Volunteer Monitors
The Conservation District conducts several monitor projects to track the health and sustainability of plants, butterflies, frogs, and water quality in the region. Monitoring programs are conducted in conjunction with other agencies for a more regional approach. In all cases, volunteers will be trained and the time commitment is minimal for this valuable service.
Butterfly Monitoring:
The Nature Conservancy organizes the Butterfly Monitoring Network that uses volunteers to monitor the health of butterfly populations several district sites. Volunteers are trained to collect and submit data each summer from an assigned site. They each commit to: conducting at least 6 site visits between June 1 and August 7, completing four of them before July 20; continuing for multiple seasons; spend 1 to 2 hours to walk the route during each visit; learn to identify 25 butterfly species the first year, and another 25 the second year; submit data sheets at the end of the season.
Training for the volunteers is held twice a year and ongoing support is provided from the network leaders. To join the Illinois Butterfly Monitoring Network, please call 847-464-4426 or visit their website at www.bfly.org.
Frog Monitoring:
Leap at the chance to become a frog monitor. Interested volunteers attend a training workshop to learn the techniques and protocol for monitoring frogs and toads by their calls. After completing the training, volunteers monitor MCCD areas or their own private wetlands. All monitors must be 18 years of age or older. The Conservation District works in conjunction with Chicago Wilderness to gather information on the abundance and distribution of frogs and toads throughout the region. For more information contact Sara Denham, MCCD Wildlife Resource Center Manager, at 815-728-8307, or check out www.habitatproject.org/frogs.
Plant Monitoring:
The McHenry County Conservation District joins efforts with Chicago Wilderness Plants of Concern: Monitoring Rare Species in Northeastern Illinois.
Plants of Concern is a regional, long-term monitoring program for state-listed and other rare plant species in NE Illinois. It is a program designed to gather standardized, regional monitoring data over time to learn population trends in relation to management practices.
The program is a collaboration of trained volunteer monitors working together with land managers and scientists. The data collected provides land managers with information that helps them to set management goals for species within a community context and to evaluate management practices. This long term project is part of the Chicago Wilderness Biodiversity Recovery Plan goal to assess, research, protect and recover the region’s rare plants.
Volunteers of all skill levels are needed to help with monitoring rare species in the Chicago area. For more information visit their website at www.plantsofconcern.org.
Water Monitoring:
Dedicated people or groups volunteer their time at least once a year to venture into the Fox River or one of its tributaries, like Nippersink Creek, to collect water quality data for Friends of the Fox River. Volunteers collect physical, biological and chemical data that can be used to make valuable decisions about water quality in different communities. Membership in the Fox River Monitoring Network is free. Members receive newsletters and announcements of environmental learning opportunities, and offer you ways to network with other like-minded citizens.