The Volunteer Monitor, Vol. The National Newsletter of Volunteer Water Quality Monitoring Vol. Well, they could do worse than to call on local citizen volunteers. In water bodies around the nation, volunteer monitors are serving as sentinels to detect exotic invaders and help prevent their spread.
Monitoring lakes for Eurasian milfoil appears to be the most widespread activity.
Also common are watching for zebra mussels in lakes and rivers, and monitoring wetlands for purple loosestrife and Phragmites. Often volunteers not only find exotics but also help remove them. Two of the first states to organize exotic-species monitoring programs for volunteers were New Hampshire and Vermont. The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services Weed Watchers program, founded in 1988, is discussed in the article on page 12. Vermont volunteers pull water chestnut in Lake Champlain.