Integrating freshwater science and local management through volunteer monitoring partnerships: the Michigan Clean Water Corps

Thousands of local watershed organizations and lake associations are actively involved in protection and management of freshwater systems throughout the USA. These nonprofit organizations may or may not have paid staff and rarely employ trained scientists or natural resource managers. Thus, they fac...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Freshwater science 2014-06, Vol.33 (2), p.686-692
Main Authors: Latimore, Jo A., Steen, Paul J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Bridges
Collaboration
Data management
Freshwater
Lake water
Lakes
Nonprofit organizations
Streams
Volunteer training
Volunteerism
Water management
Watersheds
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Summary:Thousands of local watershed organizations and lake associations are actively involved in protection and management of freshwater systems throughout the USA. These nonprofit organizations may or may not have paid staff and rarely employ trained scientists or natural resource managers. Thus, they face challenges, including lack of access to technical assistance to support their lake and river assessment and management initiatives, and may struggle to convince decision makers of the validity of their efforts. Meanwhile, researchers and managers within academia and agencies are challenged by lack of access to long-term data sets, field sites, funding, and personnel, and sometimes struggle to demonstrate real-world application of research results and to build support for freshwater research and management programs. The Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps) volunteer monitoring program is a partnership-based program involving state and regional organizations and local volunteers that has met the above challenges, resulted in expanded monitoring of lakes and streams in Michigan (USA), and led to synergistic outcomes, such as advancing freshwater science, building public support for research and management, and implementing science-based management and protection projects at the local level.
ISSN:2161-9549
2161-9565
DOI:10.1086/676118