A series of RiverWatch volunteer training workshops will be held throughout the state this spring and summer. The workshops will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. and combine both lecture and classroom time with field training in a local stream.

he National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is continuing its weekly seminar series with a presentation on wind turbines and bat mortality, given by NGRREC℠ Field Technician Rachael Van Essen at 3 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 19.

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRRECsm) and Lewis and Clark Community College hosted the Hypoxia Task Force (HTF) Fall 2014 Public Meeting Oct. 20-22. The Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force holds public meetings twice a year throughout the Mississippi River Basin to inform the public of the progress toward minimizing hypoxia in the Gulf of Mexico.

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is proud to welcome Ecologist Anthony Dell to its research team. Dell, who spends his days running field and laboratory experiments, analyzing data and writing scientific papers, was hired in fall 2014.

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is proud to welcome Terrestrial Wildlife Ecologist John Crawford to its research team. Crawford was hired as a senior researcher in NGRREC’s terrestrial ecology program in fall 2014. Crawford conducts wildlife-related research focused on non-game animals – mainly amphibians and reptiles.

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) will be hosting a weekly seminar series, featuring scientists from around the world. The seminars will be held at 3 p.m. every Thursday at NGRREC’s Jerry F. Costello Confluence Field Station in East Alton and are open to the general public.

After launching in 2014, The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) is continuing to progress with work the Great Rivers Ecological Observatory Network (GREON℠).

National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) Watershed Scientist John Sloan was recently awarded the Vice Chancellor’s Award in Excellence from Texas A&M AgriLife for his work with the Earth-Kind research and extension team.

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC) has recruited six scientists to serve as faculty fellows for the 2014-2015 academic year.

The Mississippi River Watershed Education Symposium (MRWES) Nov. 14 and 15 on the Lewis and Clark Community College campus in Godfrey, Illinois, will highlight two keynote presentations, one by Sean O’Connor of National Geographic and the other by Chad Pregracke of Living Lands & Waters.

MRWES keynote presentations will be given by Sean O’Connor of National Geographic and CNN Hero of the Year Chad Pregracke.

A new buoy in Wisconsin will house water quality and weather monitoring equipment and is being set up by river scientists from the USGS Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center who are partnering with the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center’s Great Rivers Ecological Observatory Network project.

National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) Faculty Fellow Jim Best has organized an upcoming colloquium series entitled "The Future of Big Rivers: Form, Flux, Ecology and Management" that will bring leading big river researchers from around the globe to the campus of the University of Illinois.

Due to the recent passage of the 2014 Farm Bill, several land conservation opportunities for rural landowners have re-opened, including the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP) and Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP).

Twenty-nine interns from colleges and universities across the country were at the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center’s Jerry F. Costello Confluence Field Station this week to kick off their summer internships.

Recently, the Walton Family Foundation approved an NGRREC℠ grant proposal to expand GREON℠ and continue to develop the Great Lakes to Gulf Virtual Observatory Initiative. The main purpose of the grant is to develop high-quality data that will inform future management of the Mississippi River watershed.

The Illinois RiverWatch Network is offering Illinois residents the chance to train to become citizen scientists.

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center recently awarded seed grant funding to six University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign research projects complementary to NGRREC’s mission of large river research and education.

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center’s terrestrial ecology team is continuing a project initiated earlier last year that studies control methods for Japanese hops (Humulus japonicus), an invasive vine species that appears to be spreading throughout the Upper Mississippi River System (UMRS).

Illinois Natural history Survey scientists John Chick, Lori Soeken-Gittinger, Eric Ratcliff, Eric Gittinger, Ben Lubinski and Illinois Department of Natural Resources Commercial Fishing Manager Rob Maher recently released a publication in the peer-reviewed Illinois Natural History Survey Bulletin, Volume 39, September 2013, titled "A Decade of Monitoring on Pool 26 of the Upper Mississippi River System: Water Quality and Fish Data from the Upper Mississippi River Restoration Environmental Management Program."

Conservation staff from the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) may be coming to a watershed near you.

Lewis and Clark Media Specialist Louise Jett recently received an award for her photograph of National Great Rivers Research and Education Center interns playing with a crayfish they found in China Creek while studying micro and macro invertebrates.

Meet Matt Young, our new RiverWatch Biologist.

Despite the drizzle, hundreds of fifth graders from 10 local schools participated in Lewis and Clark Community College’s 11th Annual Water Festival Friday.

The Mississippi River Photo Exhibit will run from Friday, Aug. 30, to Wednesday, Sept. 11, in the Hatheway Cultural Center Lobby (upstairs) on Lewis and Clark Community College's Godfrey campus.

During a recent Toddle Towne visit to the Field Station, children learned about environmental science in fun, interactive ways.

The National Great Rivers Research and Education Center (NGRREC℠) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Mississippi River Commission (MRC) while aboard the Motor Vessel MISSISSIPPI August 15. The MOU designates NGRREC℠ as a lead research partner responsible for helping shape policies established by the MRC.

A special seminar on biologically active compounds in Midwestern watersheds will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday, July 16 at the National Great Rivers Research and Education Center’s Jerry F. Costello Confluence Field Station.

The NGRREC℠ Internship Orientation week provides college interns with an opportunity to engage with regional scientists and educators on topics such as agriculture and water, stakeholder relationships, the social side of water sustainability, and urban storm water runoff, in addition to learning about the research, field survey techniques and education efforts of NGRREC℠ staff and their collaborators.

The Mississippi River Commission hears testimony from the Center's Watershed Scientist, John Sloan.

The Field Station, which is located near the confluence of the Mississippi, Missouri and Illinois rivers at One Confluence Way in East Alton by the Melvin Price Locks and Dam, is open to the public Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Free, guided tours are given every Friday at 11:30 a.m.

National Great Rivers Research and Education Aquatic Scientist John Chick visited Marquette Catholic High School in Alton and stressed the environmental and economic importance of the Mississippi River locally and nationally.

Eight scientists have been chosen to serve as NGRREC℠ Faculty Fellows. These scientists are helping to set the stage for ongoing learning, discovery and engagement at NGRREC℠.

Environmental educators gathered at the Jerry F. Costello Confluence Field Station to participate in an all-day Project WET Facilitator Refresher Workshop Feb. 1.

Take a look back at RiverWatch's First Biennial Symposium, a celebration of the evolution of the Illinois RiverWatch Network.

The Illinois RiverWatch program was recently featured on CBS Chicago. CBS 2's Vince Gerasole joined citizen scientists during a stream sampling.