Focus on the Glen Lake Water Quality Volunteers

In this newsletter issue, MiCorps would like to highlight the dedicated work being done by the volunteer monitors of Glen Lake. Members of the Glen Lake Association have been involved with the CLMP since 1979, and are unique in that they also monitor the quality of their inflowing stream.

Glen Lake is located in Leelanau County, borders Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore, and is very close to Lake Michigan. Two lakes make up the Glen Lake system, Little Glen and Big Glen, and cover a total of 6,270 acres. There are approximately 700 riparian landowners. Big Glen Lake is an oligotrophic lake characterized by clear water and low nutrient inputs, while Little Glen is borderline oligotrophic/mesotrophic.

Fifteen lake association members participate in the monitoring activities, including water transparency, spring and summer phosphorus, chlorophyll-a, aquatic plant mapping, and the exotic aquatic plant watch. Within the past three years, excellent volunteer participation has enabled them to expand their monitoring to three additional lakes: Big Fisher, Little Fisher, and Brooks.

The lake association received a grant from the stream monitoring component of MiCorps, the Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program (VSMP), in 2006, which enables the group to determine the water quality at 5 sites on Hatlem Creek. Volunteers collect, sort, and count benthic macroinvertebrates, identify them to family level, then rate the site quality. Also, the volunteers check stream temperature, dissolved oxygen, pH, conductivity, and occasionally E. coli (after heavy rain events).

By monitoring both the lake and inflowing stream, the Glen Lake volunteers have a good sense of the watershed-level issues that need to be addressed in order maintain good water quality. For example, in order for Glen Lake to remain healthy, Hatlem Creek must as well. An enhanced understanding of the adverse effects of sedimentation input to Big Glen from Hatlem Creek has shown the group the importance of protecting the Hatlem Creek sub-watershed with buffer strips, vegetation cover, and other erosion controls.

The Glen Lake volunteers stress the importance of keeping the shoreline natural and try to lead by example. Articles in the association newsletter and web page highlight the volunteer’s activities and raise awareness of the need to protect the creek as well as the lake. One volunteer reported that he has developed a riparian greenbelt, stopped using soaps and fertilizer with phosphorus, and re-planted bulrushes along the shoreline. Another volunteer reported that the Glen Lake shoreline has had virtually no erosion or shoreline damage at ice-out (i.e., when ice has begun to break up during the spring thaw) and has held up better than lakes that have properties with lawns cut down to the lake’s edge.

The Glen Lake volunteers are leaders in the field of volunteer water monitoring. By being consistent with their monitoring, being aware of watershed connections, and taking responsibility for their personal impacts on the lake, these volunteers provide a great example for other lake associations to follow.

2009 Participating Lakes

Registration for the 2009 CLMP sampling season is now closed, and MiCorps is pleased to announce that a total of 225 Michigan inland lakes are participating this year. Lakes can monitor one parameter or many, depending on their needs. Also, a single lake may be monitored at two or more deep basins depending on the needs of the volunteer participants. The following table is a break-down of how many lake basins are being measured for each parameter. Enrollment is holding steady from previous years, with the exception of the Exotic Plant Watch, which increased from 2 lakes participating in 2008 to 21 lakes participating in 2009.

CLMP training event

Every spring, the CLMP training is held in conjunction with the Michigan Lakes and Streams annual conference (www.mlswa.org), and allows for people interested in Michigan lakes to meet new and old friends as well as learn more about the issues facing Michigan’s water resources. This year, volunteers gathered in the Comfort Suites Lakeside, Houghton Lake, on April 24 and 25 in order to learn and improve lake monitoring skills. CLMP staff led training and information sessions on transparency, phosphorus, chlorophyll, dissolved oxygen and temperature, aquatic plants, and exotic aquatic plants with attendance ranging between 20 and 75 people for each session. Good luck to all of our volunteer monitors this summer, and remember to sample safely!

Volunteer Mentor Program

This year, the CLMP is pleased to introduce the new Volunteer Mentor Program. Under this program, experienced CLMP volunteers (the “mentors”) are matched up with new volunteers who request additional aid or training. The pair meet at the lake of their choice to practice the CLMP monitoring techniques. To become a volunteer mentor, a volunteer needs to have monitored at least five years with the CLMP, have experience in each CLMP trophic parameter, and have attended a special training session at the annual training event. If you are a new volunteer, working with a volunteer mentor can be a great way to make sure you are following the CLMP guidelines and collecting accurate data and samples. If you are interested in receiving aid from a volunteer mentor, please contact Paul Steen at psteen@hrwc.org.

2009 Spring Total Phosphorus Results

The CLMP is pleased to announce the release of its 2009 Spring Sampling Total Phosphorus results. Visit www.micorps.net/lakereports.html to download the report and view data collected for your lake. Also, check out the 2008 Annual Summary Report to view last year's data.

Author:
Paul Steen
MiCorps Staff
Huron River Watershed Council