Stream Team

It's that time! We are accepting applications for Stream Team volunteers for the 2021 sampling season!

The next training and sampling season starts in September

Click here for an application and information

A Citizen Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Program

Are you intrigued by the wonders of streams and interested in learning more about how they function? Across the nation, an ever increasing number of volunteers are taking up the challenge of stream monitoring. The Skagit Stream Team is a network of local citizens concerned about the health of local streams. Stream Team volunteers are trained to work in teams to collect water quality data on stream reaches located in Skagit County’s three priority watersheds: the Nookachamps Creek Watershed; the Padilla Bay Watershed; and the Samish Watershed. Volunteers preferring" dry feet” are trained to conduct fecal coliform and turbidity tests at the Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve lab facility. The Skagit Stream Team Program utilizes standard operating procedures and a Quality Assurance/Quality Control Plan to train participants and to assure that the best data is collected.

Key Volunteer Roles Include the Following:

Stream Team Field Monitors: The field volunteers are responsible for collecting and recording water quality data at assigned stream reaches on a monthly basis. Please note that this position may require walking on rocky, steep, and/or uneven terrain.
Stream Team Lab Managers: Those who prefer “dry feet” are trained to conduct fecal coliform and turbidity tests at the Padilla Bay Research Reserve lab facility.
Data Managers: The data manager provides support by entering monitoring data in a spreadsheet and generating graphs and charts for the year end monitoring report.

All Stream Team Volunteers have the opportunity to learn new skills, gain new insights, network with local experts, meet new friends, and participate in a worthwhile community program. Stream Team Volunteers are supplied with a manual, equipment, supplies, and FREE TRAINING.

Goals of the Skagit Stream Team Program:

To inspire community stewardship in regards to water quality and to teach community volunteers the sampling and analytical techniques used by professionals and the importance of establishing a long-term water quality monitoring program;

To develop and implement a routine sampling program that can be used to assess water quality trends, and to characterize existing conditions; and

To document improvements in water quality as a result of the implementation of Best Management Practices (BMP’s) on farmlands and the repair and/or replacement of failing septic systems.