Biology and environmental science faculty, university students and high school students ventured into the marshes, creeks and wetlands surrounding UW-Stout Polytechnic and the Menomonie area this summer to understand and strengthen the health of the Red Cedar Watershed.
Their research is part of three of Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin’s longest-running programs that seek to train the next generation of water scientists: the Field Hydrology three-week advanced field course, the Red Cedar River Basin Internship Program, and the Water in Western Wisconsin: An Interdisciplinary Freshwater Field Camp for High School Students.
The programs are led by UW-Stout Polytechnic’s Red Cedar Basin Monitoring Group, which works in collaboration with Universities of Wisconsin schools in its efforts. UW-Stout Polytechnic received $358,949 in grants from Freshwater Collaborative to run the three programs during the 2025-27 biennium.
Field Hydrology course
The Field Hydrology course was led by faculty from four Universities of Wisconsin, with 14 students from UW-Stout Polytechnic, UW-Eau Claire, UW-River Falls and Beloit College. Students spent a week at or near each UW campus conducting hands-on activities in water science.
“By collaborating with faculty at UW-Eau Claire, UW-River Falls, and UW-Oshkosh, we created a course that lets students explore a wider diversity of water-related research and careers than is available at any one institution. Students learned from experts in the field while building on knowledge from their home institutions and emerged better prepared for careers in water resources,” said UW-Stout Polytechnic biology Assistant Professor Nicole Hayes.
Hayes and Lecturer Julia Chapman, program director of M.S. sustainable management, brought the students to Birch, Gilbert and Galloway creeks in the Red Cedar Watershed, which includes about 40,000 acres of open water and 4,900 miles of waterways in northwestern and west-central Wisconsin.
Students learned to assess water quality by measuring physical and chemical variables in the stream and on land. They also collected macroinvertebrate samples and analyzed them in the lab, then calculated diversity indices and the biotic index.
The students learned about soils and wetland delineation with Professor Amanda Little, program director of environmental science, and Professor Matthew Kuchta before visiting Muddy Creek wetland. They also spent time on the Kinnickinnic River at UW-River Falls.
UW-Stout Polytechnic students in the course were Cayanna Erickson, who served as a teaching assistant, and Harrison Bennett, Georgia McGrath, and Carter Tieman. The four students are also part of the Red Cedar River Basin internship program.
As a teaching assistant, Erickson, who interned last summer as well, enjoyed teaching her fellow interns how to conduct stream sampling, seeing them each gain skills ranging from stream monitoring to wetland delineation and from understanding how geology impacts aquatic systems, and seeing their growth in the professional world, she said.
“I think what is most interesting to me about participating in these activities is the various skills that I have developed in these experiences, as well as assisting others in developing those skills, from stream monitoring to wetland delineation, and how geology impacts aquatic systems.
“Collaboration between various universities is extremely important because not all faculty members are able to teach every skill necessary for the professional world. Collaborating also allows students to learn a variety of skills from professionals that they may not have learned otherwise,” she added. “My goals for my research are to solidify a sampling protocol that future interns are able to replicate and continue for a long-term monitoring program.”
Red Cedar River Basin Internship Program
In the Red Cedar River Basin Internship Program, six interns – four from UW-Stout Polytechnic and two from UW-Eau Claire – are collecting data throughout the summer. The program is organized through the Red Cedar River Basin Monitoring Group.
The goals of the group are twofold. “First, we are training students to conduct research and monitor in a variety of aquatic ecosystems, so when they graduate, they are prepared to solve freshwater challenges as the next generation of water scientists,” Hayes said.
The students are participating in a range of projects this summer. With Hayes, they are collecting water samples from lakes Menomin and Tainter to assess the size of the harmful cyanobacterial algal blooms and measure concentrations of a toxin produced by these blooms.
With Chapman, they are sampling Birch, Galloway, Gilbert, Hay and Wilson creeks to assess water quality by looking at chemical, physical and biological parameters. They’ll study oxygen and pH levels, nutrient concentrations and conductivity, while also examining bank erosion, sediments in the water, habitat in the riparian zone and macroinvertebrate communities.
With Associate Professor Julie Beston and Assistant Professor Cassondra Vernier, the students are studying the relationship between beaver activity, macroinvertebrates and trout. As they collect data above and below beaver dams, they will also look at trout populations in streams with dams using environmental DNA (the genetic material that organisms shed into their surroundings).
Macroinvertebrates are small organisms that live in streams; many are juvenile insects that mature into flying insects as adults. They are important food resources for fish, and the mature adults are food for organisms that live near streams and lakes. Macroinvertebrates are key indicators of water quality.
Each student is also leading an independent research project they developed during the Field Hydrology course:
- Bennett is examining how trout stream restoration impacts water quality and macroinvertebrate communities leading up to and directly after the project.
- Erickson is conducting a study to estimate the number of zebra mussels currently in lakes Menomin and Tainter and how rapidly they are reproducing.
- McGrath is testing methods to use environmental DNA to examine trout populations above and below beaver dams.
- Tieman is examining how fish populations change once trout streams are restored.
- Emma Herfel, UW-Eau Claire, is measuring growth of potentially toxin-producing cyanobacteria on rocks in local streams.
- Kasey Klouser, UW-Eau Claire, is sampling macroinvertebrates in beaver ponds to gain insights into the importance of these ponds for providing bat food resources.
Water in Western Wisconsin high school camp
During the Water in Western Wisconsin high school camp, which ran June 22-25, 21 students from across the state and the country experienced what it’s like to work in water science through hands-on coursework, preparing them for degrees in biology and environmental science and to enter the workforce.
Camp participants learned about ecological restoration, groundwater systems, water quality, surface water, fish diversity, and water pollution, as well as academic programs and careers focused on water science. Each day was spent in a different location, with experiences led by faculty from UW-Stout Polytechnic, UW-Eau Claire and UW-River Falls.
The Red Cedar River Basin Monitoring interns served as teaching assistants and taught the young students how to do the stream sampling, bug identification and water quality monitoring.
Freshwater Collaborative funded the camp, including visits to other UW campuses. The camp has run every year since 2021, making it one of the longest-running and most successful programs through the Freshwater Collaborative.
Overall, the Freshwater Collaborative invested $4.2 million for the 2025-27 biennium in projects that involve faculty, staff and students from all 13 Universities of Wisconsin, as well as dozens of partners from industry, government, local communities, tribal nations, nonprofits and K-12 education. Freshwater Collaborative funding increases research and training opportunities for high school, undergraduate and graduate students and addresses Wisconsin’s biggest water challenges, including PFAS and phosphorus pollution.
UW-Stout Polytechnic’s biology department offers undergraduate degrees in applied science; biochemistry and molecular biology; biology; and environmental science, as well as an online master’s in conservation biology. UW-Stout Polytechnic also offers degrees in chemistry and physics.
