Lake volunteer honored for work collecting samples

The Whitefish Lake Institute honors long-time Northwest Montana Lakes Volunteer Monitoring Network volunteer, Barb Hvizdak, with its Volunteer Service Award.

Hvizdak has been a dedicated lake volunteer collecting information on Sophie Lake for the NWMTLVMN since 2012. She and her husband Ron live full time on Sophie Lake, where she loyally heads out two or three times a month from as early as March to as late as November to monitor the lake’s water quality and keep an eye out for aquatic invasive species (including sending photos of suspicious plants).

Hvizdak has submitted 119 water quality reports in the last eight years. This is the highest sampling count of any volunteer in the history of the program. In 2015, she sampled 17 times in a single season. In addition to her dedication to Sophie Lake, Hvizdak enjoys serving on the Lincoln County Library board and quilting.

The Northwest Montana Lakes Volunteer Monitoring Network is a citizen science program funded by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks and managed by WLI.

Through this program, WLI trains “citizen scientists” to monitor 40 lakes in Flathead, Lincoln, Lake, and Missoula counties. The partnership enables WLI to extend its monitoring reach.

The NWMTLVMN website allows volunteers to access information, report data, and stay abreast of AIS issues.

Volunteers contribute nearly 1,000 hours to the program annually.