Huron Pines, whose mission is to conserve the forest, lakes and streams of Northeast Michigan, has begun tapping into the growing momentum of volunteers as stream and habitat monitors. Within its 11 county service area, Huron Pines has already expanded its first program to include a second major watershed. Volunteers from the Pine River/Van Etten Lake (PRVEL) program and the Upper Manistee monitoring effort are also proving to be great ambassadors in spreading the value and ease of volunteer stream monitoring.

Huron Pines service area. Graphic: Huron Pines.

In 2007, Huron Pines began working with Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps) on a project to monitor the Pine River watershed, which feeds into Van Etten Lake near Oscoda, MI. The first sampling event for the PRVEL watershed occurred in October 2008. A dozen volunteers were treated to very nice weather in the fall and collected samples for what would be the first data collected under the approved Quality Assurance Protection Plan, ensuring its inclusion in the MiCorps database.

Spring of 2009 saw volunteers return to monitoring coldwater streams in the Huron Pines service area. As with many volunteer stream monitoring programs, the PRVEL Watershed Coalition volunteers had to reschedule the sampling event this spring due to extremely high water levels. After a delay of nearly two weeks, the volunteers were able to revisit the five sites for the second sampling event. Though the samples from those events are still being identified, it is anticipated that the MiCorps stream score will be similar to those from the fall event. Those are as follows:

• Pine River (South Branch) - Campground: 48.7 (excellent)
• Pine River - Denolf Property: 45 (good)
• Pine River - Kings Corner Rd: 50.9 (excellent)
• Van Etten Creek - Barlow Rd: 35.2 (good)
• Van Etten Creek - Barlow Rd (state land): 35.6 (good)

PRVEL volunteers Steve Jones, Ken Burman, Al Rinke, and Carole Plunkey pick insects after a collection event on the South Branch Pine River. Photo: Huron Pines.

Working with the Watershed Coalition in the PRVEL watershed was the first volunteer stream monitoring project of its kind for Huron Pines. Because of its success and appeal, there are many other groups in the Huron Pines service area that are interested in becoming involved with ways to monitor the streams of their watersheds. In fact, on May 30th, the first collection of macroinvertebrates for the Manistee River system took place. With the help of Huron Pines AmeriCorps member Kristin Thomas, serving with the Michigan Council of Trout Unlimited, 30 volunteers gathered to collect, sort, and identify macroinvertebrates from 4 sites in the Upper Manistee River system. Expanding the Huron Pines volunteer stream monitoring effort has, so far, yielded good results. The Upper Manistee sites scored as follows:

• Manistee River - Deward Area: 47.6 (good)
• Manistee River - Thorsen Property: 44.2 (good)
• Goose Creek - Goose Creek Rd: 44 (good)
• Portage Creek - Portage Creek Rd: 38.9 (good)

It was noted, however, that these scores are overlooking the wide variety of stonefly species present in the Manistee River system and it was recommended that much more knowledge would be gained if the samples were to be identified down to the family level.

There are several other citizens that have begun to express interest in conducting macroinvertebrate sampling and stream monitoring in their watersheds, and Huron Pines is always looking to strengthen and expand their programs. If you would like to join either of the existing programs or are interested in developing an effort closer to your home watershed, please contact Patrick Ertel, Huron Pines Project Manager, at 989-344-0753 ext.19 or by email at Patrick@huronpines.org.

About Huron Pines:
Huron Pines conserves the forests, lakes, and streams of Northeast Michigan. This mission is achieved by the organization’s efforts to coordinate hands-on conservation projects while also helping grassroots conservation partners to be effective at the local level. For more information on watershed projects throughout the 11 counties of Northeast Michigan, visit www.huronpines.org.

Guest Author:
Patrick Ertel
Restoration Project Manager
Huron Pines