Citizen Science
The LSRWA Citizen Science Program offers outdoor opportunities for students and volunteers of all ages to get involved in monitoring and documenting environmental and biological conditions in our watershed.
Initiatives
WAV Monitoring
Water Action Volunteers, or WAV, is a statewide collective of over 500 volunteers that monitor the health of streams using six different key indicators: dissolved oxygen, water temperature, transparency, streamflow, stream macroinvertebrates, and aquatic invasive species.
The WI DNR, UW-Madison Division of Extension, local community groups, such as LSRWA, and individuals collect high quality scientific data about Wisconsin’s 86,888 miles of streams and rivers that is used to inform management decisions to continue improving our water health across the state. LSRWA has been monitoring waterways throughout the Lower Sugar River Watershed since 2011. This data “takes the pulse” of our watershed highlighting areas in need of management work and highlights the positive work being done throughout the watershed and its impact on our watershed.
Frog & Toad Survey
The Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey, part of a national volunteer-based program known as the North American Amphibian Monitoring Program (NAAMP), in cooperation with the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and coordinated in our state by the Department of Natural Resources and its partners.
The main purpose of the WFTS is to monitor the 12 species of frogs and toads found in Wisconsin and to determine their population status, distribution and population trends. This program started performing statewide amphibian surveys in 1984 and is one of the longest running monitoring projects in North America. Participants will join teams assembled by LSRWA to conduct a monthly one-night survey effort through the spring and early summer months to identify and document the audible calls of those species that occupy the Sugar River corridor.
Bumble Bee Brigade
Description: Describe
Frequency
Contact: Erin Dahms
Christmas Bird Count
In December 1900 Frank Chapman, prominent U.S. Ornithologist, proposed the counting rather than killing of birds on Christmas. On December 25th, 1900 the first Christmas Bird Count (CBC) was held. 27 observers recorded 90 species of birds and 18,500 birds in total. Today the CBC is the oldest citizen science program to exist worldwide. The CBC has been happening in our area of the Lower Sugar River for over 20 years now. Annually over 80,000 people now participate in the CBC. The data collected during this count is used by conservation related organizations to assess the health of bird populations, and to help guide conservation action.
Bioblitz
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sounds like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest.
Snapshot Day
It all begins with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.
Don’t worry about sounding professional. Sounds like you. There are over 1.5 billion websites out there, but your story is what’s going to separate this one from the rest.
Snapshot Wisconsin & Trail Cameras
Snapshot Wisconsin with the DNR is “a volunteer-based project for wildlife monitoring”.This program is a partnership that was developed to monitor wildlife in Wisconsin year round. This program utilizes a network of trail cameras across the state. You can apply to host a camera or to aid in the classification of the photos submitted by camera hosts. The data collected from these photos is used to inform and support wildlife management decisions. We host a Snapshot Wisconsin Camera in Brodhead and a network of our own trail cameras as well.
Initiatives
Interested in participating in other watershed activities
Wisconsin Turtle Conservation Program