Short-Term Workgroups

(October 1999)

The following short-term workgroups were identified and defined at the Council meeting on September 22, 1999. These workgroups were established to meet short-term goals (six months to one year) and provide the Council with greater definition and focus for the long term. As the workgroups meet and discuss the details of their goals and tasks, the members may further refine the scope and mission of each workgroup.

1. Data Inventory and Assessment

This group will assist in isolating issues and key contacts for conducting an inventory and assessment of monitoring in the Lake Michigan basin. An inventory of the monitoring efforts at the federal, state, and local levels (including volunteer monitoring) has been started by the Great Lakes Commission with funding from U.S. EPA=s Lake Michigan Team. This group will assist the Commission to ensure full coverage of the basin, suggest important contacts, provide advice on database and website design to enhance usage, and assist in the assessment of the inventory results.

Current members: Bob Kavetsky, Pete McCarthy, and Rich Greenwood.

2. Monitoring Objectives

This group will define key questions and driving forces (e.g. TMDLs, 305b reports, Clean Water Action Plan, etc.), and determine which questions are being answered and which are not. One potential project would be to analyze the monitoring inventory underway or survey Council members to compile a list of general research questions that organizations are attempting to answer with monitoring data. Determining where research objective compatibilities and incompatibilities exist will be an important function of this group.

Current Members: Joann Cavaletto, Sarah Lehmann, Percy Magee, Jan Miller, Patty O=Donnell, Ron Baba, Richard Crowe, and Leslie Dorworth.

3. Benefit Analysis and Outreach

This group will collect examples of successful monitoring coordination efforts and highlight the benefits of collaboration and coordination of regional monitoring efforts. This work should encourage support for further Council efforts and establish benchmarks. A short report describing coordination efforts in the Lake Michigan basin, detailing the benefits of coordinated monitoring and presenting successful case studies would be a good product for this group. Development of a benefits report could go a long way toward ensuring the participation of all relevant stakeholders in Lake Michigan monitoring.

Current Members: Charlie Peters, Laurie Rounds, and Chris Goddard.

4. Watershed Pilots

This will mostly be a state effort to select local collaborative efforts that could be instructive for regional work. The states themselves will select projects currently underway in their states which have extensive monitoring components. It will be important to search out projects that use monitoring data from a variety of sources. These projects can be assessed for lessons learned from successful and unsuccessful monitoring collaborations, as well as recommendations for improvements. Other alternative pilots may include work on watersheds that straddle state boundaries (e.g. the St. Joseph River watershed).

Current Members: Doug Knauer, Tom Trudeau, Bob Schacht, Kathy Luther, and Gary Kohlhepp.