Celebrating 40 Years of Protecting Northern Michigan's Water Resources
​​Protecting Northern Michigan's water resources since 1979.
(231) 347-1181
Monday-Friday 8:30 AM - 5:00 PM

Volunteer Opportunities

Northern Michigan's rivers, lakes, Great Lakes, wetlands, and groundwater need all the help they can get to remain the vital resources that we know and love. If you're interested in a hands-on approach to water resource protection, then the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council is the place for you!
​Volunteering can be performed on a long-term basis, such as a few hours every week, or by simply lending a hand with a special project.

Call (231) 347-1181 for current volunteer opportunities. 
Avian botulism monitoring
​Loons, scoters, grebes, and piping plovers are among thousands of birds found dead on the Lake Michigan shoreline in recent years. Type E botulism has been confirmed as the cause of death by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) in bird carcasses collected from numerous locations along the Lake Michigan shoreline. Each fall, reports of dead birds from Grand Traverse Bay to Sturgeon Bay are phoned in to the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council office, where staff respond and work with Michigan Sea Grant and the MDNR to track bird and fish fatalities in affected areas. 
lake monitoring
​Presently, volunteers monitor 35 lakes spread throughout Antrim, Charlevoix, Cheboygan, Emmet, and Montmorency Counties (map below). The objectives of the program are to collect baseline data, characterize lake ecosystems, identify specific water quality problems, determine water quality trends, and, most importantly, inform and educate the public regarding water quality issues and aquatic ecology. Monitoring water quality does not ensure clean water, but rather provides valuable information to help protect and improve water quality in the lakes of northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan.
stream monitoring
​Many lakes in Northern Michigan have been monitored by volunteers for over 30 years. Dedicated volunteers venture out onto the lakes every week during the summer months to collect invaluable water quality data that is used by many organizations and residents in efforts to preserve and improve the health of our lakes. Obviously, volunteers are working hard to monitor lake water quality, but what about streams? Do streams potentially impact the water quality of the lakes that they flow into? Should they be monitored? We at the Watershed Council think so and have thus, embarked upon a new voyage up into the streams that feed into our pristine lakes, with volunteer crews willing and ready to monitor in unfamiliar, yet ecologically critical waters.
watershed action volunteer experience 
WAVE provides technical and financial support for groups demonstrating the importance of water resource stewardship at the local level. ​
Watershed Advisory Committees
​Collaborations and partnerships are the foundation of the Watershed Council’s success. We strive to develop cooperative relationships that advance water quality and nurture Northern Michigan’s local economy. With input from local, regional and state sources -- such as governments, nonprofits, funders, program participants and residents – the Council is able to address the needs of the watershed communities we serve.