Habitat Assessments Training

Everyone, please see below for a free opportunity to get trained in stream and stream side habitat assessments. I will be there as well.

Rich Biemiller

Hi Everyone,

I hope you are all doing really well and I hope the new year is going really well for you! I am happy to be rescheduling the training for conducting habitat assessments for this Sunday, January 22nd with a date set for early February in case of inclement weather at the same time and place!!

We will be meeting in the meeting/conference room (there is only one of these) at the Bloomsbury Municipal Building at 10 Mansfield Dr, Stanhope, NJ 07874 at 10am- 1pm.

Please do rsvp by sending an e-mail to ambassador@musconetcong.org. Also, please keep an eye on your e-mails at around 8:30am on Sunday, January 22nd to confirm that the training will take place then or for a notification that it will be rescheduled for early February. Thank you!

With the oncoming bit of snow, the workshop will most likely remain indoors but if weather permits, we will be going outside to conduct a habitat assessment after the training class. Also, please do bring your own lunch from home!! We will be eating for about 25 minutes together around 12pm before heading out to conduct the habitat assessment, hopefully in parts if not all of it. If you are able to come please bring waders, hip boots, or at worst knee high waterproof boots. Snow boots don't work!! If you don't have boots, that's okay because you can still view how to conduct the assessment from outside of the stream!

Please be sure to dress warmly by dressing in layers and using many thin, warm layers rather than a few thick layers along with a base layer. Also, please wear a long-sleeved top with a sweater or hoodie, pants (no shorts), insulated boots, winter socks, a good quality coat, parka, or jacket, a hat, and gloves or mittens.

Please do invite your friends and volunteers that you know of that would be interested in attending and learning how to conduct a habitat assessment!!! It would also mean a lot to have you there! Donuts and coffee will be provided!

Here is the **Agenda:

1st section (~ 1 hour)
>Overview of AmeriCorps and NJ Watershed Ambassador’s Program
>Primer on Volunteer Monitoring Program
>Defining a watershed and sources of pollution
>Discussing watershed protection and steps communities and individuals can take
>An introduction to assessment types: visual/habitat and biological and discussing tools to help evaluate water quality
>And information about shadowing an Ambassador conducting assessments

2nd section (~ 1 hour)
>This would cover “What is a visual/habitat assessment?”
>Using student visual PowerPoint slides to introduce concept of stream order and lead stream order activity
>Review general, monitoring, and land use assessment sheets
>Test knowledge using the visual/habitat assessment test
>Discuss monitoring frequency
>Discuss selection of sampling site on private property
>Discuss safety and liability
>The importance of decon and preventing the spread of Didymo

Lunch (brought from home) for about 25 minutes. We will carpool to the site, which is 6 minutes away, at the Musconetcong River at Drain Way in Mt Olive Township (40.917241, -74.728814)!

3rd section (~ 1 hour)
>This covers “How to perform a visual/habitat assessment”�
>Lead volunteers to pre-selected stream site
>Break into smaller groups if needed and collaborate on filling out data sheets
>Discuss as a group to calculate a visual/habitat score
>Reconvene and have each volunteer complete an evaluation sheet

Thank you all so much! Please do rsvp if you can! Looking forward to seeing you all there! If you have any questions, please do contact Taran, the NJ Watershed Ambassador leading the training, at 848-702-5819. Thanks again!!!