Loon Monitoring in Wisconsin

Welcome! From this page, you can navigate to the Wisconsin Citizen Monitoring Network SWIMS (Surface Water Integrated Monitoring System) database, which contains all of the loon monitoring data in Wisconsin. Loon Rangers from LoonWatch's Annual Lakes Monitoirng Program and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources Common Loon Citizen Science Network can enter data on-line and have direct access to live and historical loon data.

Follow the steps below or download the quick reference instructions to get started.

1. Step One: Get User ID and Password
2. Step Two: Submit Data
3. Step Three: Edit Existing Data

Step One: You will need to obtain a user name and password. If you have already used the SWIMS database, you can use that login. Go to step two.

• Get Your Wisconsin User ID
• Self Registration. Scroll down and hit Accept
• Fill in your information. If you have a problem with it not accepting your mailing address, just leave the whole address blank (there is a bug that causes it to not accept some addresses). Only fields with a * are required. Before hitting submit, print the page and jot down your password. Save it in a safe place.
• Open your email account and look for an email from Wisconsin.gov. Click on the link in the email and log in.
• Email the lake and county you volunteer in along with your user id to Jennifer Filbert, database manager. You will get a reply within a couple of business days saying you’re all set up to enter data!

Step Two: Follow the links below to the Annual Lakes Monitoirng Program (LoonWatch's Loon Rangers) and the Northwoods Loon Citizen Science Network (Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources) online data.
Loon Rangers
Northwoods Loon Protection Program

• Click on the Submit Data tab and click Add New
• Select the project from the dropdown. Projects are broken down –one for Loon Rangers with LoonWatch, and one for Loon Citizen Science Network with WDNR
• Select the monitoring station and data collectors. If there are additional data collectors not listed, feel free to list them in the comments area.
• Enter the Start date and time (when you started monitoring that day). End date and time are optional.
• Down below, enter your written observations in the comment box (i.e. weather, other wildlife)
• Click Next and fill in your results
• When finished, click Save and Add Another Date, or if you’re finished: Save and Return to List. If you click Save and Return to List (or if you click View List from the Submit Data tab), you will see the data you have entered.

Step Three: If you need to edit existing data

• Login
• Click the Submit Data tab. Click View List. Click the pencil icon for the data you want to edit.
• You can edit on the first page if necessary, and then click Next. You can now edit your results. If you hit Save and Return to List, your changes will save.

If you need assistance with anything related to reporting your data, feel free to contact Jennifer Filbert, database manager, or the LoonWatch coordinator.