Responses to Discussion 5

From: Streamkeepers (streamkeepers@co.clallam.wa.us)
Date: Nov 16 , 2012

Streamkeepers of Clallam County, located on the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, is set to launch a mobile website for entry of turbidity data during stormwater events. This will be closely followed by a mobile website for entering water quality monitoring data, with a launch date in early 2013. Our ultimate goal is to turn these into mobile apps so connectivity is not required, as many of our monitoring sites are quite remote.

Jinx Bryant, volunteer
Streamkeepers of Clallam Country
Clallam County Public Works-Roads
Port Angeles, WA 98362

Discussion 6

From: Jean Pillo <jean.pillo@conservect.org>
Date: Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 10:21 AM
Subject: [volmonitor] Stream Walk Data App?

In Connecticut, we have a volunteer monitoring program developed by the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.  The NRCS Stream Walk program involves visual assessments of stream conditions.  Besides general questions for each stream reach on substrate types, depth, width and other stream morphology information, there are separate data sheets for different Areas of Concern including storm water outfalls, blocked fish passage, excessive plant growth, diminished riparian cover, etc.  We can get a lot of great information but translating the info into a report is very time consuming.  Does any monitoring group have an app for a tablet type computer where you can fill out the data sheet in the field, get a GPS point of the location and take a picture all at the same time?

Jean Pillo, Watershed Conservation Coordinator
Eastern Connecticut Conservation District
www.conservect.org/eastern
860-928-4948 x 605

 

Responses to Discussion 6

From: Josephine Mooney
Date: Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 11:37 AM
Subject: RE: [volmonitor] Stream Walk Data App?

Hi Jean,
Regarding your inquiry for a mobile app…
I am a citizen scientist myself and am being trained as a Master Watershed Steward in Howard County, MD. I have attended many EPA citizen science events for both personal and professional engagement with this community.
I work for a mobile app company committed to working with citizen science projects. We would love to work with you to develop the mobile app tool you are looking for. We offer deep discounts to non profits.
Please review the Environmental Solutions Practice (ESP) brochure at this link:
http://elicere.com/Documents/ESP_Brochure_final1.aspx
or see an overview at this link: http://elicere.com/Services/Environmental-Solutions.aspx
Then please give me a call or send an email and we will arrange to discuss how we can create a custom mobile app to fit your exact needs and those of other citizen scientists.
I am working from home today if you want to call me I can be reached at 443-82 0-7360 or 757-589-5421 on my cell.

Warm regards,
Josephine Mooney

Director of Communications
Elicere, Inc.
400 N Washington St, Suite 301
Falls Church, VA 22046
http://www.elicere.com
Direct: 703.226.4240
Fax: 703.237.0395
Email: jmooney@elicere.com

 

From: Sid Feygin
Date: Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 1:03 PM
Subject: Re: [volmonitor] Stream Walk Data App?

Hi Jean,

There are also several open source projects that could easily be adapted to your needs. Open Data Kit (http://opendatakit.org/) is an evolving and robust framework for distributed survey-based data collection via smartphone apps. I’ve worked on adapting this software for specific mobile survey-collection uses before. They provide several resources that could guide you in the right direction and have a history of non-profits leveraging their software for uses such as yours. Surveys can be populated via excel or their online form builder.
Worth a look.

-Sid

 

From: Steve Kerlin
Date: Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 2:09 PM
Subject: RE: [volmonitor] Stream Walk Data App?

We have just started the process to create an app for stream habitat assessment. We hope to have it completed by this summer. It will very closely follow the EPA form for stream habitat assessment. Our stream habitat assessment app will be independent or also used within the set of apps for water quality. The base app, currently available from apple is called WaterQuality. We are already using the functionality of automatic GPS location and the ability to take pictures with the current app and will carry this through to the habitat assessment app.

Steve Kerlin, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Science & Environmental Education
Director of the Center for Environmental Education
Northern Kentucky University
MEP 272
859-572-6380

 

From: Judy Rondeau
Date: Fri, Mar 8, 2013 at 2:15 PM
Subject: Re: [volmonitor] Stream Walk Data App

Is the base app only available on iphone or is it android compatible? we were looking for something like a rugged tablet that could take pictures and collect GPS locations. anyone know of a tablet that will do this?

Judith C. Rondeau,CPESC
Natural Resource Specialist/
Niantic River Watershed Coordinator
Eastern CT Conservation District
238 West Town Street
Norwich, CT 06360-2111
860-887-4163 x401
judy.rondeau@comcast.net

http://conservect.org/eastern
http://www.nianticriverwatershed.org

 

From: Julie Wood
Sent: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 1:51 PM
Subject: RE: [volmonitor] Stream Walk Data App?

Charles River Watershed Association (CRWA) has developed an App for our volunteer monitoring program which lets our volunteers submit data, photos and GPS locations from their smart phone. It is presently only available for the Android platform but we are looking for funding to build a iOS Application as well. Because it is only available on Android it is presently only utilized by a small number of our volunteers as part of a pilot launch of the program.

Feel free to follow up directly with any additional questions.

Julie Wood
Senior Scientist
Charles River Watershed Association
190 Park Road
Weston, MA 02943
t 781.788.0007 x225
f 781.788.0057

 

From: Shelby Gull Laird [mailto:shelby.gull.laird@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 08, 2013 7:29 PM
Subject: Re: [volmonitor] Stream Walk Data App?

Seems like there could be a desire for a list of apps developed (both stream walking/observation and more technical monitoring apps) and also information on whether or not they can be applied broadly or are only applicable to one particular region?

I would be interested in compiling that list and then sharing it and giving it to whoever can publicize it OR does this list already exist and would someone be willing to share it?

Thanks,
->shelby

Dr Shelby Gull Laird, CEE
Lecturer in Outdoor Recreation & Environmental Education
School of Environmental Sciences
Institute for Land, Water and Society
Charles Sturt University
PO Box 789, Albury NSW 2640, Australia
slaird@csu.edu.au
Office: +61 2 6051 9764
Mobile: +61 0468 753 856
http://www.linkedin.com/in/shelbygulllaird

 

From: Mayio, Alice
Date: Thu, May 9, 2013 at 10:00 AM
Subject: RE: [volmonitor] Stream Walk Data App?

Shelby – I think it would be great to compile a list of current apps with volunteer monitoring applications. I think there are a lot out there and the number is growing; there’s a lot of interest in seeing how technology can advance or improve the quality, quantity, and sharing of our data, as well as engage and interest the volunteers. Here are some examples of apps we’ve highlighted in our Volunteer Monitoring News e-newsletter (available at http://acwi.gov/monitoring/vm/newsletters.html) but there are many more, I’m sure.
Alice Mayio

USEPA

Phyto Smartphone App Helps Volunteers Identify Marine Phytoplankton

Phyto is a free smartphone application that helps volunteers identify marine phytoplankton by providing images of salt water species taken with a light microscope. It also includes a flash card game to help volunteers improve their ID skills. Phyto was developed by volunteer Shawn Gano with the Phytoplankton Monitoring Network (PMN), a national network of volunteers monitoring for coastal algal blooms. The goals of the PMN are to increase public awareness about harmful algal blooms (HABs) and maintain an extended monitoring area along U.S. coasts throughout the year. The PMN is managed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. For more information about the PMN, visit http://www.chbr.noaa.gov/pmn/. To see the smartphone app, visit http://www.gano.name/shawn/phyto/ (for iPhone and iPad) or http://www.gano.name/shawn/phyto_android/ (for Android phones).

iPhone App for Charleston Waterkeeper: Charleston Waterkeeper has designed an app to engage and involve citizens in, on, and around Charleston’s waterways. The app allows citizens to report problems such as oil spills, discharging pipes, excessive marine debris, abandoned boats, and under water hazards using a reporting process that is as easy and informative as possible. It also helps citizens find information about local waters and follow the tweets and blog postings of the Charleston Waterkeeper organization. For more information, visit: www.charlestonwaterkeeper.org.

University of Northern Kentucky “Water Quality” App

“Water Quality” app Version 1.0, developed for k-12 but also in use by volunteer monitors, is now available on the Apple App Store for iPads, iPhones, and iPod Touch. The app includes stream study data collection and information to understand the data that were collected for site profiles, chemical and bacterial sampling, and macroinvertebrates (digital field guide and Pollution Tolerance Index calculator). The app costs $4.99, and most of the revenue goes directly back into water education programs and maintenance of the app. River on the Web (ROW) is the accompanying website with more water quality information and curriculum: visit http://row.nku.edu

California’s Creek Watch App: Creek Watch is an application that enables people to help monitor the health of their local watershed. Whenever passing by a waterway they can spend a minute using the Creek Watch application to snap a picture and report how much water and trash is seen. Creek Watch aggregates the data and shares it to help watershed groups and agencies track pollution and manage water resources. A map on the Creek Watch Website http://creekwatch.org displays data that’s already been contributed. Data is also accessible in table form. The application is now available as a free download in the iTunes App Store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/creek-watch/id398420434?mt=8http://creekwatch.org

 

On September 9, 2013 a list of apps was created: [table id=4 /]

Discussion 7

From: Brook Frusher
Date: Mon, Feb 4, 2013 at 1:05 PM
Subject:[volmonitor] Low Cost Sampling Methods / Volunteer Programs

Hello Everyone!

I am currently interning for my local Soil and Water Conservation District, and we are trying to find some low-cost, reliable sampling methods that will not only allow us to increase the amount of streams we can sample, but will also be easy for volunteer groups to use.

If anyone has suggestions about methods and equipment, and/or volunteer program ideas that I can test out, it would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
–Brooke Frusher

Responses to Discussion 7

From: Steve Kerlin
Date: Tue, Feb 5, 2013 at 10:37 AM
Subject: Re: [volmonitor] Low Cost Sampling Methods / Volunteer Programs

We recently released an app called WaterQuality for iPads, iPhones, and iPod touch devices. The cost is only $4.99 from the Apple iTunes store. The majority of the revenue goes directly back into water education programs. It is a great way to organize and make sense of data that you collect when doing stream studies. You can’t connect iPads directly to sampling devices for the chemical and bacterial sampling yet but the app does include a digital field guide for macro invertebrates. The macro invertebrate section includes pictures, sketches, identification information for all of the macros used by the watershed watch groups and the EPA. It also automatically calculates the Pollution Tolerance Index for both 3 and 4 taxa groups.

Here is the link to find it in the iTunes App Store:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/water-quality/id569193509?mt=8

Here is some more information about the app as a short press release from one of our technical programmers. We should have a more formal press release soon.
http://aaroncorsi.com/waterquality/

River on the Web (ROW) is the accompanying website with more water quality information and curriculum:
http://row.nku.edu/

Steve Kerlin, Ph.D.

Assistant Professor of Science & Environmental Education
Director of the Center for Environmental Education
Northern Kentucky University
272 MP
859-572-6380

Categories
Listserv

Educational Invasives Funding

Question

—– Original Message —–
From: “Caitlin Cusack”
To:
All,
Does anyone have any funding suggestions for Dave (see below)?
Thanks,
Caitlin

Dear colleagues,
I am writing to pick your brain for grants or foundations that I could look foreducational funding. I have funding for my research but I am trying to acquire money to create a national monitoring network to monitor for invasive species.

To make this feasible and sustinable, I need to find funding so that educational groups have supplies and/or buses to travel and sample in North America. If you have any ideas or contacts, please send any possibilities. Also if interested and have similar goals, you could be incorporated in the grant.

Any input and help is greatly appreciated.

All the best,
David
McGill University
www.InvasiveTracers.com

Responses

Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 12:50:28 -0400
From: Carol Doss
Subject: Re: [cem] Fwd: Educational funding
To: cem_list@ruralaction.org

I went through my files and below are a bunch of sources from my files. I didn’t have time to reread to see if they fit with your proposal, so you’ll need to go through each one. Best wishes.

Patagonia is offering grants to fund environmental work. Check out the grant guidelines at
www.patagonia.com/
They welcome proposals during the months of April and August.

Also: EPA Section 319(h) Funds
Nonpoint Source Pollution (NPS) is the leading cause of water quality degradation in the US. Pollutants including: nitrogen, phosphorus, pesticides, acid mine drainage, and fecal matter are all considered nonpoint source pollutions. In 1987, Section 319(h) was added to the Clean Water Act to create a national program to deal with nonpoint pollution. Section 319(h) authorizes EPA to disperse grant monies to states with approved NPS Assessment Reports & NPS Management Programs. On a yearly basis, the EPA allocates section 319(h) funds the states. It varies from state to state which departments/agencies deal with nonpoint pollution. Upon the allocation of EPA section 319(h) funds to the states, whichever state department/agency deals with nonpoint pollution first divides the 319 monies into two categories: Incremental funds & Base funds. States decide based on priorities how to 319 funds are used. Funds are made available through subawards (contracts & subgrants) to both public & private entities. Subawardees (watershed groups) use section 319(h) funds to implement NPS projects. A nonfederal match is required to go along with the section 319(h) grant.

Find out how your state distributes NPS 319 funds

STATE NPS COORDINATORS 3/29/04

ALABAMA Norm Blakey, Chief
Department of Environmental Management
Nonpoint Source Unit
PO Box 301463
1400 Coliseum Blvd.
Montgomery, AL. 36110â?’2059
Phone: (334) 394-4354
FAX: (334) 394-4383
nb@adem.state.al.us

ILLINOIS Amy Walkenbach
Nonpoint Source Unit Manager
Illinois EPA
P.O. Box 19276
#15
Springfield, IL 62794-9276
Phone: (217) 782-3362
Fax: (217) 785-1225
amy.walkenbach@epa.state.il.us
INDIANA Linda Schmidt
IN Department of Environmental
Management
P.O. Box 6015
Indianapolis, IN 46206-6015
Phone: (317) 233-1432
Fax: (317) 232-8406
lschmidt@dem.state.in.us

IOWA Ubbo Agena
Department of Natural Resources
Wallace State Office Bldg.
Des Moines, IA 50319
Phone: (515) 281-6402
Fax: (515) 281-8895
ubbo.agena@dnr.state.ia.us

KENTUCKY Corrine Wells
KY Div. Of Water – NPS Section
14 Reilly Road
Frankfort, KY 40601
Phone: (502) 564-3410
Fax: (502) 564-0111
Corrine.Wells@mail.state.ky.us

MARYLAND Kenneth Sloate
NPS Program Manager
MD Dept of Natural Resources
Chesapeake and Coastal Watershed
Services
Tawes State Office Bldg., B-3

Annapolis, MD 21401
Phone: (410) 260-8736
Fax: (410) 260-8739
ksloate@dnr.state.md.us

MISSOURI Greg Anderson
Nonpoint Source Coordinator
Missouri Dept of Nat. Resources, WPCP
PO Box 176
Jefferson City, MO 65102
Phone: (573) 751-7144
Fax: (573) 526-6802
nrandeg@mail.dnr.state.mo.us

OHIO John Kessler
Ohio EPA
122 South Front Street
P.O. Box 1049
Columbus, Ohio 43215â?’1049
Phone: 614â?’644â?’2020
Fax: 614â?’460â?’8275
john.kessler@epa.state.oh.us

OKLAHOMA Jim Leach, Assistant Director
Conservation Commission
Water Quality Program
5225 N. Shartel, Ste. 102
Oklahoma City, OK 73118-6035
Phone: (405) 810-1039
Fax: (405) 810-1046
jiml@okcc.state.ok.us

J. D. Strong
Office of the Secretary of Environment
3800 North Classen Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
Phone: (405) 530-8995
Fax: (405) 530-8999
jdstrong@owrb.state.ok.us

Jennifer Wasinger
Environmental Grants Administrator
Office of the Secretary of Environment
3800 North Classen Blvd.
Oklahoma City, OK 73118
Phone: (405) 530-8800
Fax: (405) 530-8999
jlwasinger@owrb.state.ok.us

PENNSYLVANIA Russ Wagner
PA Department of Environmental Protection
Bureau of Watershed Conservation
P.O. Box 8555
Harrisburg, PA 17105-8555
Phone: (717) 772-5642
Fax: (717) 772-9549
ruwagner@state.pa.us

TENNESSEE Sam Marshall
TN Dept of Agriculture
PO Box 40627
Nashville, TN
Phone: (615) 837-5306
Fax: (615) 837-5025
sam.marshall@state.tn.us

VIRGINIA J. Richard Hill, Jr.
Dept. of Conservation and Recreation
203 Governor Street
Richmond, VA 23129
Phone: (804) 786-7119
Fax: (804) 786-1798
rhill@dcr.state.va.us

WEST VIRGINIA Teresa Koon
Assistant Deputy Director
Nonpoint Source and Framework Branch
Division of Water and Waste Management
Division of Environmental Protection
1201 Greenbrier Street
Charleston, WV 25311
Phone: (304) 558-2107
Fax: (304)558-2780
tekoon@wvdep.org

Information relayed by ECRR
www.easterncoal.org

Also,Grant Glance from ECRR (www.easterncoal.org)
Altria Group, Inc. 2004 Environmental Request for Proposal
The parent company of Kraft Foods & Philip Morris is accepting RFPs until September 30, 2004. Their grants support programs & projects that foster new ideas & encourage collaboration among stakeholders that address water impairment & water use issues, & their impact on watersheds.
Altria Group will award up to 20 grants ranging from $10,000 to $75,000 per project.
Grants will be awarded in two categories: Foster Scientific Understanding/ Build
Best Practices or Promote Community Engagement / Encourage Responsible Policy.

More information than you want probably, but here is a list of various sources:

Potential Sources for Environmental Grants

Check the web for sources and take a look at these potential funders.
Watershed Grant Directory maintained by Boise State University:
http://boisestate.edu/

Environmental Protection Agency- www.epa.gov

Wal-Mart (Ask your local manager about special grants for nonprofits.)
www.walmartfoundation.org

National Soft Drink Association- http://www.ameribev.org/

Seed Grants from America the Beautiful Fund (not Keep America Beautiful)
Write 1730 K St., NW, Washington, D.C. 20006 or call 202-638-1649

American Greenways
www.conservationfund.org

NAPCOR – National Association for Plastic Container Recovery
Grants program changed a few years ago; inquire about current status.
www.napcor.com

Clean Water Partners
www.cleanwaterpartners.org

Innovations Work Group
http://www.lgean.org/

Environmental Support Center
www.envsc.org

PG&E National Energy Group
http://www.pgecorp.com/

Patagonia
www.patagonia.com/

Kodak
http://www.conservationfund.org/?article=2372

Southeastern Rivers and Streams seriversprogram@earthlink.net
Five Star Grant
www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/restore/5star.

Virginia Environmental Endowment
www.vee.org

Slemp Foundation
Star National Trust Services
425 Walnut St.
P.O. Box 1118
Cincinnati, OH 45201-1118

Wallace Global Fund
Grant proposals are processed & reviewed on a continual basis by the Wallace Global Fund staff. The average grant size is $50,000, with actual grant awards ranging from $2,000 to $400,000. The Fund makes both one-year and multi-year grants. The review process typically takes between one & three months. In addition to grantmaking, WGF staff often provides potential network contacts, advice, & other assistance to applicants.

To get started, WGF recommends submitting a concept paper, not in excess of three pages, prior to the submission of a full proposal. This paper, accompanied by a brief letter of inquiry, should state: the problems being addressed, the goal of the initiative, specific objectives, & accompanying
strategies as well as anticipated results, requested grant amount, project time period with start & end dates, and primary contact person. Applicants will be informed if a full proposal is warranted, at which time prospective grantees should submit materials & supporting documents as outlined online.

Address letters to:
Wallace Global Fund
1990 M Street, NW, Suite 250
Washington, DC 20036
phone 202-454-1530
fax 202-452-0922
email tkroll@wgf.org

Assessment & Watershed Protection Program Grants
Request for Proposals FY 2005
Due date: February 16, 2005
Summary: Assessment and Watershed Protection Program Grants (AWPPGs) provide eligible applicants an opportunity to conduct projects that promote the coordination and acceleration of research, investigations, experiments, training, demonstrations, surveys, and studies relating to the causes, effects (including health and welfare effects), extent, prevention, reduction, and elimination of water pollution. The goals of this program include supporting a watershed approach to better address water quality problems in the US and building the capacity of all levels of government to develop and implement effective, comprehensive programs for watershed protection, restoration, and management. These are tied into goals two and four (clean and safe water) of the EPA Strategic Plan, which includes restoring and maintaining watersheds and their aquatic ecosystems and oceans in order to protect human health, support economic and recreational activities, and provide healthy habitat for fish, plants, and wildlife. States and local governments, nonprofits, and nongovernmental institutions and individuals are eligible to apply. Grant awards from $5,000 to $80,000 More info: www.epa.gov/owow/AWPPG_RFIP_2005-1.pdf
The proposals must be submitted in their entirety, no more than six pages, in electronic form to awppg@epa.gov
Watershed Program priorities contact Tim Icke 202-566-1211
Nonpoint Source Program priorities contact Katie Flahive 202-566-1206

“Upon those who step into the same rivers different and again different waters flow.”
Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program Research Projects

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) is a long-term research program designed to statistically monitor the conditions of our Nation’s ecological resources. REMAP, which is a component of EMAP, was developed to test the applicability of EMAP’s probabilistic approach to answer questions about ecological conditions at regional and local levels. The research projects should address real regional environmental issues where monitoring results will influence decisions; address data gaps and advance the science of ecological monitoring. Areas of emphasis for this year’s projects include approaches designed to advance integrated monitoring. These would include (but are not limited to): Designs and tools for assessments of great/large rivers, wetlands, and lakes. Integration of 305 (b) reports and other existing data sources with the 303(d) listing process. Improved development of biological reference conditions for establishing biological criteria. Approaches to demonstrate the effectiveness of restoration/remediation at the watershed level.

The successful applicant must deliver outcomes which support the efforts at meeting longer term environmental outcomes and are linked to EPA’s Strategic Plan and EPA’s long-term research goals for Ecosystem Protection. These goals include clean and safe water, land preservation and restoration, healthy communities and ecosystems and compliance and environmental stewardship.

The breakdown of these goals can be found on the EPA’s website. Expected Outputs delivered by this assistance agreement would include, but are not limited to:
Provide environmental managers and researchers with a better understanding of links between human activities, natural dynamics, ecological stressors, and ecosystem conditions. Provide tools that managers and researchers can use to predict stressors on ecological resources. Provide scientifically defensible methods for protecting and restoring the ecosystem condition.

Award Information: Proposal budgets must total $384,000 or less, with one award for each EPA region.

Application: The information for the proposal can be found at
http://www.epa.gov/emap/remap/html/projects/RFA05.pdf, on pages 6 and 7.

Submission Dates: March 14, 2005 to
U.S. EPA Mid Continent Ecology Division
Attn: Jo Thompson, National REMAP Coordinator
6201 Congdon Blvd.
Duluth, MN 55804
email: thonpson.jo@epa.gov

More Information: http://www.epa.gov/emap/remap/html/projects/RFA05.pdf
Date: Thu, 12 May 2005 14:46:11 -0400
From: Linda Green
Subject: RE: [cem] Fwd: Educational funding
To: cem_list@ruralaction.org

Dave,
I suggest you contact
Joan Deely
Program Assistant, New England Invasive Plant Group
Silvio O. Conte National Fish and Wildlife Refuge
52 Avenue A
Turners Falls, MA 01376
413.863.0209 ext 1
413.863.3070 fax

to learn about other invasives monitoring programs in the US.
Linda Green
URI Cooperative Extension Water Quality
Department of Natural Resources Science
1 Greenhouse Road
Kingston, RI 02881-0804
401-874-2905
www.uri.edu/ce/wq/
www.usawaterquality.org/volunteer