Volunteer Programs & Tools

Lake Stewards of Maine (LSM) fosters stewardship of Maine lakes and their watersheds in order to ensure high water quality and ecological integrity. This is accomplished by the collection of credible lake data by trained citizen volunteers, developing tools to better gather data on and understand Maine’s lakes, and by providing educational information concerning lakes to the citizens of Maine.  LSM is Maine’s leader in providing training and certification in the collection of lake data by volunteers, state agency personnel, educators, consultants, and many others.

Please click here to learn more about the Lake Stewards of Maine approach to lake monitoring. Discover the many advantages to engaging volunteers in the gathering of information on lake health.

LSM now provides these trainings, tools, and educational resources in four main areas and in a number of smaller topical areas as listed below:

• • Water Quality Monitoring Program
  • Invasive Aquatic Species Prevention Program
  • Watershed Assessment Program
  • Climate Change
  • Cyanobacteria
  • eDNA Sampling
  • Gleotrichia 
  • Ice-in & Ice-out tracking
  • Invasive Crayfish
  • Metaphyton
  • Native Lake Plant Species Surveys
  • Use of Remote Sensing (Satellites) in Water Quality Analysis
  •  Tools
    • Ice Data Submission Form
    • Maine Field Guide to Aquatic Phenomena
    • Near Real-Time Visualizations
    • Secchi Simulator
    • Survey 123
    • Annual newsletter (print and digital media)
    • Lakes of Maine (our long-term data storage resource)