Volunteers sought for lake monitoring program

Love to spend time on lakes? Are you interested in water quality?

The Northwest Montana Lakes Network (NMLN) is looking for lake property owners and/or homeowners, recreationists or just people who are interested in lakes to become volunteer water quality monitors.

There are currently 41 lakes in the program, and many need a volunteer including: Abbot, Ashley, Bailey, Beaver, Big Therriault, Blaine, Blanchard, Bootjack, Dickey, Dollar, Fish, Flathead (Conrad Point, Indian Bay, Mackinaw Alley, Skidoo Bay, Somers Bay, Woods Bay, Yellow Bay) Foys, Glen, Holland, Lake Five, Lindbergh, Loon, Lost Loon, Lower Stillwater, McGilvray, Murphy, Murray, Peterson, Rogers, Skyles, Smith, Spencer, Swan, Tally, Upper Stillwater, Upper Whitefish, and Whitefish.

Volunteers will receive training and equipment to assist them in data collection and aquatic invasive species identification. However, volunteers will need their own boat (motorized or non-motorized) to reach the midlake sample site. Training will be offered on April 30 and monitoring will begin late spring/early summer. Volunteers will be asked to monitor their lake(s) twice per month, weather permitting, and may spend one summer day with the Whitefish Lake Institute staff collecting water chemistry data. To learn more, visit www.nmln.info.

The NMLN spring training is scheduled for 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday, April 30 at Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks Region 1 headquarters (490 North Meridian Road, Kalispell). The training is open to new and current volunteers and will include basic water quality sampling protocols as well as a hands-on aquatic invasive plant and animal identification session. RSVP by April 20 to cynthia@whitefishlake.org.