By Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin and Tom Giffey / UW-Stout
Cayanna Erickson says interning with the 2025 Red Cedar Basin Monitoring Group will give her a step up when she enters the job market. The University of Wisconsin-Stout undergraduate recently declared a B.S. environmental science major, and the summer internship gave her experience with hands-on field work.
“My career goals involve water monitoring, specifically in the Eau Claire area as that is where I am from originally,” she said. “The skills that I learned this summer directly relate to what I want to do in the future.”
Erickson was one of six students from UW-Stout, UW-Eau Claire and UW-River Falls who spent the summer collecting and analyzing data that helps show the impact of restoration efforts in the Red Cedar Basin. This watershed includes Lakes Menomin and Tainter, which are listed as impaired by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Nutrient pollution causes frequent harmful algal blooms in these water bodies and others throughout Wisconsin.
Despite the multitude of problems facing the Red Cedar Basin, the lakes and rivers are heavily used for angling, recreation and power generation. This has led to multiple restoration projects to improve the health of the watershed.
The initial monitoring group was started two decades ago as a volunteer organization but languished after its leader retired. It was revived with funding from the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin, a partnership of Wisconsin’s 13 public universities, connecting with industry partners, local communities, policymakers and advocacy groups. Since 2022, Freshwater Collaborative funding has provided continuity of data collection and built capacity to gather data from more sites and more diverse ecosystem types. Eighteen students have participated so far, and recent funding investments will ensure the project continues.
Fulfilling a community need
“The Red Cedar River Basin Monitoring Group trains students to collect data on aquatic ecosystems and fills a critical need of collecting data related to management and restoration,” said Nicole Hayes, an assistant professor at UW-Stout.
Hayes said the goals of the Red Cedar River Basin Monitoring Group are twofold. First, it leverages the expertise of scientists at UW-Stout to work with local community groups to understand how environmental change is impacting lakes, rivers, streams and wetlands in the watershed. Second, it builds a better understanding of how these ecosystems are responding to ongoing degradation and mitigation and restoration efforts. The data gathered is used to support management decisions.
“We are informing best management practices in trout stream restoration and maintenance,” added Professor Amanda Little, program director for environmental science. “Students are studying harmful algal blooms and monitoring the zebra mussel invasion of Lake Menomin in order to better understand the dynamics of the lake. Future projects will investigate aquatic vegetation restoration in local lakes to improve fish habitat. Students are also studying sedimentation in Galloway Creek in Menomonie to understand the impacts of sanding during the winter and erosion on this urban stream.”
Four UW-Stout educators – including Hayes and Little as well as Associate Professor Keith Gilland and lecturer Julia Chapman – collaborate with DNR Fisheries, the City of Menomonie, Dunn County, Beaver Creek Reserve, the Colfax Red Cedar Preserve and The Prairie Enthusiasts, among others. This allows students to start building a professional network while gaining professional skills.
Each intern also develops an independent research project in addition to contributing to the overall data collection. Several students have continued their research projects into the following academic year, and many have presented their findings at local, state and even national conferences.
This summer, Erickson’s independent student project focused on zebra mussels, an invasive species first identified in Lake Menomin in 2024. “I hope that the survey allows for a deeper understanding of the abundance of zebra mussels in our lake as well as their high-density areas,” she said. “In turn, both city and county could use the data as a means for reducing/confining the spread of zebra mussels.”
Erickson concluded that the internship was an “amazing experience” that will prepare her for future classes.
Little agreed, adding that working on the project prepares students for what lies ahead. “Students will be well-prepared for specific upper-level courses that incorporate the skills from the summer,” Little said. “The wide range of projects that they worked on over the summer are great resume-builders and give them a broad scope of work to discuss during interviews. This internship really makes them super-competitive due to both the breadth of skills and the depth of their own individual project which demonstrates leadership and initiative.”
Thanks to Freshwater Collaborative funding, 14 of the interns have received scholarships to participate in additional freshwater coursework at UW-Stout, UW-Eau Claire and UW-River Falls. The coursework helps prepare them for their internships and provides the opportunity to work with faculty and students from other universities.
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Continue ReadingNew funding announced
The Freshwater Collaborative recently announced that funding would continue for the Red Cedar Basin Monitoring Group for the next two years thanks to money included in the most recent state budget, which covers 2025-27.
In total, UW-Stout will receive $389,256 for four projects:
- The Red Cedar River Basin Monitoring Group will receive $258,452 to continue the internship program and related research projects.
- Crop Per Drop, a collaborative research project between UW-Stout and UW-River Falls aimed at understanding and improving water use in dry bean production, will receive $30,307.
- Field Hydrology, a three-week summer field course for upper-level students from UW-Stout, UW-Eau Claire, and UW-River Falls, will receive $21,050.
- Water in Western Wisconsin: An Interdisciplinary Freshwater Field Camp for High School Students, a collaboration among the three western Wisconsin universities that targets rising high school seniors, will receive $79,447.
Overall, the Freshwater Collaborative will invest $4.2 million 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. They will increase research and training opportunities for high school, undergraduate and graduate students and will address Wisconsin’s biggest water challenges, including PFAS and phosphorus pollution.
“The Freshwater Collaborative has helped campuses develop innovative statewide courses, programs and research collaborations over the past five years,” said Marissa Jablonski, executive director for the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin. “With this latest round of funding, we are committing to ongoing investment in those programs that will best recruit and train the next generation of water professionals to address the needs of Wisconsin.”
The funding is part of a statewide initiative, backed by the Wisconsin State Legislature and Gov. Tony Evers, to tackle Wisconsin’s grand water challenges and support recruitment, hands-on curriculum, undergraduate research opportunities, career development, and field training experiences for students interested in water-related careers.
Grant descriptions for the latest funded projects are available at freshwater.wisconsin.edu.
