SCOTTVILLE — The Mason-Lake Conservation District is looking for volunteers to help monitor the health of local waterways by collecting data on aquatic life. No experience is needed, just a willingness to learn, work outdoors and help protect local streams.
Each spring and autumn, Mason-Lake Conservation District recruits volunteers ready to jump into a stream to collect macroinvertebrates. Macroinvertebrates are the small insects in the river that serve as the main food source for fish and can also be used as indicators of water quality. This monitoring is connected with a statewide program called MiCorps, which relies on volunteer and citizen science power to help monitor stream health. This information can then be used by organizations like the Conservation District or the state, to observe and address any changes to the health of our rivers.
The volunteer monitoring day is currently scheduled for Saturday, October 11, when the conservation district will team up with the Little Mansitee Watershed Conservation Council and volunteers to monitor three sites along the Little Manistee River. The group will meet in the trailhead parking lot near Club 37 in Lake County at 10 a.m.
There will be a brief training session, and gear distribution for any volunteer who desires to borrow waders or boots.
Volunteer jobs include “waders” and “pickers”. Waders will be in the stream to collect rocks, logs, leaves and other materials that will have insects, and bring them to shore for the pickers. The pickers will have tweezers, eye droppers and other tools to collect the insects and preserve them in alcohol to save for a future lab ID day at the conservation district office. A
n experienced volunteer serves as a stream team lead, leading a group in insect collection efforts at each stream site. The field day generally lasts from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., but volunteers can choose to just help at one site if their time is limited.
If there are enough volunteers interested, the conservation district will look at adding a fall sampling day for the Big Sable River and spring and fall days on the branches of the Lincoln River next year as well.
Anyone interested in volunteering may contact the conservation district at 231-757-3707 ext 5 or email mason-lake@macd.org.
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