Progress 09/15/04 to 08/31/09

Outputs
OUTPUTS: We have successfully met the goals and objective of our project, our outputs are summarized as follows. Our flagship website and virtual program hub www.usawaterquality.org/volunteer connects the expertise, activities and products of more than 50 Extension affiliated volunteer monitoring programs in 44 states within the Extension Volunteer Monitoring Network. Featuring direct links to programs, their monitoring manuals and training materials, research related to volunteer monitoring, and our factsheet learning modules, the site contains links from nearly 400 external websites. Updated regularly, ours is the only national volunteer monitoring website with such timely and comprehensive content. The volunteer monitoring listserv associated with our project has nearly 400 members exchanging advice and information. We have created the only archive of volunteer monitoring listserv postings, with exchanges on nearly 90 topics. Through this project we have made over 50 presentations and led 16 workshops and trainings in 22 states and in Canada, as well as to tribal audiences. All of our presentations are archived on the website, providing viewers the opportunity to review what has been presented as well as to learn what we can present. We co-presented a highly acclaimed EPA webcast on volunteer monitoring. We co-sponsored the 2006 National Water Quality Monitoring Council conference, resulting in the highest proportion of volunteer monitoring participants in any of their conferences before or since. We participated on all 3 of the biennial conference planning committees during this period, ensuring a continued presence of volunteer monitoring issues and presenters. We were keynote speakers at a number of state and regional volunteer monitoring conferences including the 2007 Cornell Citizen Science Toolkit conference where we facilitated the connection between citizen science and volunteer monitoring efforts. We held workshops at all five USDA CSREES national water conferences during this project period, involving CSREES professionals from around the country as well as staff from other national facilitation projects to provide training to water quality extension, research and outreach professionals. The workshops complement and supplement our factsheet learning modules. We completed our twelve module Guide for Growing Programs series. The fact sheets provide a compilation of expert advice on starting a volunteer monitoring program, as well as improving and increasing the capacity of programs already underway. They range in length from two to sixteen pages and contain numerous links to resources developed by other volunteer monitoring programs, specialty groups, and agencies that relate to and support the citizen monitoring efforts. PARTICIPANTS: Linda T. Green, Principal Investigator and Project Director, was responsible for project oversight, ensuring goals and objectives were met, timeline followed, and was also fiscal officer. She contributed to and critically reviewed all publications and other outputs. She helped organize and present workshops and made presentations across the country as a part of this project. She represented and promoted this project as volunteer monitoring representative to the National Water Quality Monitoring Council. Arthur J. Gold, co-PI provided overall guidance to the project and contributed the perspective of the New England region and was a liaison from this project to the Committee for Shared Leadship. Robin Shepard, co-PI, provided overall guidance to the project, contributed the perspective of Great Lakes region and was a liaison from this project to the Committee for Shared Leadship. Elizabeth Herron, co-PI, researched and was the lead author for most of the factsheet learning modules and other outputs produced by this project. She organized and led workshops and made presentations across the country in support of this project. She represented and promoted this project to the New England region as regional volunteer monitoring focus area leader. Kristine Stepenuck was main project staff. She was the webmaster for the project and also maintained the project listserv. She organized project inquiries and assessments. She helped organize, led workshops and made presentations across the country in support of this project. She researched and was an author of many of the factsheet learning modules and other outputs produced by this project. Partner Organizations: University of Rhode Island Cooperative Extension, University of Rhode Island College of the Environment and Life Sciences, University of Rhode Island Department of Natural Resources Science, URI Watershed Watch program, University of Wisconsin Extension, Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, Wisconsin Water Action Volunteers program, and Wisconsin Discovery Farms program. Collaborators and Contacts: Alice Mayio, US Environmental Protection Agency, Eleanor Ely, The Volunteer Monitor newsletter, Extension affiliated volunteer monitoring programs across the country, Non-Extension volunteer monitoring programs across the county, NEMO national facilitation project staff, Tribal Colleges and Universities Facilitation Project staff, and Best Education Practices facilitation project staff. Delivery of training was the core project activity and is summarized in the narratives above. Project PI's and staff provided training at the following national venues - annual CSREES National Water conferences, biennial National Water Quality Monitoring conferences, annual North American Lake Management Society International Symposia, at several Association of Natural Resources and Extension Professional conferences, and at annual Enhancing the States' Lake Management conferences. Overall training was provided at sixteen project-sponsored or affiliated workshops and 54 non-workshop presentations in 22 states by staff of this project. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences included individuals and organizations that were considering starting volunteer monitoring programs as well as those already involved with volunteer monitoring programs, Extension agents and other Extension professionals. Environmental agency professionals (county through national) were also targeted, to encourage their support of volunteer monitoring programs. Local to statewide organizations and agencies that are potential and actual recipients of volunteer monitoring program results were also targeted. Tribal colleges and universities were targeted as well. Informal education, extension and outreach efforts included: project website and listserv creation and utilization; research, development, promotion and distribution of factsheet learning modules to build capacity of target audiences for science-based volunteer monitoring, as well as workshops and presentations conducted in association with the factsheet learning modules at venues ranging from the county to national level such as conferences, including tribal conferences. Workshops ranged in length from several hours to several days and were often conducted at the invitation of external sponsoring organizations. Factsheet sets were sent to all statewide Extension Water Quality Coordinators. Articles about the project outputs and tools were published in The Volunteer Monitor newsletter. Sixteen workshops and 54 non-workshops presentations were were delivered during this project. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
As a result of our efforts we have become national service provider leaders for volunteer water quality monitoring, with no other national organization providing such timely and comprehensive information and services. All of our products are freely available over the internet to anyone who is interested; there has been broad access to our outputs and products. Thus our impact extends far beyond Extension affiliated programs. They include better communication, information sharing, and coordination among Extension and other volunteer monitoring programs, researchers, and partners within states, across regions, nationally and even to Mexico and Canada. Our efforts have led to interest within Tribal Colleges and Universities in exploring involving Native American communities in volunteer monitoring on tribal lands. In all this has led to stronger and more strategic partnerships within and external to Extension. The wide diversity of organizations that have linked to our website as a principal resource for volunteer monitoring helps leverage resources for local communities, but also shows the value of and need for the information being generated through our project. Our presentations and workshops to diverse audiences have fostered increased interest in the use of volunteer data. Increased numbers and longevity of Extension volunteer monitoring programs have led to increased ability of local decision-makers to understand how to assess, interpret and use monitoring data, and thus increase their capacity for watershed management and public policy development. . A much -appreciated confirmation of our impact was our successful application for four years of NIFA funding to move the environmental volunteer monitoring network to the next level.

Publications

• Herron, Elizabeth, Kristine Stepenuck, and Linda T. Green. 2009. Tools for Effective Outreach. Factsheet Module XII, Guide for Growing CSREES Volunteer Monitoring Programs, 6 pages. CELS contribution #5157, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI. Available on web site www.usawaterquality.org/volunteer
• Herron, Elizabeth, Kristine Stepenuck, and Linda T. Green. 2009. Fundraising for Volunteer Monitoring. Factsheet Module XI, Guide for Growing CSREES Volunteer Monitoring Programs, 12 pages. CELS contribution #5158, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI. Available on web site www.usawaterquality.org/volunteer

Progress 10/01/07 to 09/30/08

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Our flagship website www.usawaterquality.org/volunteer connects the expertise and products of more than 50 volunteer monitoring programs in 40 states within the Extension Volunteer Monitoring Network. Featuring direct links to programs' monitoring manuals and training materials, research related to volunteer monitoring (VM), and our factsheet learning modules, the site draws links from about 300 external websites, demonstrating its value as a resource. Broadening the range of stewardship options accessed via the website we added Master Naturalists, of which 19 of 26 are Extension-sponsored. Our regular updates ensure the site is timely and responsive. We highlighted Georgia Adopt-A-Wetland and added 25 recently discussed topics to our listserve archives. We gave presentations and workshops in 7 states, at both regional and national events, addressing local citizens, VM coordinators, tribal leaders and educators, researchers and outreach scientists. Frequently coordinators from local VM programs partnered with us in these efforts. In October we worked with Georgia Adopt-a-Wetland, Oklahoma Blue Thumb, and the Changing Public Behaviors National Facilitation Project to conduct a workshop on Volunteer Management and Support at the CSREES Southern Region Water Conference. In November we participated in a special session of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry's North American Annual Meeting, presenting "Translating Science to the Community through Volunteer Monitoring". In conjunction with the New England Region, we held a day-long workshop "Got Data Cool Tools for Effective Data Presentation". In December we hosted a full-day VM workshop at the First American Land-Grant Colleges and Organization Network conference, which included tribal college leaders as co-presenters. In February we hosted a workshop "Putting it All Together - Using Data to Tell the Story" at the CSREES National Water Conference, and debuted a new learning module with presentation tips. In April we presented "Data to Effect Change - Volunteer Monitoring Makes a Difference" at Clean Rivers, Clean Lakes V. In May we joined with Danielle Donkersloot from NJ Dept. of Environmental Protection to present the Data presentation workshop at the National Water Quality Monitoring Conference. We also hosted a meeting of VM program coordinators there to facilitate networking and conduct an informal needs assessment. Also in May we presented "Becoming Outstanding in the Field: Resources to Help Volunteer Monitoring Programs Get Up and Running" at the Association of Natural Resources Extension Professionals Conference. In June PI Linda Green was an invited speaker at a celebration of VM at the New England NALMS Conference in Vermont. In September we presented a workshop on "Getting Started in Volunteer Monitoring: Things to Think about before Wading into the Water" at the Alliance of Natural Resource Outreach and Service Programs Conference, as well as two other presentations about our factsheet modules. We ended the year with a presentation on "Successfully Incorporating Volunteer Monitoring into NPS Monitoring Efforts" at the National Nonpoint Source Monitoring Conference. PARTICIPANTS: Linda T. Green is PD/PI. She actively oversees all the activities and ouputs, conducts workshops & training sessions and makes presentations,writes reports and is in charge of all fiscal decisions and makes sure the project is on-track. Arthur Gold & Robin Shepard are co-PI's. They provides advice and direction for the project and are a direct interface with the NIWQIP Committee for Shared Leadership. Elizabeth Herron is co-PI and key staff. She researches and writes factsheet learning modules, conducts workshops & training sessions and makes presentations. Kristine Stepenuck is also a key staff person. She is in charge of the project website, contributes substantively to factsheet learning modules, conducts workshops & training sessions and makes presentations. Partner organizations include the Univ. of Rhode Island and the Univ. of Wisconsin. Collaborators and contacts include all the CSREES regional water projects, CSREES and non-CSREES volunteer monitoring programs, US EPA Office of Watershed, Oceans and Wetlands, the National Water Quality Monitoring Council, state agency volunteer monitoring program coordinators, The Volunteer Monitor newsletter editorial board. The overarching focus of the project is training and capacity development for volunteer monitoring coordinators thoughout the nation. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences are primarily volunteer monitoring program coordinators working at community, watershed or statewide scale. Target audiences also include Native American tribes and tribal college educators and underserved groups. Efforts include workshops & training sessions held at watershed, statewide, regional, and national venues. PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.

Impacts
We have assumed a leadership role as a national service provider for volunteer water quality monitoring. Impacts include better communication, information sharing, and coordination among Extension volunteer monitoring programs, researchers, and partners within states, across regions, and nationally, leading to stronger and more strategic partnerships within and external to Extension. The wide diversity of organizations that have linked to our website as a principal resource for volunteer monitoring helps leverage resources for local communities, but also shows the value of and need for the information being generated through our project. Our presentations and workshops to diverse audiences have fostered increased interest in the use of volunteer data, including an invitation to conduct a workshop at next year's National Nonpoint Source Monitoring Conference. Increased numbers and longevity of Extension volunteer monitoring programs will lead to increased ability of local decision-makers to understand how to assess, interpret and use monitoring data, and thus increase their capacity for watershed management and public policy development.

Publications

• Stepenuck, Kristine, Elizabeth M. Herron, and Linda T. Green. 2008. Tips and Tools for Presenting Water Quality Data Effectively. Factsheet Module X, Guide for Growing CSREES Volunteer Monitoring Programs, 2 pages. CELS contribution, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI. Available on web site www.usawaterquality.org/volunteer

Progress 01/01/07 to 12/31/07

Outputs
OUTPUTS: Our flagship website www.usawaterquality.org/volunteer connects the programs, expertise and products within the Extension Volunteer Monitoring network. There are now more than 50 Extension volunteer monitoring programs listed and linked. In fact, programs outside CSREES are now requesting to be added. The website features direct links to individual program monitoring manuals, research related to volunteer monitoring, project training materials, and our factsheet learning modules. Our ability to quickly update our website has kept it fresh and responsive. Utah Lake Watch and New Hampshire's Great Bay Coast Watch were featured as highlighted programs this year. We added a topically organized publications section as a shortcut to many online- resources. For example there are links to 18 relevant on-line publications on the topic of getting started in volunteer monitoring and 27 links to nitrogen factsheets and information. We added a "Breaking News" section to highlight noteworthy achievements of volunteer monitoring programs and staff throughout the country. We gave presentations and workshops in 9 states, at venues ranging from regional workshops to national conferences, with participants ranging from local citizens and volunteer monitoring coordinators to tribal leaders and research and outreach scientists. Frequently coordinators from local volunteer monitoring programs partnered with us in these efforts. In February we hosted a workshop on Building Credibility in Volunteer Monitoring Programs at the CSREES National Water Conference. It included presenters from Alabama Water Watch and Ohio Extension. In March we discussed "Meeting the Challenge of Volunteer Monitoring" with local coordinators in Vermont. In April we gave a plenary presentation on "Integrating Volunteers into State- and National- Level Lake Surveys" to state and federal biologists in Chicago. In June we presented "Reaping the Rewards of Volunteer Monitoring" in Connecticut to NE lake monitors. Also in June PI Linda Green was an invited plenary presenter at Cornell's Citizen Science Toolkit Conference in Ithaca, where she spoke on "Engaging, Enhancing, and Expanding Community-Based Programs". Their Citizen Science Toolkit website now features our factsheet modules. In October we worked with Georgia Adopt-a-Stream, Oklahoma Blue Thumb, and the Changing Public Behaviors National Facilitation Project to conduct a workshop on Volunteer Management and Support at the CSREES Southern Region Water Conference in Arkansas. In November we gave an invited presentation at a special session of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry's North American Annual Meeting in Milwaukee, presenting "Translating Science to the Community through Volunteer Monitoring". In conjunction with the New England Region, we held a day-long workshop "Got Data? Cool Tools for Effective Data Presentation" at EPA Region I Laboratory in MA. The final workshop of the year was at the First American Land-Grant Colleges & Organization Network conference in Las Vegas, which included tribal college leaders as co-presenters. 93% of aggregated evaluations rank these workshops as very useful or useful. PARTICIPANTS: Linda T. Green is PD/PI. She actively oversees all the activities and ouputs, conducts workshops & training sessions and makes presentations,writes reports and is in charge of all fiscal decisions and makes sure the project is on-track. Arthur Gold & Robin Shepard are co-PI's. They provides advice and direction for the project and are a direct interface with the NIWQIP Committee for Shared Leadership. Elizabeth Herron is co-PI and key staff. She researches and writes factsheet learning modules, conducts workshops & training sessions and makes presentations. Kristine Stepenuck is also a key staff person. She is in charge of the project website, contributes substantively to factsheet learning modules, conducts workshops & training sessions and makes presentations. Partner organizations include the Univ. of Rhode Island and the Univ. of Wisconsin. Collaborators and contacts include all the CSREES regional water projects, CSREES and non-CSREES volunteer monitoring programs, US EPA Office of Watershed, Oceans and Wetlands, the National Water Quality Monitoring Council, state agency volunteer monitoring program coordinators, The Volunteer Monitor newsletter editorial board. The overarching focus of the project is training and capacity development for volunteer monitoring coordinators thoughout the nation. TARGET AUDIENCES: Target audiences are primarily volunteer monitoring program coordinators working at community, watershed or statewide scale. Target audiences also include Native American tribes and tribal college educators and underserved groups. Efforts include workshops & training sessions held at watershed, statewide, regional, and national venues.

Impacts
We have assumed a leadership role as a national service provider for volunteer water quality monitoring. Impacts include better communication, information sharing, and coordination among Extension volunteer monitoring programs, researchers, and partners within states, across regions, and nationally, leading to stronger and more strategic partnerships within and external to Extension. Increased numbers and longevity of Extension volunteer monitoring programs will lead to increased ability of local decision-makers to understand how to assess, interpret and use monitoring data, and thus increased capacity for watershed management and public policy development.

Publications

• No publications reported this period

Progress 01/01/06 to 12/31/06

Outputs
Period 10/01/2005 to 12/31/06. We have made significant progress in fulfilling the objectives, and thus meeting the goals of this project. Our flagship website www.usawaterquality.org/volunteer connects the programs, expertise and products within the Extension Volunteer Monitoring network and presents programs in a coherent, organized framework to stakeholders, decision makers and partners. There are now nearly 50 Extension sponsored or affiliated volunteer monitoring programs listed and linked to on the website. The content of the website has been well received, with direct links to individual program monitoring manuals, research related to volunteer monitoring, and project training materials and fact sheets. In this past year we added two factsheet modules, one on Volunteer Management and Support and one on Data Management Systems. In particular, our ability to update and revise our website readily has considerably increased its utility. The newest section, with an accompanying factsheet, archives exchanges from our project listserv CSREESvolmon-list@uwex.edu and that of US EPA, and now houses exchanges on over 60 topics. The listserv itself has over 300 members. We held presentations and workshops throughout the year. The most sought-after topic was Getting Started in Volunteer Monitoring. We held a workshop on that topic at the Southern Region Biennial conference in Oct. 2005; then expanded it into a 2 day volunteer monitoring planning workshop in SW Michigan in Jan. 2006. This workshop was repeated at the NWQMC conference in CA in May 2006. From the positive feedback received, EPA's Watershed Academy invited us to present it in a nationwide Webcast in October 2006. The sold-out webcast had participants from 36 states and several foreign countries and is archived on their site. Additionally, we held a joint workshop at the 2006 USDA-CSREES National Water Quality Conferences with the NEMO National Facilitation Project as a springboard to launch joint efforts between our projects. We co-sponsored and co-hosted the highly successful National Water Quality Monitoring Councils May 2006 National Conference. Project PI Linda Green, also volunteer monitoring representative to NWQMC, was a conference co-chair. All staff played significant roles. This was the first national conference where volunteer monitoring programs enjoyed status comparable to state and federal agencies. Participants increased their knowledge base, created and strengthened linkages with agencies and each other, and demonstrated their breadth and expertise. We arranged travel scholarships for 20 attendees, including tribal representatives and graduate students, with the strong support of nearly all NIWQP regions, some of whom sponsored their own regional representatives. 30% of workshops and 11% of concurrent sessions were devoted to volunteer monitoring. Volunteer monitoring presentations were integrated into an additional 30% of concurrent sessions. We sponsored a booth for all coordinators to show their materials and gather informally, a side meeting to discuss issues, and developed and distributed a volunteer monitoring needs assessment to help guide our future efforts.

Impacts
We have assumed a leadership role as a national service provider for volunteer water quality monitoring. Impacts include better communication, information sharing, and coordination among Extension volunteer monitoring programs, researchers, and partners within states, across regions, and nationally, leading to stronger and more strategic partnerships within and external to Extension. Increased numbers and longevity of Extension volunteer monitoring programs will lead to increased ability of local decision-makers to understand how to assess, interpret and use monitoring data, and thus increased capacity for watershed management and public policy development.

Publications

• Herron, Elizabeth M, Linda T. Green, and Kris Stepenuck. 2006. Volunteer Management and Support. Factsheet Module VIII, Guide for Growing CSREES Volunteer Monitoring Programs. CELS contribution 5071, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island.
• Stepenuck, Kristine, Elizabeth M. Herron, and Linda T. Green. 2006 . Considerations in Planning your Programs Data Management System. Factsheet Module IX, Guide for Growing CSREES Volunteer Monitoring Programs. CELS contribution 5072, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island.
• Herron Elizabeth M, Linda T. Green, and Stepenuck, Kristine. 2006 . Sharing Information Through Internet Exchanges. Factsheet Module VII, Guide for Growing CSREES Volunteer Monitoring Programs. CELS contribution 5077, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, Rhode Island.

Progress 10/01/04 to 09/30/05

Outputs
We have made significant progress in fulfilling the objectives, and thus meeting the goals of this project. This first year of the renewed project overlapped with the extended final year of the original project. We conducted an assessment of the original project via our project listserv members. Most respondents learned of the project through a conference or workshop, followed by information received from state Extension water quality coordinators. The most highly rated results of attending workshops were an increased knowledge of volunteer monitoring program management and enhanced networking opportunities. All respondents strongly agreed or agreed with recommending materials and services from this project. Our website www.usawaterquality.org/volunteer showcases and strengthens the National Volunteer Monitoring Network, as well as maintains and expands links to the NIWQP National and regional websites. The project website connects the programs, expertise and products within the Extension Volunteer Monitoring Network and presents programs in a coherent, organized framework to stakeholders, decision makers and partners. There are now a total of 45 Extension sponsored or affiliated volunteer monitoring programs listed and linked to on the website. These programs began as early as 1978 and as recently as 2004. The content of the website has been well received, with direct links to individual program monitoring manuals, research related to volunteer monitoring, and project training materials and fact sheets. In this last year we have made particular effort to search out papers and studies comparing volunteer with professional monitoring, adding to the research base of this project and also validating the efforts of volunteer monitoring programs. We added a section to the website which topically archives exchanges from our project listserv CSREESvolmon-list@uwex.edu and that of US EPA. Our listserv has grown to several hundred members. Our most recent factsheet module in the Guide for Growing CSREES Volunteer Monitoring Program, Building Credibility: Quality Assurance and Quality Control for Volunteer Monitoring Programs has been particularly well received, and has become the most-sought after of all the modules. Presentations and workshops were held in 10 states throughout the year, at venues ranging from statewide volunteer monitoring workshops to national conferences. We organized and held a half-day volunteer monitoring coordinator workshop at the 2005 USDA-CSREES National Water Quality Conferences and plan to continue to do so throughout the project. Project PI Linda Green, volunteer monitoring representative on the National Water Quality Monitoring Council is a co-chair of its May 2006 biennial National Water Quality Monitoring Conference. This national facilitation project is a major sponsor of this conference. At this conference volunteer monitoring programs will share the stage with state and federal agencies. Project staff have been instrumental in helping to organize the conference and in seeking out presenters. All project staff will hold workshops and have organized multiple presentation sessions.

Impacts
Expected impacts include better communication, information sharing, and coordination among Extension volunteer monitoring programs, researchers, and partners within states, across regions, and nationally, leading to stronger and more numerous program partnerships within and external to Extension, Increased numbers and longevity of Extension volunteer monitoring programs will lead to increased ability of local decision-makers to understand how to assess, interpret and use monitoring data, and thus increased capacity for watershed management and public policy development.

Publications

• Herron, E., L. Green, K. Stepenuck and K. Addy. 2004. Building Credibility: Quality Assurance and Quality Control for Volunteer Monitoring Programs. Factsheet VI. Guide to Growing CSREES Monitoring Programs. CELS Contribution #4083, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI.

Progress 09/15/04 to 12/31/04

Outputs
We intend to strengthen the integration of volunteer monitoring within CSREES water quality research, education, and extension programs to help address NIWQP goals. Improved integration will be accomplished through increased communication between NIWQP regional committees and new and existing Extension volunteer monitoring programs, and through the development and dissemination of additional resource materials targeted to Extension volunteer monitoring programs. Our overall focus will be to 1) build on existing strengths to expand the capacity and number of Extension volunteer monitoring programs, 2) strengthen regional connections between Extension Volunteer Monitoring Network programs 3) bring volunteer monitoring into the mainstream of NIWQP efforts, and 4) bring Extension into the mainstream of national monitoring efforts. Our website www.usawaterquality.org/volunteer showcases and strengthens the National Volunteer Monitoring Network, as well as maintains and expands links to the NIWQP National and regional websites. The project website communicates and connects the products, expertise and programs within the Extension Volunteer Monitoring Network and presents programs in a coherent, organized framework to stakeholders, decision makers and partners. The content of the website has been well received, with direct links to Network program monitoring manuals, research related to volunteer monitoring, and project training materials and fact sheets. We organized and prepared a half-day volunteer monitoring coordinator workshop for the 2005 USDA-CSREES National Water Quality Conferences. Project PI Linda Green has been selected as one of the chairs of the 2006 National Water Quality Monitoring Council Conference and is focusing her efforts on planning for a multi-session nationwide volunteer monitoring conference in association with this conference.

Impacts
Expected impacts include better communication, information sharing, and coordination among Extension volunteer monitoring programs, researchers, and partners within states, across regions, and nationally, leading to stronger and more numerous program partnerships within and external to Extension, Increased numbers and longevity of Extension volunteer monitoring programs will lead to increased ability of local decision-makers to understand how to assess, interpret and use monitoring data, and thus increased capacity for watershed management and public policy development.

Publications

• No publications reported this period