MARQUETTE — If your summer plans include time at a favorite lake, here’s an easy way to do some good with real, lasting value: help the MiCorps Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program gather information about water quality and fish habitat conditions, according to a Michigan Department of Natural Resources press release.

This community science program is seeking volunteers who enjoy and want to help protect Michigan’s nearly 11,000 inland lakes. There is a lot we don’t know about many of our lakes, and volunteering with MiCorps will connect you with a statewide network of people who are making a positive impact on these waters.

Want to help?

As a water quality monitor, you:

≤ Choose which lake to sample.

≤ Select which measurements to take. You can collect data on water quality (water clarity, nutrients, dissolved oxygen and algae), invasive species, native plants and shoreline conditions.

≤ Get detailed instructions, training and equipment.

There’s a small fee to cover the costs of supplies and analyzing samples, but volunteers often can collaborate with local lake associations or other organizations to help pay for these costs.

All volunteer-gathered information is added to the MiCorps Data Exchange, a public database that includes 50 years’ worth of program lake data. This database is used by people, local communities and state agencies like the Michigan Department of Natural Resources to better protect and manage our beautiful lakes and the fish and wildlife that rely on them.

Questions?

Visit the Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program enrollment webpage for more information or contact Erick Elgin (Michigan State University Extension) at 218-340-5731 or Joe Nohner (DNR) at 517-599-6825.

Summer (lake) love: Help monitor water quality, fish habitat