Dakota County, Minnesota Volunteer Monitoring Program (Minnesota BAWWG Case Study)

Last Updated: March 2000

Contact Information

Charlotte Shover
Environmental Education Coordinator
Dakota Co. Environmental Education Program
4100 220th St. West
Farmington, MN 55024-9539
E-mail: Charlotte Shover (cshover@extension.umn.edu)

Purpose(s) of Project

The Minnesota Pollution Control Agency is training volunteers from Dakota County towns to assess the biological integrity of wetlands in a pilot project. The volunteers learn sampling methods; quality assurance protocols; and how to identify plants, insects, and other animals living in the wetlands. Initial results indicate that the volunteer assessments, although not as rigorous as the professional assessments, provide repeatable results that are consistent with the more detailed assessments.