Extension Rivers Educator Emily Heald teaches about aquatic invertebrates at a Wisconsin Master Naturalist Training in Williams Bay, WI. 

As we slowly begin to slip into fall,  WAV volunteers head into their second to last month of the regular monitoring season. Our own team is wrapping up in-person trainings and transitioning into fall/winter programming, including planning virtual talks (stay tuned!). Though the weather may be getting colder, there is still plenty to be done to protect our rivers and streams and get involved. 

Read on to see the results of Snapshot Day 2025, learn about the 2025 Wisconsin Stream Monitoring Awards, and more!

Do you know of a stream volunteer, volunteer coordinator, or stream volunteer group who has given substantial time and energy this year to monitor and protect Wisconsin’s streams and rivers? We encourage you to submit a Wisconsin Stream Monitoring Award nomination to celebrate their work! Award recipients are nominated by their peers.

What are the Wisconsin Stream Monitoring Awards?

The Wisconsin Stream Monitoring Awards recognize individuals and groups for their exemplary efforts in volunteer stream monitoring and related activities, such as their support of stream stewardship, commitment to developing partnerships, and/or sharing their skills and water quality data to benefit Wisconsin streams and rivers.

We want to celebrate the wide variety of people and groups across Wisconsin who help to promote water quality in our streams and rivers by participating in volunteer monitoring and stewardship in the state. They may be an adult or youth, an individual or a group of people, an educator, a volunteer or a staff member of an organization or business. Join us to celebrate the network of people who help monitor and protect our flowing waters!

Nomination deadline is December 1, 2025.

Visit our website to learn more about nomination criteria and how to submit:

Questions? Email the Water Action Volunteers Program Manager at wav@extension.wisc.edu.

Snapshot Day 2025 volunteers examine aquatic invasive species.

On August 9, 2025, people who love Wisconsin’s waters came together for the 12th annual Aquatic Invasive Species Snapshot Day—a statewide search for aquatic invasive species (AIS). From rivers and streams to lakes and wetlands, volunteers fanned out across 100 different waterbodies in Wisconsin, helping monitor the health of the places they care about most.

The event, coordinated by UW Extension in partnership with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (WDNR), Extension Lakes, and dozens of county and nonprofit organizations, is part science, part stewardship, and part community gathering.

This year’s findings highlighted the importance of that work: AIS were detected at 68% of monitoring sites. All the data collected feeds into Wisconsin’s statewide water quality database, SWIMS, helping resource managers track invasive species and plan for the future.

Beyond the science, Snapshot Day is a reminder of what can be accomplished when people come together. As one volunteer put it,

“I like that I’m helping with making our lakes, rivers, etc. the best they can be.”

To every volunteer, partner organization, and site leader—thank you for making this year’s Snapshot Day a success! Your energy and dedication keep Wisconsin’s waters healthy for everyone.

Head on over to our website to read the full 2025 Snapshot Day results blog post!

*as of 8/29/2025, data have not been fully finalized in WDNR’s SWIMS database, awaiting Resource of Interest creation and management by DNR. Reported numbers may vary slightly in future. Other species reported included: goldfish, narrow leaf cattail, hybrid cattail, aquatic forget me not, and reed canary grass.

WI Stormwater Week (Sept 20-28) is a grassroots effort of organizations throughout the state that work to raise awareness about the sources of stormwater pollution. This week-long event is an awareness campaign that aims to inform, educate, and engage Wisconsin residents on the topic of stormwater pollution prevention through shared, consistent messaging. 

Webinars: From Sept. 22 to Sept. 25, WI Stormwater Week, in partnership with WI Land and Water, will host four FREE webinars on different subjects. Register for the webinars here. 

Local clean-up events: Throughout the month, there will be clean-ups happening across the state.  You can register to volunteer at a clean-up near you or you can sign-up to host your own clean-up event. Learn more on the WI Stormwater Week events page!

Checkout how stormwater runoff can lead to our streams and rivers!

Hosted by the Wisconsin Wetland Association, the Wetland Coffee Break series helps keep the community of wetland lovers connected and learning about wetlands throughout the year, from anywhere! Bring your coffee or tea and learn about wetlands, the plants and animals that call them home, and the many natural benefits they provide to our communities. 

Check out this free series, including their upcoming webinar on beaver dams and ponds!

How do beavers impact water?

Cortney Dean, Conservation Biologist
Friday, September 26, 2025
10:30 am CT

Description
Do beaver dams actually increase water temperatures? How do beaver ponds impact water quality, pollutants, and sediments? Conservation Biologist Cortney Dean takes a look at the data, challenges, and unexpected findings of beaver-water research in northwestern Wisconsin.

North American beaver (Castor canadensis). Photo by Glacier NPS.

Cortney Dean is a conservation biologist located in Eau Claire, WI. She studies beaver impacts to the biotic and physical components of ecosystems. Her research focuses on water quality, food webs, and biodiversity impacts to avian and bat species.

Water Action Volunteers Program (WAV)

Phone: (608) 331-0173

Email: wav@extension.wisc.edu

wateractionvolunteers.org

The Water Action Volunteers (WAV) stream monitoring program is an ongoing partnership between the University of Wisconsin–Madison Division of Extension, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and nearly 50 local partner groups and organizations.