Wetland health evaluation program (WHEP)

What is WHEP?

Wetland Health Evaluation Program (WHEP) is an environmental monitoring program focusing on assessing the condition and health of wetlands.

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. Teams of citizen scientists assess local wetlands by identifying and quantifying the biological communities of each site. Volunteers collect aquatic macroinvertebrates, including insects, leeches, small crustaceans, and snails. Teams also focus on wetland vegetation by inventorying the plant community.

Macroinvertebrates and vegetation are influenced by physical and chemical properties of wetlands. Some invertebrates and plants are more tolerant to poor water quality than others. Certain species will flourish in healthy wetlands while others will not occur at all so monitoring these communities helps assess water quality.

Why wetlands?

Wetlands are an essential component to our environment. They act as filters for pollutants and nutrients in water as they absorb excess water therefore recharging groundwater. Wetlands are also a major resource for amphibians, mammals and birds while migrating or raising young.

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Interactive map

Explore WHEP through the WHEP interactive map.

Where is WHEP?

Current teams are monitoring

Minneapolis
Bloomington
Eden Prairie
Minnetonka
Elm Creek Watershed (Champlin, Corcoran, Dayton, Maple Grove, Medina, Plymouth, Rogers)
Shingle Creek Watershed (Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Crystal, Maple Grove, Minneapolis, New Hope, Osseo, Plymouth, Robbinsdale)
West Mississippi Watershed (Brooklyn Center, Brooklyn Park, Champlin, Maple Grove, Osseo)
Pioneer/Sarah Watershed (Independence, Greenfield, Loretto, Minnetrista, Medina, Maple Plain)

Results and reports

For the past two decades, Hennepin County’s Wetland Health Evaluation Program (WHEP) has provided an opportunity for Hennepin County residents to connect with wetlands in their communities and become advocates for their sustainability. Watershed management organizations and cities contract with Hennepin County to administer volunteer water quality monitoring programs. WHEP is designed to provide hands-on environmental education experiences for volunteers while they collect valuable data.

The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously impacted all of us. WHEP is no different. In 2021, like in 2020, we moved forward without our regular set of sponsors, teams, volunteers, and staff. Because of the restrictions put in place, our regular monitoring of over 30 wetlands, with 100 or more volunteers, wasn’t feasible. However, we had a unique situation in Minneapolis that made monitoring possible in both 2020 and 2021. Thanks to all 2021 participants and volunteers!

See a summary of the data collected and the stream health assessments in the 2021 WHEP report (PDF).

Current WHEP volunteers

These resources, including videos, show you what we do in the field to collect macroinvertebrate and vegetation data.

MPCA Citizen's Guide to Biological Assessment of Wetlands

Safety fact sheets

Ensure workplace safety. Learn how to avoid and treat these potential hazards.

Safety

Safety while monitoring should be kept in mind at all times. Keeping yourself and your team members safe is everyone’s priority.

Macroinvertebrate survey

This video illustrates the dip net method that we use for all of our macroinvertebrate sampling. Three complete efforts are done to ensure a good sample size.

Vegetation survey

This series of videos walk you through the process of conducting the vegetation survey. Working with team members, you then establish a sub-section of the wetland to conduct the inventory.