Cleanups and checkups: How MiCorps volunteers protect Michigan waters

Protecting our lakes includes the work of Michigan Clean Water Corps (MiCorps) Program volunteers who give their time to ensure water ecosystems will be cherished for generations to come.

MiCorps advances water stewardship and protects Michigan’s natural environments by funding stream cleanups, providing essential scientific data for lake monitoring and stream monitoring, and awarding grants to local governments and nonprofits.

MiCorps has a long history. In 1974, the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) invited volunteers to collect water clarity data from their lakes in a program called the Self-Help program. Volunteers also collected water samples to check chlorophyll levels as an indicator of algae abundance in lakes.

In the 1990s, the name was changed to the Cooperative Lake Monitoring Program (CLMP), and additional lake monitoring was added, including measurements of phosphorus. Also in the ’90s, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) launched the Volunteer Stream Monitoring Program (VSMP) to engage local organizations in monitoring the health of creeks and streams statewide. In 1998, the Volunteer Stream Cleanup Program (VSCP) began, using Water Quality specialty vehicle license plate funds to provide grants to local governments to remove trash from Michigan’s rivers and streams.

In 2004, these volunteer programs became known collectively as MiCorps, created by then-Governor Jennifer Granholm to highlight volunteers’ contributions to water quality in Michigan. In 2024, the CLMP celebrated its 50th anniversary and in 2025 achieved a new record with 337 lakes enrolled. MiCorps is sponsored by EGLE and administered in partnership with Michigan State University Extension, the Michigan Lakes and Streams Association, and the Huron River Watershed Council.

Since the program began in ’74, 1,072 lakes have been monitored, contributing to one of the nation’s richest long-term lake datasets. Since 2021, MiCorps volunteers have cleaned up 297 miles of streams.

This year, MiCorps awarded a total of $99,965 through 20 grants to fund projects for eight local governments and 16 governmental or conservation organizations as part of the VSMP and VSCP. Included in the awards were eight stream cleanup grants to remove trash from local rivers and streams, two startup grants to support the development of local monitoring programs, three implementation grants to fund the first two years of monitoring, and seven maintenance grants for those with existing programs to upkeep their equipment and projects.

Today, any Michigander can get involved with monitoring, sampling, and cleanups.

The VSMP helps monitor stream habitat and organisms such as insects, crayfish and other organisms every fall and spring. Nearly 30 VSMP groups across the state have more than 1,000 volunteers annually. Both the VSMP and CLMP make their data available on the MiCorps Data Exchange.  Local watershed organizations and municipalities use these data to make informed decisions about land use and watershed protection.

The CLMP collects scientific data on lakes throughout Michigan.  The program trains volunteers on best practices in lake monitoring, identifies monitoring needs for surface waters, and supports how to best protect ecosystems.

The thousands of trained MiCorps volunteers are vital in protecting Michigan’s waterways. Once the volunteers collect the data and enter it into the database, EGLE can use the data to determine water quality conditions over time in Michigan lakes using water clarity, total phosphorus, and chlorophyll measurements.

Using temperature and dissolved oxygen data collected by MiCorps volunteers from 2024-26, EGLE identified 34 coldwater lakes as not having the conditions needed to support healthy coldwater fish communities. Information like this can be used to make land and water management decisions on how to better protect and restore these water bodies.

EGLE’s Office of the Great Lakes, the DNR, and the Southeast Michigan Council of Governments partner on the annual dedication focused on fostering community connections and improving stewardship, strengthening Michigan’s water-centered blue economy, and furthering lakes-based education. Governor Gretchen Whitmer dedicated the week, June 6-14, 2026, in a proclamation.