Three Presentations: 1) Overview of Water-related Citizen-based Monitoring Opportunities 2) Overview of the Wisconsin Citizen Lake Monitoring Network and Water Action Volunteers 3) Iron County Loon and Lake Practicum: A High School Citizen Science Project
Stream: Citizen Science
8:00 AM - 8:50 AMThu
Sands
101 SessionClimate ChangeDiversity, Equity, and InclusionStream: Citizen Science
Registration Required
Your registration must include one of the required registration options to attend this session. [ Details ]
Presentation #1: Overview of Water-related Citizen-based Monitoring Opportunities
Citizen volunteers contribute significantly to reporting on many of our rare and common aquatic species. The records of what they observe and where they observe them provides essential information to the Mussel Monitoring Program, Frog and Toad Survey, Turtle Conservation Program, and Odonata Survey. These observations are used to help determine the status, distribution, and long-term trends of these aquatic species, as well as document their habitat requirements. The time and energy of these volunteers contributes to promoting the conservation and management of these species. Volunteers are an integral part of these statewide monitoring efforts ranging from individual observations on mussels, dragonflies, and turtles, to routes for calling surveys for frogs and toads. A summary of the current status of these programs will be provided along with information on how Citizen Scientists can get involved.
Presenters: Lisie Kitchel & Jesse Weinzinger
Presentation #2: Overview of the Wisconsin Citizen Lake Monitoring Network and Water Action Volunteers
The Wisconsin Citizen Lake Monitoring Network and Water Action Volunteers provide opportunities for citizens to better understand their lakes and streams, and collect valuable data for scientists at the same time. Well over a thousand volunteers participate in these efforts each year. Paul and Katy will give a brief overview of these programs and how you can get involved.
Presenters: Paul Skawinski & Katy Bradford
Presentation #3: Iron County Loon and Lake Practicum: A High School Citizen Science Project
(Topics: DEI, CC, 101)
2020 marked the 20th anniversary of the Loon and Lake project at the Iron County Land and Water Conservation Department. This program was created to provide our small schools with an opportunity to learn about Iron County’s bountiful natural resources. The idea was to provide a field research practicum and to engage students in learning about lakes, water quality, invasive species, shoreline habitat, and the Common Loon. An iconic species in our state and an indicator or good water quality our local students have not just studied the species, they have helped them thrive. To date, the project has helped loons hatch out 82 loon chicks from artificial nest platforms as well as maintain long -term water quality data collection on 5 area lakes.
Presenter: Zach Wilson