June 18, 2003

Subject:  Macroinvertebrate Field Guide from IWLA
Contact:
Casey Williams
301-548-0150            [log in to unmask]

The Izaak Walton League's Watersheds Program Announces
Release of New Field Guide For Volunteers Stream & Wetland Monitors

The Izaak Walton League of America released a new field guide designed to
easily help volunteer stream and wetland monitors learn to
identify a host of aquatic macroinvertebrates.

"Yes, that's right, the League is releasing a new field guide to help
volunteers identify and understand what kind of organisms they might
encounter when monitoring streams and wetlands all over the country,"
said Casey Williams, the League's Save Our Streams program coordinator.
Macro-invertebrates are small animals lacking a backbone but visible
without the aid of a microscope.

The field guide is waterproof and covers a wide range of aquatic
macroinvertebrates with updated drawings, descriptions, and significance
rankings designed to help volunteer monitors conduct water quality
surveys. The "Volunteer Monitor's Field Guide for Aquatic
Macro-invertebrates" is a two-sided 11 x 17 laminated card that folds
into a 4 1/2 x 11 card that fits conveniently into a bag or monitoring
kit. Diagrams of larvae and adults display common features that
characterize each type.

In this user-friendly field guide, macroinvertebrates are organized
based on biological type rather than sensitivity to water degradation.
In addition, sensitivity classifications for a few macro-invertebrates
have been modified based on current scientific understanding of their
distribution patterns.  For example, common net-spinning caddis flies
are now placed in a less sensitive category than other caddis flies;
water snipe flies have moved from the less sensitive to the sensitive
group; and hellgrammites have moved from the sensitive to less sensitive
category.

The field guide is on sale for $4 plus shipping. To learn more about the
new field guide and to place an order, please visit the League's Website
at <http://www.iwla.org/sos/sostools.html> or call toll-free 800-BUG-IWLA.

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