Dakota County, MN

​Protecting Dakota County’s valuable surface water and groundwater resources is an important responsibility for everyone who lives and works here. Dakota County helps protect water quality every step of the way.

The Wetland Health Evaluation Program engages citizen volunteers to help monitor wetlands in their community. Since 1997, WHEP volunteers have been monitoring wetland health throughout Dakota and Hennepin counties. They provide important information to city and county planners, engineers, resource managers, and others. The data is also used by the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency to track wetland health throughout the Twin Cities metropolitan area. 

The Wetland Health Evaluation Program teaches citizen volunteers to become wetland monitors in their community. WHEP volunteers work in teams to evaluate the biological health of wetlands selected by their community. All training and equipment is provided and volunteer times are flexible and adaptable to a busy summer schedule. 

For additional information about this program, check out this intro video or visit the MN WHEP website.

Please select the team (city) you want to join. If desired team is full, please join the nearest team to your home location that is still available. For assistance, please contact Garrett Zaffke at garrett.zaffke@co.dakota.mn.us. 

Training is recommended but not mandatory for you to be a part of the WHEP program. The training consists of three sessions: Field Methods, Macro ID, and Veg ID.