The Department of Environmental Quality and The Friends of the Rouge are hosting a Wetland Stewards program this summer to help residents protect and preserve wetlands in the Rouge River Watershed. The program, also known as the WatchFrogs program, offers two training workshops and a field trip to educate participants on wetlands identification, applications, and permits.

The first workshop was held on June 10 in Dearborn, with the second coming up on July 8 at Heritage Park in Farmington Hills. The field trip will take place on August 19 at the Environmental Interpretive Center in Dearborn.

The workshops train participants to identify the functions and values of wetlands in their community and will give them the skills to assess the benefits and resources provided by these natural areas. Participants will learn to recognize the different types of wetlands based on the plants and soils within them, to understand a public notice issued by the DEQ for proposed wetland activities, and to provide effective comments to the DEQ on wetland permit applications.

The WatchFrogs program will benefit anyone interested in wetland protection or those who have a general interest in their community’s natural areas. The program will help Michigan to protect and preserve its water resources by providing the public with valuable knowledge and experience to use in their own neighborhoods.

Sign-up information can be found online at http://www.therouge.org, and volunteers who complete the program will receive a certificate recognizing their effort in gaining more information about wetlands and bettering the community in which they live.

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

“Protecting Michigan’s Environment, Ensuring Michigan’s Future”