Have you started to think about stepping in your stream this spring for your first monitoring visit? Now is a good time to check your monitoring supplies for any missing or broken items, and check the expiration dates on your dissolved oxygen test kit chemicals. WAV staff and local WAV Coordinators are organizing supplies now so that you have what you need to collect data starting in May!
Are you a new volunteer or interested in becoming a Project RED aquatic invasive species monitoring volunteer? We're starting to post stream monitoring trainings on the WAV Events page - more coming soon!
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| - We moved! New WAV mailing address
- Spring stream trainings across Wisconsin
- Final reminder: Register for Lakes and Rivers Convention
- WI stream and river projects receive $300K in grant funding
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We moved! WAV has a new mailing address |
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As of today, the WAV Program is now located at the UW-Madison Extension building in Madison. It was a monumental effort to organize, pack, and move our stream monitoring and outreach supplies, but we are happy to have a larger space to work out of to support all of you!
Our new mailing address is:
Water Action Volunteers Program
3500 University Avenue
Madison, WI 53705
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Adopt a stream site: Spring and summer stream monitoring trainings are posted |
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Interested in joining the Water Action Volunteers Program as a monthly stream monitor? Check back regularly as we continue to post spring and summer 2025 volunteer trainings across Wisconsin! Many of our partners do not host public trainings but instead offer one-on-one instruction for new volunteers. Contact WAV staff or your local WAV Coordinator with any questions about training opportunities near you.
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Baseline stream monitoring trainings are typically hosted around the state every spring from late April – June. Volunteers learn to measure water temperature, transparency, dissolved oxygen, and streamflow, as well as complete a biotic index with stream macroinvertebrates and identify four aquatic invasive species in streams.
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Aquatic invasive species monitoring trainings are typically offered around the state June - August. Volunteers learn how to monitor a section of a stream or river by canoe, kayak, or on foot, as well as how to collect, identify, and report suspected aquatic invasive species.
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Next month! Join us at the Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Convention, March 26-28! |
We hope you will join WAV staff at the 2025 Wisconsin Lakes and Rivers Convention this year, taking place March 26-28 at the Stevens Point Holiday Inn and Convention Center! This statewide convention brings together professionals, students, community members, and businesses who love water.
With the theme: The Power of Words: Working for Our Waters, this event will showcase the impact our communications have, especially when advocating for our waters. By raising awareness, promoting conservation efforts, and crafting compelling messages, words can inspire action and drive positive change to protect our water resources for future generations.
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- Registration for the in-person conference closes on March 16.
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Unable to travel to Stevens Point? We encourage you to register as a virtual attendee! Virtual attendance is available for select sessions as well as plenary speakers on Thursday and Friday. You must have the ability to use Zoom to join these events.
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We also invite you to join us in celebrating Wisconsin’s 2024 Volunteer Stream Monitoring Award winners at the Thursday Evening Awards Ceremony and Banquet! WAV volunteers are eligible for a $20 discount to attend the banquet, thanks to a generous donation from the Petenwell and Castle Rock Stewards (PACRS). The first 25 stream or lake monitoring volunteers to use the code “secchi” during registration will receive this discount!
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Streams and rivers receive nearly $300,000 in DNR grant funding for education, planning, and restoration projects |
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WAV Project RED aquatic invasive species training in Ozaukee County. Counties receive grant funding each year to deliver aquatic invasive species volunteer trainings and outreach.
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Every year, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources provides grant funding totaling more than $6 million for lake organizations, nonprofit organizations, and municipal and county governments working to improve water quality across Wisconsin. Of this amount, $289,500 was awarded to stream and river education, planning, and restoration projects across Wisconsin! Check out the stream and river projects near you (page 10). Here's a small sampling of the funded projects that will help protect and restore Wisconsin streams and rivers:
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- One project will replace a culvert to improve a road stream crossing (Oneida County).
- Four projects will restore segments of Mineral Springs Creek (Ozaukee County), Pigeon Creek (Ozaukee County), the Yahara River (Dane County) and an unnamed tributary to Lake Winnebago (Calumet County).
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Two other projects work to reduce runoff from land adjacent to creeks. The Cedar Grove-Belgium School District (Sheboygan County) will convert around 25 acres of farmland to a naturalized upland-wetland system and Wood County will work with property owners to establish over 100 acres of harvestable buffers.
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If you know of a local organization that would be interested in a surface water grant, reach out now to DNR Surface Water Grant staff to determine your eligibility and begin developing your ideas before the September 15 pre-application deadline.
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Questions or suggestions? Contact us! |
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