Conservation Projects
Volunteer Community Scientists & Stewards
With a vibrant community of people who care, OCCA is able to maintain trails at local state forests, monitor stream water quality at 16 sites, conduct culvert assessments for aquatic travel, survey and remove invasive species, monitor lake shorelines for Harmful Algal Blooms, and more.
Cross-County Watershed Coordination
Our watershed coordination work allows us to connect and collaborate with partner organizations on projects relating to water quality, watershed planning, and habitat restoration and protection. These projects span across multiple watersheds throughout the county, including streams, lakes, ponds, and wetlands. OCCA's collaborative approach to watershed protection ensures that conservation projects relating to water quality are focused on the priorities of everyone that uses and enjoys our local waterbodies, including partner organizations, lake associations, municipalities, and community members.
Invasive Species Rapid Response Teams
are seasonal employees who identify, monitor, and remove populations of aquatic and terrestrial invasive plant species throughout the county. This involves surveys on land and in the water to monitor for emergent populations of invasive species, along with hand-pulling high-priority species at established sites. Our team tracks population locations, the size of identified populations, and treatment and control activities using iMapInvasives. At sites where our rapid response team has targeted populations over the course of several years, we have seen substantial reductions in population sizes and densities.