Ryan has made a profound impact on the monitoring of Wisconsin's dragonflies and damselflies. He currently serves as president of the Wisconsin Dragonfly Society (WDS) and is one of the most prolific contributors to the Wisconsin Odonata Survey (WOS). In 2019, Ryan submitted an astonishing 163 surveys for a total 1446 observations to WOS. Since 2002, he has submitted over 14,000 observations, which makes him one of the two most prolific and skilled contributors in the history of the program. He has a strong service ethic, often volunteering to do the hard work behind the scenes, and he loves to share his knowledge about dragonflies with others. He gives talks and leads field outings about dragonflies for the public to promote WDS and WOS, and to help people become more deeply engaged with nature.

Nighttime projects often have a hard time finding volunteers, but Heidi Conde is stepping up to fill the need in the Eau Claire area! Heidi began her citizen-based monitoring adventure with owl surveys in 2005. Since then she has expanded her efforts to include nightjar surveys, mink frog surveys, the Wisconsin Frog and Toad Survey, and eBird. Over the years, she has participated in at least 106 wildlife surveys. Since 2010, Heidi has submitted 477 eBird checklists documenting under-surveyed night calling birds (e.g., ruffed grouse, snipe, killdeer, woodcocks, sedge wrens, marsh wrens, soras, Virginia rails, and catbirds). In the 2019 season alone, she completed 36 bird and amphibian surveys.

As a longtime employee of the North Lakeland Discovery Center, Licia is a familiar face to many in the Northwoods. Since 2010, she has coordinated the acoustic bat monitoring program at the Discovery Center. She works with around 40 bat monitoring volunteers each year, providing new and returning volunteers with training and coordinating the sharing of just two acoustic bat detectors between all participants. She answers calls late at night on her personal cellphone to assist volunteers having technical problems with the monitoring equipment. In 2019, the volunteers she supported successfully conducted 67 bat surveys. Licia further supports bat monitoring through her outreach efforts; she leads over 20 bat education programs for schools and community groups each year, reaching 500-700 people! While bats are often her primary focus, she also is involved in citizen-based monitoring of monarchs, birds, and amphibians.

Since moving to Lake Mills a few years ago, Sue and Bob have become pillars in their local citizen-based monitoring community. They monitor water quality at two streams in Jefferson County through the Water Action Volunteers, and they are happy to cover for other stream monitoring volunteers when needed. They encourage others to become stream monitors by volunteering at public events and visiting local schools to teach children about the importance of streams. Their love of water had a major role in how they participated in the recent Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas. Bob and Sue monitored in a canoe, allowing them to observe birds in otherwise inaccessible sites. Their other birding contributions include the Annual Midwest Crane Count, kestrel nest box monitoring, the Christmas Bird Count, and the Swift Night Out. Sue and Bob are also active in the Zeloski Marsh frog monitoring team, bat monitoring, and the statewide AIS Snapshot Day.

The Conservation in the Parks program engages Waukesha County volunteers to conduct citizen-based monitoring in their local parks, with the resultant data being used in land management decisions. In 2019, its first full year, the program had an astonishing 382 volunteers who collectively volunteered 2402 hours to monitoring! The public enthusiasm for the project was so high that the County Parks Department surpassed the number of volunteers they needed for their own properties and were able to assign some volunteers to monitor properties owned by partners like the Nature Conservancy. County staff and volunteers monitored wetlands, birds, bumble bees, snakes, dragonflies, and more. One of the most exciting findings was the presence of the federally endangered rusty patched bumble bee in three separate parks.

Mike is the first person ever to receive two individual Wisconsin Citizen-based Monitoring Awards; he was the recipient of an Outstanding Achievement Award in 2008 and since then has continued to dedicate himself tirelessly to citizen-based monitoring. Mike's commitment to butterfly monitoring is incomparable here in Wisconsin. With the help of his son, Mike created the Wisconsin Butterflies website over 15 years ago; the site provides a detailed guide to each of the state's butterflies and serves as a centralized location for butterfly observers to report their observations. He vets each observation that is submitted and communicates with participants regularly about their observations. For the last 15 years he has also been heavily involved in the North American Butterfly Association by leading counts in Wisconsin, compiling the data from all the counts in the state, vetting data coming in from across the Midwest, and contributing to the organization's quarterly magazine.

In addition to his work with butterflies, Mike played a crucial role in the recent Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas II, which ran from 2015 to 2019. He served as director of volunteers and crisscrossed the state recruiting and training volunteers. Mike was also the county coordinator for four different counties, traveling far from his home and even camping overnight to collect important data on breeding birds. His years of effort were essential to the success of the Atlas. On top of that, Mike has also been involved with other projects throughout the state. He observes bumble bees, tiger beetles, and robber flies, and he provided the photographs for the recently updated field guide Damselflies of Minnesota, Wisconsin & Michigan, a book used by many volunteers with the Wisconsin Odonata Survey.

Barbara's award comes after 35 years volunteering with bird monitoring. She has served as Richland County’s coordinator for the Annual Midwest Crane Count for 35 years, making her the longest serving county coordinator for that project. She also conducted bird surveys for the Breeding Bird Survey for 33 years and has served on the Board of the Wisconsin Society for Ornithology. In addition to her volunteer work counting cranes, Barbara is the current Richland County coordinator for the Wisconsin Breeding Bird Atlas, a project designed to document the distribution and abundance of all the bird species that breed in the state.

Jim has been a committed citizen-based monitoring volunteer in Lafayette County for almost two decades. He began his volunteer experience in 2001, when he participated in the Christmas Bird Count, and since then he’s joined multiple volunteer projects. Currently, he counts bats at their summer roost sites, monitors and manages both bluebird and kestrel nest boxes, and surveys for rare plants. Additionally, he collects and submits plant and insect specimens to research collections. Jim frequently shares his volunteer experiences with others and introduces them to citizen-based monitoring.

Ansel, a student at Laurel High School in Viroqua, was honored for his work conducting and promoting bat monitoring. Ansel got involved in bat monitoring in 2016, as part of an 8th grade school project. Since then, he’s volunteered to count bats at their roosts and to monitor them with acoustic detectors, and he assisted DNR staff in capturing and banding bats. He’s become extremely active in promoting bat conservation and volunteer monitoring, and has volunteered at educational events and given talks to youth and adults, sometimes with crowds of over 100 people.

In 2014, the Milwaukee County Parks Natural Areas Program inventoried and documented 430 ephemeral ponds through their Ephemeral Pond Inventory Project, and with funding from the Citizen-based Monitoring Partnership Program, they expanded their CBM efforts in 2015 by conducting aquatic funnel trapping in the newly documented ephemeral ponds. Through the spring and summer of 2015, 42 citizen monitors volunteered a total of 625 hours. Volunteers confirmed populations of tiger and blue-spotted salamanders, discovered the first spotted salamander documented in their county since 1935, and found a new population of wood frogs and three new populations of Wisconsin's rarest native crayfish, the Digger's crayfish. This wealth of data is being incorporated into the program's ecological restoration and management plans.

Ben has single-handedly made the Kickapoo Valley Reserve a stronghold for acoustic bat survey activity over the past few years, averaging over 30 surveys a year. Beyond his affinity for evening walks with a bat detector in his hand, He has become an advocate to educate and engage citizens in southwest Wisconsin to care more about their environment and to help participate in citizen-based monitoring projects. He has recruited countless volunteers in the region for bat surveys, turtle road crossing reports, and frog and toad surveys. Without the aid of his enthusiasm and determination, southwest Wisconsin would still be in the grassroots stage of citizen-based monitoring; however, because of his efforts, they are part of the forefront of the movement.

Nancy created the WATERshed program for the Racine Unified School District. Her program has helped more than 3,000 Racine 4th and 7th graders understand how their daily activities impact the Root River and Lake Michigan watershed. Every fall the 4th graders spend a day at the Root River Environmental Education Community Center, where they discover what's going down storm drains and how it travels to the rivers and lakes from their neighborhoods, as well as the species that act as indicators of water quality. Every spring, the 7th graders assess conditions of the lake shore and of a newly created lake wetland. Both grades conduct scientific tests for pH, dissolved oxygen, temperature, turbidity, and bacteria. 7th graders also learn how the wetland improves water quality in the lake as well as providing habitat for birds, insects and small mammals. These students grow up to become more knowledgeable citizens who understand the impact of healthy watersheds for our community, and advocates for the health of aquatic ecosystems.

Anne initiated the first citizen-based lake level monitoring program in Wisconsin in 2008. Since its inception, the lake level monitoring program has grown to more than 40 lakes across Vilas County and has retained nearly 100% of its volunteers over the past 8 years. Soon after establishing this program, she coordinated a companion program with the Lac du Flambeau tribe which now has citizen lake monitors on an additional suite of lakes. The data collected by her programs are now entered into the SWIMS database in Madison, which did not routinely track water levels in Wisconsin lakes. She also developed a set of written protocols to guide the development of citizen lake level monitoring programs in other parts of Wisconsin, which formed the basis for DNR's current statewide lake level monitoring protocol.

Amber has been a committed citizen science for the past five years. She first participated in citizen-based monitoring in 8th grade when she began monitoring amphibians at Oconto Marsh while volunteering for Bird Studies Canada's Great Lakes Marsh Monitoring Program. As a high school freshman, she became the Oconto County Crane Count Coordinator for the Midwest Crane Count and is still strongly committed today as a senior, even intending to continue her coordinator duties throughout college. She has, for the last 4 years, monitored 18 bluebird boxes, and she also helps monitor wood duck and purple martin houses for Bird City Oconto. In addition, Amber has participated in the Wisconsin Bat Monitoring Program’s acoustic monitoring, as well as botulism monitoring along the shores of Lake Michigan.

For 14 years, Kris coordinated the Water Action Volunteer program (WAV), greatly increasing its size and scope. In conjunction with WAV, she developed a curriculum for middle and high school teachers to use when doing stream monitoring with their students. She served for many years on the advisory council of the Wisconsin Citizen-based Monitoring Network. Her published research includes papers on citizen science volunteering and project outcomes, and she has also been involved in citizen-based water monitoring endeavors at the national level. She earned her MS in Natural Resources from UW-Stevens Point and her PhD in Environment and Resources from UW-Madison. Kris serves on the board of the Citizen Science Association and is now an Assistant Professor at the University of Vermont.

Rick has taken on a leadership role within the Ozaukee County Fish Passage Program's fish surveys and has gone above and beyond to exceed expectations as a Program volunteer. Rick is the most frequent survey attendee and has volunteered almost 30 hours of his time at five electrofishing survey events. Rick shares his passion for the environment with his commitment to developing positive relationships with fellow volunteers and by providing a leadership role during each event, helping to guide new volunteers into the labor intensive process. Rick has further demonstrated his commitment to citizen based monitoring, environmental stewardship, and the Program’s efforts by bringing his grandchildren to observe an electrofishing survey that he was unable to participate in. In addition to his work with the Ozaukee Fish Passage Program, Rick also volunteers for the Southeast Wisconsin Chapter of Trout Unlimited.

Robin has been an active volunteer with the Urban Ecology Center for nearly 7 years and has been dedicated to the Center’s bird banding project since 2007. As a volunteer she has filled many roles at the Center from citizen science participant to citizen science advisor, volunteering over 150 hours of her time in 2012 alone. She currently serves as the co-chair of the Center’s Institutional and Animal Care Use Committee, ensuring that the Center’s research and monitoring projects treated wildlife in an ethical and humane way. Robin’s biggest accomplishment as a volunteer this year was taking the lead in writing a proposal to make Milwaukee a Bird City. Milwaukee became the biggest Bird City in the state of Wisconsin as a result of her hard-work and dedication. Robin is a retired Milwaukee Public School District teacher and in her free-time she loves to bird and report her findings on eBird.

Dan has been an enormously avid and reliable citizen monitor for the Wisconsin Odonata Survey since 2009. He currently serves as vice president of the Wisconsin Dragonfly Society, frequently assists and encourages beginners with identification or ecological questions on the Dragonfly Society Facebook pages, contributes county record, state record and other desirable specimens to the Wisconsin Odonata Collection, donates photographs for use on the Wisconsin Odonata Survey website and for other educational purposes, and frequently and reliably assists with numerous Odonata research activities. Since 2009 he has contributed an amazing total of 4,051 Odonata records to the Odonata Survey, including a first state record of Tramea calverti. He also captured over 100 dragonfly nymphs and reared dozens in his home to provide material for the development of exuviae ID keys.

Ethan has been an active volunteer with the Urban Ecology Center for 5 years, starting at the Center when he was only 12 years old. He has volunteered over 300 hours to help the Urban Ecology Center’s Research and Citizen Science programs, including 225 hours to the bird banding project alone. In addition, he has contributed over 75 hours of time on monarch, snake, and turtle monitoring surveys. He is so well respected and capable that he mentored a college intern to become the primary investigator on the monarch monitoring project. His willingness to support the project leaders and advance his research skills, especially at 5 in the morning for bird banding, has earned Ethan the respect and admiration of and appreciation by other seasoned volunteers. Ethan is a senior at White Fish Bay High School and will be attending the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the fall.

Dave was highly regarded by national, regional, and local partners, served as Vice President of the Midwest Bat Working Group, and recently initiated the first Wisconsin Bat Festival. In August of 2012, he was honored with the prestigious Silver Eagle Award from the US Fish & Wildlife Service and with a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Midwest Bat Working Group. Dave was grateful for the time and efforts made by the many volunteers of the Wisconsin Bat Program. He had a unique gift for inspiring instant camaraderie with people and those who interacted with him went away with a new appreciation for bats. Dave passed away after a long struggle with brain cancer in 2012.

Andria Blattner completed a bat survey training session at the UW Arboretum in May 2008, and subsequently became a leading volunteer for Wisconsin's newly formed, citizen-based, bat monitoring project. Andria conducted sixteen night-time surveys in three counties on both land and water, and also two bat survey routes as part of the Dane County Chain-of-Lakes Bat Survey. She encouraged friends to join her and taught them how to conduct these surveys. Only weather and the availability of survey equipment kept Andria from doing even more surveys. Her enthusiastic support and interest in the project is worthy of recognition as it is folks like Andria who will make the bat monitoring project both possible and a success in Wisconsin!

Angela Engelman, our Citizen-Based Monitoring Program Coordinator in 2007-08, received a plaque and a standing ovation at the 2008 awards banquet in recognition for her leadership, dedication and outstanding service to the people in the Citizen-Based Monitoring Network of Wisconsin. Thank you Angela!

The Milwaukee County Avian Migration Monitoring Partnership represents a unique connection between publishable science, education, and community involvement. Since 2006, more than 100 citizen volunteers from the Milwaukee area have contributed their time to study the quality of Milwaukee County parks as urban stopover sites for migratory birds. By establishing this network of trained citizen monitors, the Milwaukee County Avian Migration Monitoring Partnership intends to foster long-term monitoring of birds in Milwaukee County, a project that will serve as a model for other urban areas nationwide. The project is currently in its 2nd field season in its 2nd year of study.

Since September of 2005, John and Cindy Anderson have submitted 393 Odonata records from 16 counties to the Wisconsin Odonata database. Of these, 184 were new county records! They have traveled widely at their own expense to survey areas of southern Wisconsin where Odonata communities were not well known. The work they have done has added very significantly to knowledge of statewide distributions and critical habitats for many species of Wisconsin Odonata. John and Cindy Anderson exemplify the most desirable qualities of citizen monitors, including a deep commitment to their work, a very positive attitude, and strong interest in resource protection.

Matt Berg is a biology teacher at Grantsburg High School and has been leading his students in monitoring activities for many years. Just in the past four years since the citizen monitoring network has started, he and his students have accomplished quite a bit! Through 2004 and 2006, students from Grantsburg High quantitatively analyzed the mussel communities in northwestern Wisconsin. The students have also been involved with monitoring dragonfly communities on the St. Croix River and its Wisconsin Tributaries.

Rollie Alger is being recognized for outstanding achievements in Citizen-based Monitoring for 2006. Rollie has taken responsibility for monitoring the entire Deerskin River for water quality and invasive species and is a long-term LoonWatch volunteer, chairman of the Vilas County Aquatic Invasive Species Partnership Research Committee and a NatureMapping instructor. Rollie stepped forward to monitor the Deerskin River when grant money and volunteer effort were lean and continues with the work to this day. The Town of Washington and its Water Resource Task Force are deeply grateful to Rollie for his expertise and volunteer spirit and for his gift of this project to his community and to this state.

Jon Johnson and his students at Gale-Ettrick-Trempealeau High School were awarded the 2006 Youth Monitors of the Year award for their work monitoring 4 different streams in their community. Each student spent a portion of their summer vacation time monitoring basic water quality indicators, macroinvertebrate sampling and even helped DNR crews with habitat and fisheries sampling. This information will be used by the DNR as part of a paired stream monitoring information in assessing the compatibility of other citizen-based monitoring data. Most importantly, the students learned to work in small groups to accomplish their specific site monitoring, and learned to coordinate with other student teams when sharing equipment and calibrating the meters. Transferable skills to any work or team venture.