|
Friends has been monitoring water quality in the Mad River since 1985 and has the longest continuous volunteer water quality monitoring dataset in the country. The work of our volunteers drives important conversations about water quality, the health of our watershed, climate resilience, and the stewardship of our natural resources.
A Note About 2023 We are continuing to pursue the goals of improving the usefulness of the data we collect to more directly inform stewardship action; tracking changes in the watershed over time; providing more opportunities for volunteers to meaningfully engage with the intangible beauty and peace that comes when we spend time along the river; and sharing what we all learn with the community in new ways. In 2023, Mad River Watch will look essentially the same as last year. Volunteers will visit their field sites six times through the course of the summer. You will collect data and make careful observations - and you will have opportunities to deepen your connection to your field sites. We will continue to explore the incorporation of additional apps, field methods, and learning as opportunities arise throughout the summer. To begin with, we are encouraging volunteers in 2023 to explore iNaturalist and help build out our body of wildlife observations. Behind the scenes we will be working to field-test the equipment and protocols for our coming ‘sentinel’ sites. |
Big or small, we all have an important perspective on the watershed.
|
Questions? Want to be a Mad River Watch Volunteer?
Please get in touch with us at info@friendsofthemadriver.org or call (802) 496-9127
Please get in touch with us at info@friendsofthemadriver.org or call (802) 496-9127
|
Thank you, Lawson's Finest Liquids, for sponsoring
Mad River Watch 2.0! The Lawson’s Finest Social Impact Program helps support thriving communities, including protecting our natural environment for generations to come.
|
|
"Lawson’s Finest is thrilled to partner with Friends of the Mad River. A healthy watershed starts with clean water in our streams and rivers, which in turn provides pristine ground water. We rely on Waitsfield's town water source on Scrag Mountain to make great beer, making it our most important resource to protect.”
-Sean Lawson, CEO and Founding Brewer at Lawson’s Finest Liquids |
The Mad River Watch Program is grounded in decades of water quality monitoring along the Mad River and its tributaries. The program connects community members to our watershed through the collection of high quality information at key monitoring sites throughout the valley. The work of our volunteers helps;
- To build public support for clean water
- To establish and maintain a long-term valley wide information base to help us evaluate the long-term health of the river and to take actions to improve and maintain it.
- To provide an enriching educational and practical experience for members of the Mad River Valley Community
- To increase public awareness of the connection between land use and water quality.
Photos by Kinny Perot, Shelby Semmes, Tyne Pike-Sprenger
Want to be a Mad River Watch Volunteer?
Please contact us at info@friendsofthemadriver.org or call (802) 496-9127