Marine Invasive Species Monitoring Network (MISM)
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife project managed by Nahkeeta Northwest Wildlife Services focuses on monitoring for the presence of 30 species identified as invasive or potentially invasive in Puget Sound.
How it works: Trained volunteers register with the network and choose or are assigned a beach. At least three times per year, the volunteers visit the beach and look for any individuals or new colonies of the 30 potentially invasive species being monitored. Volunteers survey sites in Fort Worden and Port Ludlow. A variety of sampling methods is used, including transect and gridline sampling, and setting traps.
Number of PTMSC volunteers involved: About 10
Data is posted online at www.mism.org
Is project open to new volunteers? Yes, but new volunteers must be able to operate independently, attend a training session and learn to identify the target species