2007 FRESHWATER BIOASSESSMENT
Training for Natural Resources Professionals

The standardization of ecological assessments for use in California water quality management began with the development of the California Stream Bioassessment Procedure (CSBP) in 1993. Since then, the procedure has been calibrated with U.S. EPA procedures used throughout the west and has become the standard for the State Water Resources Control Board's Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP). These workshops have been offered throughout California by Jim Harrington* using the instruction manual entitled "Measuring the Health of California Streams and Rivers" (Harrington & Born, 2000) and the latest bioassessment protocols approved by SWAMP.

Workshops are also available for custom-tailored training sessions. Contact SLSI (slsii@um.att.com) for more information.

*Part 1: This workshop begins with one day of classroom presentations and discussion on Designing Rapid and Fully Integrated Freshwater Ecological Assessments. The next two days are conducted in the field with demonstrations of Physical/Habitat Assessments for Water Quality Projects and Sampling Biotic Communities in California Rivers and Streams. This workshop will provide the participant with an understanding of bioassessment design and prepare them for implementing SWAMP compatible bioassessment protocols. See agenda

** Part 2: This workshop will provide the participants with an understanding of the laboratory procedures used in bioassessment and how the information can be in water resource management. Using the samples collected in Part 1, each participant will work on teams to perform Family-Level Taxonomic Identification of Freshwater Invertebrates. Throughout the laboratory exercise, there will be examples on how to Insure Data Quality and then based on this "real data" set, each participant will Calculate and Interpret Biological Metrics. Finally, there will be presentations and a discussion of Current Topics on the Use of Freshwater Ecological Assessments in Water Quality Regulation.

These two workshop parts are designed to be independent of each other. However, it is recommended to take both parts in the same year and if possible, in sequence. There will be a separate certificate of completion for each workshop.

PART 1 - AGENDA

Instructor: Jim Harrington - DFG Staff Environmental Scientist
Text: Measuring the Health of California Streams and Rivers - Harrington and Born
State Water Resources Control Board Bioassessment Protocols

Day 1 - Designing Freshwater Ecological Assessments - Rapid and Fully Integrated Approach
Class Room Instruction 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Introductions
Presentation on the Natural State of Streams and Rivers
Presentation on Sampling Strategies for Detecting Impairment
Presentation on the Concept of Reference Conditions
Presentation on Developing an Index of Biological Integrity
Presentation on Evolution of Bioassessment Sampling Techniques
Discussion of Similarities and Differences with CSBP and New SWAMP Protocols
Overview of Sampling Techniques for Day 2 and 3

Day 2 - Physical/Habitat Assessments for Water Quality Projects - New Techniques Required by the Surface Water Ambient Monitoring Program (SWAMP)
Field Instruction 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Introduction and Coordinating Day's Activities
Demonstration of Sampling Site Delineation for SWAMP Protocol
Demonstration of Vital Equipment Used in Freshwater Bioassessments
Overview of SWAMP Protocol Physical/Habitat Measures - Basic and Full Level
Demonstration of EPA RBP Based PHab Procedures

Day 3 - Sampling Biotic Communities in California Rivers and Streams
Field Instruction 9:00 am - 4:00 pm
Overview of Sampling Site Delineation for SWAMP Protocol
Demonstration of Targeted Riffle and Multi-habitat or Reach-wide BMI Sampling
Demonstration of SWAMP Protocol Physical/Habitat Measures - Basic Level
Demonstration of SWAMP Protocol Physical/Habitat Measures - Full Level
Discussion of QA/QC Requirements and Exercises