Richard (Dick) Tripp – Recipient of 2017 Wisconsin Volunteer Stream Monitoring Award

Dick will receive his award on Friday, April 7 during the Wisconsin Lakes Conservation/WAV symposium closing luncheon in Stevens Point, WI. He was nominated by Pat Cardiff, Water Action Volunteer (WAV) Coordinator. Dick resides in rural Brodhead with his wife, Meredith on Decatur Lake, an impoundment of the Sugar River. He is a member of the Lower Sugar River Watershed Association (LSRWA) and Decatur Lake Mill Race Association (DLMRA). Dick received his training in 2012 and started recruiting and training volunteers from LSRWA and DLMRA for WAV level 1 and phosphorus sampling in the Lower Sugar River basin. Each year he expanded volunteer recruitment and the number of sites sampled. In 2015 he took on more sites in the Middle Sugar River basin above Albany, recruited and trained volunteers from the Lower Sugar River Improvement Association (LSRIA) to perform the sampling. Through his efforts 18 sites have been sampled and are a big reason LSRWA is able to complete multi-year sampling of 11 of 13 subwatersheds in the Lower Sugar River basin and to initiate sampling in the Middle Sugar River basin.