The Department of Environmental Quality and the Great Lakes Commission (GLC) today announced the release of two grant opportunities for volunteer stream monitoring in Michigan: the Volunteer Stream Monitoring Grant Program and the Volunteer Stream Monitoring Start-Up Grant Program.

The Volunteer Stream Monitoring Grant Program provides grants for water quality monitoring in wadeable streams and rivers. The grants may be used to fund a local monitoring coordinator and/or purchase water quality monitoring supplies. Local units of government and nonprofit entities are eligible to receive grant funding.

$50,000 is available this year to fund organizations that seek to implement community-based volunteer programs to monitor macroinvertebrates and habitat characteristics. The Grant Application Package, which includes grant information and application instructions, is available online at: http://www.micorps.net/app/gap09. Questions about the stream monitoring grant should be directed to Paul Steen, Huron River Watershed Council, at 734 769 5123, Extension 14, or psteen@hrwc.org.

The Volunteer Stream Monitoring Start-Up Grant Program provides funding for newly forming volunteer monitoring groups to assist these new groups in designing a monitoring strategy for their community and aid in the development a full proposal for the 2010 Volunteer Stream Monitoring Grant Program.

Start-up grant recipients will have access to MiCorps resources and training and can use the start-up money to conduct research on a monitoring project and strategy. Local units of government and nonprofit organizations are eligible to receive grant funding.

Up to $10,000 will be available for start-up grants, with multiple grants expected in the $1,000 to $3,000 range. The Grant Application Package, which includes grant information and application instructions, is available online at: http://www.micorps.net/app/startup09. Questions about the start-up grants should be directed to Joan Martin, Huron River Watershed Council, at 734-769-5123, Extension 11, or jmartin@hrwc.org.

The grants awarded through the MiCorps Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program provide training and support for the volunteer groups to help them collect quality data on the state's water resources. The data is used to support the DEQ's efforts to protect and manage the state's water resources.

Now in its fifth year, the MiCorps Program was established by Governor Jennifer M. Granholm to involve and assist the state's volunteer water quality organizations in water quality assessments, protection, and stewardship of lakes and rivers. To date, the program has awarded nearly $450,000 in monitoring grants to volunteer organizations.

For more information, visit the MiCorps Web site at http://www.micorps.net. Information is also available by contacting Matt Doss, GLC, at mdoss@glc.org or John Wuycheck, MDEQ, at 517-335-4195 or by e-mail at wuycheckj@michigan.gov.

Editor's note: DEQ news releases are available on the department's Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

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