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February 17, 2003

Equipment grants available for volunteer water quality monitoring

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Nonprofit organizations, environmental groups and schools are among the groups eligible to apply for water quality testing kit grants as part of the Hoosier Riverwatch program.

Hoosier Riverwatch is sponsored by Purdue University and the Indiana Department of Natural Resources' Division of Soil Conservation. It is a statewide education program that focuses on local river and stream stewardship.

Approximately 50 groups across Indiana may receive equipment grants to participate in the program. The equipment grants are funded by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

"Hoosier rivers and streams are cleaner today than they have been in years," said John R. Goss, director of the Department of Natural Resources. "These local volunteers provide crucial information about the health of Indiana's rivers and streams, and these grants will help start more local monitoring programs and keep the improvements going."

Grants provide a package of equipment that includes chemical testing kits, nets for collecting aquatic life and manuals for water quality monitoring. Grant recipients are required to attend a training workshop in volunteer water quality monitoring. Hoosier Riverwatch provides free training workshops around the state.

To request a grant application, contact Marie Collins at the Department of Natural Resources' Education Center at (317) 562-1338 or nrec@dnr.state.in.us. Applications and a schedule of training workshops also are available on the Web. The deadline to apply for grants is March 15.

CONTACT: Lyn Hartman or Jan Hosier, Hoosier Riverwatch, (317) 541-0617.

Writer: Beth Forbes, (765) 494-2722, bforbes@aes.purdue.edu

Ag Communications: (765) 494-2722; Beth Forbes, bforbes@aes.purdue.edu; https://www.agriculture.purdue.edu/AgComm/public/agnews/


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