California Aquatic Bioassessment Workgroup
The College of Bioassessment (COB) was developed by CDFW and the State Board’s Training Academy to provide students with a background on stream ecology, sampling design and data analysis based on SWAMP Bioassessment Procedure. Water resource professionals involved with the implementation and/or administration of bioassessment projects as well as citizen scientists will benefit from the four courses offered through the COB.
Course 1 is an introduction to all aspects of bioassessment and although some students gain enough knowledge in the first course to make them more confident at writing permits, managing contracts and dealing with environmental review, for a complete understanding of bioassessment, all four courses should be completed. Besides attending all four courses, any participant wanting to conduct bioassessment should participate in annual inter-calibration exercises and field audits (described in the sections below). Graduates of the COB can keep up with projects and techniques involving bioassessment by attending the annual CABW meeting
Established bioassessment field and laboratory professionals are encouraged to attend COB courses to insure that they are up to date with procedures and data analysis but they will have the opportunity to petition to certify completion of a COB course based on their work experience.
To learn more and for registration, visit their site here for more.