SCCWRP guiding development of DNA-based stream bioassessment programs in Alaska

SCCWRP has begun working with the federal Bureau of Land Management in Alaska to build capacity to evaluate the health of waterways using DNA-based tools for conducting routine bioassessment work.

The BLM’s Alaska office in April asked SCCWRP – a national leader in the development of bioassessment tools for routine monitoring applications – to help incorporate DNA-based methods into its existing stream bioassessment programs. As in California, Alaska’s bioassessment programs rely primarily on identifying organisms manually under a microscope, which is time- and labor-intensive.

SCCWRP is guiding the Alaska BLM program in selecting DNA-based tools for conducting routine bioassessment work across a large, remote region, including the best methods, protocols and applications to adopt for monitoring programs statewide.

Much of SCCWRP’s expertise and perspective has been shaped through its leadership role with the California Molecular Methods Workgroup, a workgroup of the California Water Quality Monitoring Council that has been working to standardize DNA-based methods for bioassessment work in California.