State Recruits 'Citizen Scientists' To Collect Bugs From Stream Beds

ALBANY, N.Y. (CBSNewYork/AP) -- The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation has recruited citizen scientists to collect bugs and other invertebrates from stream bottoms, as part of a project to assess water quality in the Genesee, Delaware, Hudson, and Mohawk River watersheds.

The program is called Wadeable Assessments by Volunteer Evaluators, or WAVE.

Data collected by the volunteers is used to augment the work of the DEC Stream Biomonitoring Unit, which samples streams and rivers across the state to create an inventory of stream water quality.

Participants must submit sampling locations for review and attend a four-hour training session to provide hands-on experience with the required collection methods, the department said.

Trained citizen monitors will then visit streams up through Sept. 1 to collect and identify insects and other small organisms and preserve one sample of each for identification by the WAVE Coordinator.

Training sessions are scheduled for July and August starting Monday.

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