Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program

Volunteering as a network to combat the spread of invasive aquatic species is an initiative that the DNR loves taking advantage of. In general, the DNR recognizes volunteering as a productive way to get communities and a diverse set of actors involved in all sorts of Environmental problems. In 2014 the DNR has saved 7 million Dollars in active volunteering across all divisions. But, over the past 6 years MN DNR volunteering has dropped significantly, about 10,000 volunteers less in 2014 than they were in 2008. Although, volunteers for the Ecological and Water Resources division has gained about 1,500 volunteers in that time frame. The DNR is rolling out new volunteer opportunities that monitor the location and spread of aquatic invasive species.

The Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program is a citizen volunteer program that assists the DNR in the siting and geographical trends of zebra mussels. Volunteers act as an extension of the DNR, by reporting their findings directly to them. Volunteers mostly consist of residents who live along rivers and lakes, so this information is readily available in their backyard. These volunteers act as stakeholders since they are directly affected by AIS on their lakeshores, creating a proactive set of volunteers in the monitoring program. The reward of their voluntary actions is very direct by having a clean lake and recreationally usable lake, which also increases their lakeshore property value.

The classic tire in a river

 It’s required that registered volunteers submit at least one monetary report each year, but since monitoring is as easy as looking around the dock, many people go above and beyond that requirement. Volunteers can also set monetary devices, (basically an underwater buoy) to submit more controlled and specific data to the DNR. Volunteers are usually the first to discover the arrival of zebra mussels into new lakes, the significance of this cannot be understated because removal really only is possible in the early stages. If it wasn't for the diligence of the monetary volunteers, examples such as eradicating Christmas Lake (talked in earlier blogs) couldn't have been made possible.

The report for volunteers submit to DNR

The DNR has done monitoring techniques on their own but it is a really costly process and is unattainable to reach every lake or river in the state. Aside the Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program, volunteers can travel around and monitor lakes. There were 6 of these volunteers last summer and have saved roughly 10,000 in monitory costs. This just goes to show the economic importance of the Zebra Mussel Monitoring Program, so that spending can be focused on other aspects of the problem, such as the costs of herbicides and pesticides in the treatment process. It is also unfeasible for the DNR to obtain appropriate data on all lakes that are at risk of zebra mussels, so this network is a solution to monitoring a vast geographical area. The networking of these volunteers help connect a broader scale web and trends of AIS infestation across the state, a task that would be hard to accomplish by a single entity.

http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/volunteering/zebramussel_monitoring/index.html

http://gradworks.umi.com/15/46/1546091.html