Freshwater ecosystems in northern regions are especially susceptible to recent earth system changes. Data on ice formation and breakup dates indicate that lakes have experienced later freezing and earlier ice break up dates from the mid-1800s to the late 1900s. However, these data are from a limited set of lakes, and data on how ice thickness has changed during this time is limited due to concerns about cost, time, and surveyor safety. By collecting data from those already out on the ice, like ice fishers, we can reduce surveyor risk and gather data cost-effectively. In previous research at WSU, data-scraping from ice-fishing forums was shown to be an effective way to collect ice thickness data, but many uncertainties exist in these observations. In this study, we developed a new survey tool that could be used in the future by citizen scientists for ice cover and thickness data collection. Here we show preliminary data we collected while testing the survey on how ice cover changed at several local lakes. Future work will include IRB approval and distribution of the survey to other participants.