The Northwest Montana Lakes Volunteer Monitoring Network (NWMTLVMN) is a partnership between the Montana Fish, Wildlife & Parks, the Flathead Basin Commission and the Whitefish Lake Institute. Our mission is to recruit and train volunteers to monitor water quality, identify and report Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS) and promote watershed stewardship in Northwest Montana. Volunteers are generally the first responders to a water quality issue or an AIS sighting. Through the work of the volunteers in the program, lake data is collected and an annual report is prepared detailing the health and status of these lakes. Volunteer monitoring is a critical component for the early detection of AIS in the Flathead Basin (Flathead, Lake and Lincoln counties).