Northwest Montana Lakes Network in need of citizen science volunteers

The Northwest Montana Lakes Network is looking for lakeshore property owners and water recreationists to become citizen scientist volunteers. 

There are 41 lakes in the program, and many need volunteers to collect water quality data, monitor for aquatic invasive species, and promote watershed stewardship in Northwest Montana.  

A few of the lakes in need of volunteers are Ashley Lake, Lake Blaine, Bootjack Lake, Upper and Lower Stillwater Lake, Murphy Lake, Smith Lake, Spencer Lake and Upper Whitefish Lake.  

Volunteers 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 mid-lake sample site.  

The spring training date is Wednesday, May 6 from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m., at Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks region 1 headquarters at 490 N. Meridian Rd. in Kalispell. This training is open to new and current volunteers and will include basic water quality sampling protocols as well as an aquatic invasive plant and animal identification session led by FWP AIS experts.  

For more information or to RSVP by April 29 to [email protected], or call the Whitefish Lake Institute at 406.862.4327. 

The Northwest Montana Lakes Network is a partnership between the Whitefish Lake Institute and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. To learn more and explore data dashboards for each program lake, visit: www.nmln.info