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To learn more about this project, watch the CREEQ Informational Webinar
To find stream locations to perform the survey, visit the CREEQ Public Streams Map Series web page
To view your surveys, and those performed by other citizen-scientists and the research team, visit the CREEQ Data Portal
For answers to Frequently Asked Questions see the FAQ page
Call for Citizen Scientists!
Call for Citizen Scientists!
The CREEQ citizen-science initiative is a research project by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry sponsored by the NY Department of Environmental Conservation. We request your assistance by reporting the condition of the waterways you visit. By participating, you are supporting environmental science research that can improve monitoring efforts that can protect natural waterways through the application of innovative and community-focused approaches to conservation.
Consistent with “New York State on PAUSE” guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19, New Yorkers are encouraged to engage in responsible activities that incorporate guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York State Department of Health for reducing the spread of infectious diseases. Activities like this survey can be performed by individuals and household members on their own schedule in a way that allows them to remain local and practice physical distancing.
For more details, visit: https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/119881.html
What is CREEQ?
The Citizen Recreational Evaluation of Environmental Quality (CREEQ) project asks waterway users like you to perform a visual evaluation of stream water quality and recreational usability through a guided online survey.
This survey takes about 5-10 minutes to complete.
What will be done with the survey data?
Data collected from online surveys will be put into a geographic information system (GIS) database, accessible to the public through the CREEQ Data Portal, in order to pinpoint sampling locations and match these locations to visual evaluations.
By collecting these locations, an ESF team will be able to verify survey data with water quality sampling to determine accuracy of visual evaluations to water quality laboratory findings. This will ultimately assist DEC by generating widespread water quality data by citizen science volunteers for New York State.
Where should I go to complete a survey?
You can perform this survey at any stream location you have access to in Central New York State.
We encourage you to perform surveys at public access locations as noted below.
Public access stream locations include:
Hiking areas in DEC-managed lands
Public Fishing Rights
Boat launches, ramps, or hand launches
DEC Recommended fishing streams/rivers
State Parks and other sites managed by the Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation
If you are unsure about public access stream locations in your area, visit our Public-Access Stream Locations Map Series, to find recreational areas near you!
We encourage you to perform the survey at stream locations in the following counties:
Broome, Cayuga, Chenango, Cortland, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Onondaga, Ontario, Otsego, Oswego, Seneca, Schuyler, Tioga, Tompkins, Wayne, and Yates counties
Surveys performed in other counties will be accepted and made available on the CREEQ Data Portal, but validation with water quality sampling will be limited to the current scope of the project in the counties listed.
When should I participate?
Survey responses will be accepted from May 9 - September 11.
Surveys can be completed at any time during the day.
How do I participate?
All you need is a smartphone and interest!
To access the CREEQ Survey, search "CREEQ Survey Survey123", scan the QR code with your device, or click the link above.
You can perform the survey any time you are recreating in or near a public stream, or any time you want to contribute.
You can perform this evaluation as many times as you like, as long as you do not submit more than one survey per location per day.
As noted above, you will be able to see your submissions, alongside other CREEQ volunteers in the CREEQ Data Portal, which will be updated in real time.
In the face of COVID-19, it is important to practice social distancing, however through this data portal, we hope you will feel connected to other volunteers in this network.
What about COVID-19?
During New York State on PAUSE, the DEC and State Parks encourages New Yorkers to get outdoors and engage locally in responsible recreation during this time. Following guidelines from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New York State Department of Health, the DEC and State Parks encourage New Yorkers to recreate locally (#RecreateLocal), practice physical (social) distancing of 6 feet or more, keep visits short, visit in small groups limited to immediate household members, and to use common sense to protect themselves and others. In addition, New Yorkers are required to wear masks in public when appropriate social distancing cannot be maintained. New Yorkers over 70 years old or with a compromised immune system should not visit public spaces, including those outdoors.
These guidelines apply to all who participate in the CREEQ project. We encourage you to use this volunteering opportunity to get out into nature during these difficult times, but we ask that you do so responsibly.
For more information on how to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in outdoor public lands, visit: https://www.dec.ny.gov/outdoor/119881.html
Last updated: October 1, 2020
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