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UTAH VOLUNTEER MONITORING
Impact/Purpose:
This project promotes the use of stream volunteer monitoring activities to help educate the public about watershed functions. To best protect our waterbodies, citizens must understand the link between their land use practices and healthy streams, rivers and lakes. An educational program based on direct measurements of stream properties will help improve this understanding, thus ensuring long-term protection of watersheds. This educational need exists for TMDL (Total Maximum Daily Load) and other watershed projects, for storm water management plans and as a supplement to the science curricula of our schools.
Goals include:
1) Promote and coordinate volunteer stream monitoring efforts in Utah as an effective watershed education tool.
2) Develop watershed-based educational volunteer monitoring programs modeled after the Bear River Watershed Educational Project (a River Runs Through Us).
Description:
Goal 1) Promote and coordinate stream monitoring efforts in Utah as an effective watershed educational tool. Task 1) Inventory and compile an annotated list of existing volunteer monitoring programs and related efforts in Utah. Task 2) Promote monitoring activities throughout the state, using press releases, existing news letters and other outreach efforts. Goal 2) Develop watershed-based educational volunteer monitoring programs modeled after pilot Bear River Education Project. Task 3) Coordinate with newly formed Utah Watershed Council, the Utah DWQ, and other partners to identify active watershed groups. Task 4) Conduct or coordinate monitoring and watershed education training in each watershed for interested leaders and teachers. Task 5) Provide field assistance for groups and classrooms conducting monitoring activities. Task 6) Highlight watershed projects on Utah Volunteer Monitoring Web Page, using Bear River Education Project web page as a model.