Volunteer monitors from across the state are coming together on October 26-27, 2009, for the fifth annual conference of Michigan's Clean Water Corps (MiCorps) volunteer monitoring program.  The MiCorps is a network of volunteer monitoring programs created by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm to assist the Department of Environmental Quality in collecting and sharing water quality data to protect and manage Michigan's lakes and streams.  The conference program and registration form are available online at http://www.micorps.net/conference2009.html, and the deadline for registration is Friday, October 16.

The conference, being held at the Ralph A. MacMullan Conference Center on Higgins Lake, will celebrate the work that is being done by MiCorps volunteers and will look at new steps in volunteer water monitoring to protect Michigan's lakes and streams.  This year's conference will feature a keynote presentation by Dr. Bryan Burroughs, Executive Director of Michigan Trout Unlimited, as well as presentations from volunteers from across the state of Michigan.  In addition, the conference will include presentations and training from regional experts, the DEQ, and MiCorps staff.

The conference is intended for volunteer monitoring program leaders, citizen volunteers, water resource professionals, and others interested in the health and protection of Michigan's lakes, rivers, and streams.

MiCorps includes two primary programs: the Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program, under which local governments and citizen organizations monitor wadeable streams and rivers; and the Cooperative Lakes Monitoring Program, to monitor water quality in inland lakes.  MiCorps brings these two key programs and others under a single umbrella and provides added services, including a comprehensive Web site, an Internet-based platform for exchanging monitoring data, a directory of volunteer monitoring programs in Michigan, an e-mail list for sharing ideas, training workshops for volunteer monitors, the annual conference, and a newsletter to report on volunteer monitoring activities across the state.  The MiCorps program emphasizes technical training and quality control procedures to ensure volunteer monitoring data is credible, reliable, and can be used to effectively support DEQ's water management programs.

The Great Lakes Commission is assisting the DEQ in developing and administering the MiCorps program, in collaboration with the Huron River Watershed Council, the Michigan Lake and Stream Associations, Inc., and Michigan State University.  A steering committee advises the DEQ and Great Lakes Commission in the development and operation of MiCorps.

For more information on the 2009 MiCorps conference or the MiCorps program, visit the MiCorps Web site at http://www.micorps.net, or contact Laura Kaminski at the Great Lakes Commission at 734-971-9135 or laurak@glc.org.

Editor's note:  DEQ news releases are available on the department's Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

"Protecting Michigan's Environment, Ensuring Michigan's Future"