Citizens "Gear Up" to Adopt-A-Stream

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE" February 21, 2005

Contact: Tracie Beasley, 248-601-0606, tracie@crwc.org

Home owners, professionals, families, and organizations from communities across the Clinton River Watershed will be participating in hands-on training workshops between March 5th and May 7th to learn how to help monitor the health of the Clinton River, its tributaries, and Lake St. Clair.

Nearly 50 individuals have already signed up with the Clinton River Watershed Council (CRWC) to become volunteer Adopt-a-Stream monitors. CRWC hopes to register over 100 community members from across the Clinton River Watershed to monitor approximately 20 river and stream sites during the first year of this exciting new volunteer program.

Tracie Beasley, CRWC Stewardship Director, said “This is a great opportunity to help people make the connection between their actions at home or in the work place and the impact that each of us can have on our streams and rivers. It’s also a great way to empower and educate residents on how to help protect our water resources by providing relatively simple, yet important opportunities to take action.” Beasley indicated that the CRWC would ultimately like to involve enough volunteers to monitor between 50 and 75 sites each year.

Twice a year (May and October), volunteer teams will visit their adopted sites and collect data, including physical, chemical and biological information about the health of our waterways. The data collected by these volunteers will allow CRWC to develop a long-term record of aquatic organisms, habitat quality and basic chemical conditions that can be used by local municipalities in developing and implementing programs to protect water quality. “The municipalities can’t do it alone,” said Jessica Pitelka Opfer, CRWC Executive Director. “Government agencies don’t have the staff or funds to continuously monitor each body of water. That’s where citizens can help...by getting involved as Adopt-A-Stream volunteers.”

Anyone interested should plan to attend a two part training series and spend 2- 3 hours, two

days a year monitoring a stream/river. Part I is an overview of the program and opportunity to learn how to identify insects and other organisms that live in our rivers and streams. Part I will be offered at six locations in March and early April. Part II is a “streamside" training where everyone will practice monitoring protocols “first-hand”. Part II will be offered at six locations during late April and early May. Contact Tracie at 248-601-0606 or tracie@crwc.org to register. For more information visit www.crwc.org.

The Clinton River watershed covers 760 square miles through four counties (Macomb, Oakland, Lapeer, and St. Clair). Over 1.4 million people live in the 60 communities through which the Clinton River flows before reaching Lake St. Clair. CRWC is a non-profit environmental organization that protects, enhances, and celebrates the Clinton River, its watershed, and Lake St. Clair.