Wanting to learn from and recognize the volunteers who give of their time and energy to monitor the health and quality of our lakes and streams, the MiCorps team created a new section of the MiCorps Monitor dedicated to these individuals. For the August 2009 installment of the Volunteer Corner, the MiCorps team caught up with stream monitor Gene Stagner, a relatively new volunteer with the Pine River / Van Etten Lake (PRVEL) Watershed Coalition, to learn about his experiences thus far.

Stagner: Going on two years, now. I’m a fly fisherman and I wanted to learn more about the bugs in the river. There’s so much more in there than you’d even know at first glance. The commitment to the group has kept me involved in the project, and I suspect that we’ll continue the monitoring even after the grant ends next year.

Stagner: Right now I’m leading the sampling for the project. I organize the sampling events and do most of the identification, which is quite time consuming, given that we sample at five different sites. If needed, I also help out with the sampling, as well. We do this twice a year at each of the five sites for the project.

Stagner: It’s actually two teams. So I’ll lead one of the teams if both groups are sampling on the same day, or both of the groups if they’re sampling on different days. We have a list of 15 people and we need at least four per team for each event. We have some rotation, depending on who’s available. The group is mostly retirees who live along the lake, although we have some middle-aged working people, too. Not many young people.

Stagner: Well, we have Van Etten Creek which empties into the Pine River in Alcona County before that dumps into Van Etten Lake. Our monitoring is mostly on the Pine River, which I’d say is healthy to a point. However, Van Etten Creek is on the EPA’s non-attainment list, so it’s not very healthy. The creek is pretty narrow and shallow and it runs through primarily a rural, agricultural area. The Pine River is pretty healthy upstream where it’s cooler, but downstream, toward Van Etten Lake, it gets warmer and it’s not really habitable from a fish standpoint. However, about a mile upstream from the lake at our monitoring point, the river is still fairly healthy from a macroinvertebrate standpoint. The lake is pretty healthy except for sand that comes into the lake from the river. So we have some good and bad stuff. However, there are lots of different bugs to find – it’s pretty diverse in that respect.

Stagner: Van Etten Creek runs through a rural area, and it’s pretty sparsely populated along the Pine River. Downstream of the river is national forest and state lands. There’s really little or no development in the county. There are some farmers, but not everyone is actually farming. Some of them are taking measures to reduce their impacts to the water quality, so that’s good.

Stagner: It’s fun to get out and be in the river, and to learn. One volunteer told me he had no idea all this stuff was in the river. I think it’s important for people to be more careful with water in the future. From a personal perspective, I hope to be able to train others in the identification process. There are literally hundreds of samples to identify - and I’ve definitely learned a lot since I started. The MiCorps training sessions are really helpful. Now, when I go fishing, I take my net and do some of my own sampling just to see what’s out there.

Stagner: I think just the diversity of bugs. There are stoneflies that range in size from 1/8 inch to 2 inches long. And they’re pretty ugly under a microscope!

Stagner: I really like looking at the bugs. It’s fun to sort and go through them and start identifying. In reality, they’re not that hard to identify. Most things are pretty easy, like insect larvae. The hard part is identifying down into next level. At that point you’re looking for subtle characteristics. But I ask a lot of questions of other experts and do a lot of looking in books. That’s the fun part – expanding your knowledge.

About the Pine River / Van Etten Lake Watershed Coalition Monitoring Program: Volunteers from the PRVEL Watershed Coalition, in conjunction with Huron Pines, applied for and received a grant through the MiCorps program, which provides grants for water quality monitoring in wadable streams and rivers. The monitoring primarily includes an evaluation of benthic invertebrate communities and stream habitat. The essence of this project is to have volunteers that live or recreate in a particular watershed get out and collect aquatic insects at various sites. These insects, upon identification, will tell the story of the water quality in each stream reach because of their sensitivity to environmental conditions. Five sites, including two on Van Etten Creek, are monitored by the group. For more information on the Coalition, visit: www.huronpines.org/project/46.

Do you know an extraordinary volunteer lake or stream monitor? Please send your nominations for future installments of the Volunteer Corner to Laura Kaminski, MiCorps Program Administrator, at laurak@glc.org.

Author:
Laura Kaminski
MiCorps Staff
Great Lakes Commission