Volunteer Stream Monitoring

In 2014, the Marquette County Conservation District applied for a grant through Michigan Clean Water Corps, and was awarded a two-year stream monitoring program. Through this program, eight sights along various points on the Escanaba River Watershed were monitored for water quality using macroinvertebrate bioindicators. These findings are important in considering care and quality of a local watershed.  Now that the two-year funded project is finished, it is up to a volunteer base to continue the monitoring of these sites, and we truly appreciate our Stream Team volunteers!

Bioindicators

Bioindicators are life forms that are indicators of the quality of a particular habitat. For stream monitoring, we look at macroinvertebrates living in the streams we sample as our indicators. Some of these include dragonfly, stonefly, caddisfly and blackfly larvae, among many other species. Some of these species are very sensitive to changes in their environment, while others are quite tolerant. By seeing how many of what specie we collect, we can give the stream a quality score.

Scoring

Each of the stream sites we sample receives a score which corresponds to the overall health of the stream. To see how the sites have rated over the years of sampling, please head to the MiCorps webpage!

Volunteering

Would you be interested in volunteering for our monitoring program? Join our Stream Team! All age levels and experience levels are welcome to join! Please either call us at the office, drop us an email, or fill out our volunteer form to join us.