Through the program, students and community groups maintain a stream and its tributaries, watching for pollution, erosion, and activities that might disrupt fish spawning. County employees help residents protect and rehabilitate local streams. Projects included building fish ladders, clean-ups, fencing cattle out of streams and becoming active in local land use decision making processes. Environmental Partnerships One of the principal objectives of Missouri Stream Teams is to promote water quality monitoring of the State's streams. However, the program, now 4 years old, also addresses fish, forest and even wildlife problems associated with Missouri's streams.
Volunteers also conduct user perception surveys.
The Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary's more than 125 volunteers assist with ten staff-conducted studies as well as numerous public events. Besides conducting water quality monitoring, volunteers help with other efforts to protect and preserve habitats in the Patuxent River watershed. TU provides technical assistance to many of its chapters which participate annually in dozens of on-going water monitoring and river restoration projects. More than 16,000 Center for Marine Conservation volunteers in 32 states and 35 foreign countries collect and catalog tons of trash from beaches. The Central Office is also a clearinghouse of teaching and monitoring strategies to study water quality.