The Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps) hosts an annual volunteer monitoring conference each fall. The conference provides an excellent opportunity to stay up to date on monitoring methods and to meet and interact with other volunteer monitors.

The 2021 MiCorps Conference will be held November 17, 2021, online via Zoom. Registration is free!

Conference agenda – All times are in ET

9 a.m. Welcome
Tamara Lipsey, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE)

9:15 a.m. Morning Keynote – MiCorps information supports fisheries management
Dr. Joe Nohner, Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR)

10 a.m. Break

10:15 a.m. MiCorps: What’s up and what’s new?
MiCorps Team

11 a.m. Breakout sessions – choose one:
I collected lake data – now what does it mean? How to interpret CLMP data and reports
Erick Elgin, MSU Extension
Dr. Paul Steen, Huron River Watershed Council (HRWC)
or
MiCorps’ macroinvertebrate scoring and the tricky Diptera – a review
Tamara Lipsey, EGLE
Dr. Paul Steen, HRWC

12 p.m. Lunch

1 p.m. Afternoon keynote – Water stewardship: collaborating for a better future
Kat Kavanagh, Water Rangers

1:45 p.m. Breakout sessions – choose one:
Moving forward with innovation – a riparian’s effort to improve our lakes
Craig Kivi, Golden Drake Realty
or
Invertebrates to know: the endangered Hungerford’s crawling water beetle and the invasive New Zealand mudsnail
Carrie Tansy, US Fish and Wildlife Service
Emily Burke, Grass River Natural Area, Inc.

2:30 p.m. Break

2:45 p.m. Breakout sessions – choose one:
Help! I need help getting help! How to recruit helpers for your monitoring outings
Jason Frenzel, HRWC
or
An appreciation of the slime growing in your favorite lake or stream: all about algae!
Dr. Julianne Heinlein, Great Lakes Environmental Center

3:30 p.m. MiCorps: Ask Us Anything
MiCorps Team

4 p.m. Adjourn