The Lakes Lay Monitoring Program (LLMP) partners NH citizens with University of New Hampshire students and faculty to make a difference in lakes around the state.

Once each week, from spring “ice-out” until late fall, Richardson fires up his Cobalt powerboat, motors out to the same spot on Alton Bay and performs what amounts to a check-up on the big lake’s health. With an array of simple, handheld instruments, Richardson gathers information on water clarity, temperature and local conditions. A few water samples get bottled up, too. And all of this gets passed along to UNH faculty and student researchers, who study it for subtle clues that can reveal looming challenges to the lake’s water quality.

Check out the video below to see citizen science in action. 

 

Author(s)

Extension Field Specialist, Forest Resources
Phone: (603) 862-3883
Office: Cooperative Extension, Nesmith Hall Room 224, Durham, NH 03824