October 24th | Issue 18

Brought to you by the Michigan Vernal Pools Partnership

Welcome to the Fall 2025 Pool Report! 

In this issue...

• 2025 Annual Meeting - Part Two! 
• Pool Party Recap
• Invitation to the Pool Patrol Program Coordinator Meeting
• 2026 Pool Patrol Training Dates

Join the Michigan Vernal Pools Partnership for a morning of learning and strategic planning on December 4th, 2025.

Earlier this year, the MVPP celebrated our 10th year of partnership with an in-person meeting at the Pierce Cedar Creek Institute, where we looked back on the highlights of the past ten years of vernal pool conservation, education, mapping, and outreach.

This December, we invite you to join us over Zoom to look ten years to the future!

The first two hours of the meeting will cover 2025 partnership updates, feature guest speakers who will dive into vernal pool science topics, and include a report of the 2025 vernal pool monitoring season.

From 11:00 am - 12:00 pm, those who are interested are invited to participate in a strategic planning feedback session where we would like to discuss and get your thoughts and input on potential goals and priority actions for the MVPP moving forward! More info to come.

Thanks to all those who joined us this fall at Pool Party in Lansing and in Newaygo!

And, a HUGE thanks to our partners as well who showed up to share their expertise so we can all continue to grow our connection and knowledge of the world around us.

Tim Duffy was awarded the 2025 Newaygo County Pool Patrol Woodfrog Award for his dedication to mapping and monitoring the county's pools! Program Coordinator, Katie Clark, discussed the indicators of a dry vernal pool. Thank you to Kropscott Farms for hosting!

Photos from Katie Clark and Chadwick Walenga

Attendees visited with MVPP and other local partners to expand their knowledge on vernal pool ecology and how to get involved in local conservation efforts! Yu Man Lee and Courtney Ross shared about vernal pool monitoring and the indicators of a fall pool. Thanks to Fenner Nature Center for hosting and leading a fall nature hike!

Thanks to all the partners who hosted education tables: Mid-Michigan CISMA, Michigan Forest Association, Wild Ones Red Cedar Chapter,  MSU Smart Gardening, MSU Extension Conservation Stewards Program, Michigan Wildlife Conservancy, MI EGLE,  Michigan Natural Features Inventory,  Michigan Tech Research Institute, and the Michigan Nature Association.

The mission of the Michigan Vernal Pools Partnership is to increase awareness, understanding and protection of vernal pools through conservation, research & mapping, education & outreach and collaboration.                                     

The Vernal Pool Patrol is a community science and place-based vernal pool mapping, monitoring, and education program consisting of classroom instruction and data collection in the field. Members learn how to follow a standard protocol to help identify, map, and monitor locations of vernal pools within their local communities.