Dr. Alex Barnard, National Park Community College instructor and DLAMN member, will be conducting a Stream Team training session on May 14, followed by a water quality sampling on Bull Bayou. Alex is expanding this training session to include a full morning in the science labs at NPCC. While there, Alex will cover water chemistry, stream ecology, and sampling techniques. After lunch you will move to Bull Bayou to actually sample the water quality, the results of which will be reported to the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission.
We will meet at 9am at the Lab Sciences Building at National Park Community College, room 123. After time in the classroom, we will break for lunch. We will the move to the picnic area on Bull Bayou (find it on Google Maps or use coordinates 34.5296498, -93.0960664). You will not have to get wet to participate in the water sampling, but if you choose to, you will need to bring boots for wading. Alex will provide all needed equipment. The water sampling will take about two hours. Remember to bring a lunch. You may also need to bring water and bug spray.
This is a great way to learn the Stream Team procedures that we use on the Caddo and Middle Fork rivers. Plus, you get some fantastic biology class time. If you wish to skip the classroom portion, plan on meeting at the picnic area around noon. NITs will be able to count this as 5 hours of NIT training. NATs can count 3 hours of continuing education and 2 hours of volunteer time.