Seeking Volunteers for Water Quality Surveys

Are you interested saving Angle Lake from the horrors of dense weed infestations?

The King County Noxious Weed Control Program would like to invite you to attend a free training program to help prevent the spread of noxious weeds in our lake.

The 2015 Lake Weed Watcher Training

Saturday, June 27, 2015 (9:30 am – 11:30 am)

Lake Desire Community Clubhouse

18118 172nd Ave SE Renton, WA 98058

The Lake Weed Watcher Program trains volunteers to survey for aquatic weeds in small lakes in King County, Washington. Volunteers are trained to identify both native and non-native aquatic plants.  The goal of the project is to watch for populations of invasive weeds that are not currently known to occur in King County or that have a very limited distribution, but have the potential to spread and cause damage.  Detecting these weeds early allows us to stop them before they get too entrenched to remove.

The training will cover:

• Plant identification
• Survey method
• Data entry and submittal

The County Program provides:

• Training in survey methodology and plant identification
• All necessary survey equipment (other than that mentioned below)
• Plant identification materials

Volunteers need to provide:

• A small boat (e.g. canoe) and a place to launch it (if you don't live on a lake we can help you choose a lake with a public boat ramp)
• Personal flotation device (PFD) and any other required water safety equipment
• Ability to attend one this training session
• Approximately one field day in early July and one field day in late August or early September

The majority of the session be in the “classroom” however will also include time at the waterfront at the end of the training for more plant ID and equipment use training.

“We’ve had good participation in the program last year and hope to expand participation this year” says Joe Neumann, Noxious Weeds Control Specialist with the Department of Natural Resources, King County. “The training is open to returning and new volunteers. Please feel free to relay this invitation to anyone interested in helping keep lakes healthy.”

To sign up for the training, contact Joe Neumann joseph.neumann@kingcounty.gov or at 206-477-4331. Ben Peterson can still be reached at Ben.Peterson@kingcounty.gov or 206-477-4724.

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