Course Overview

North Central plants of the wetland boundary is 24-contact hour course designed to give participants the knowledge and skills necessary to identify many commonly encountered plants on either side of the wetland boundary in the North Central United States (and adjoining Canada). The course focuses on basic plant identification, terminology, keying, and field characters. A self-directed field component provides participants the opportunity to submit digital photographs of plants they have identified for verification and to interact with experts and peers on the course discussion forum. Lecture notes are available for download in full color in either two or three images per page. Participants are responsible for printing your own lectures notes. This course is best suited for beginner to moderate skill levels and are ideal to prepare for one of our Basic Wetland Delineation courses.

Take all three regions currently available for just $1,000! Click here to purchase our 3 region bundle (includes Northeast, North Central, Southeast).

Tuition cost:

$425.00

Frequently asked Questions

Course Details

Our Plants of the Wetland Boundary (PWB) courses are designed for non-botonists that want to improve their delineation skills. After learning the delineation process as taught in our Basic Wetland Delineation (BWD) classes, the single most important acquired skill to decrease delineation process time is rapid recognition of plant species.

The course concept is to teach people to sight-identify plants commonly found on both sides of the wetland delineation line. The species selected for each course are based upon those observed during wetland delineations in the region covered by the course. Generally, several experienced delineators have cooperated in development of the regional course lists.

The courses focus on building rapid, field-based, identification skills by emphasizing field characters, while enforcing common botanical terminology and keying skills. Generally, three slides for each species with corresponding photos and line drawings are presented with an audio narrative from an expert botanist. If someone specifically wants to get into more detailed, technical botany, this course is not for them. If you have to differentiate two plant species in the same genus by some numeric and/or microscopic characteristic, generally, the plant is not amenable to sight-identification (e.g., many Carex spp.) and it has been excluded from this course. In fact, there are very few characteristics listed that are size measurement dependent.

After an initial lecture introducing participants to common characteristics and terminology used in plant identification, the lectures are organized from the easiest identified (trees) to the most difficult (grasses, sedges, rushes and ferns). Thus, it is intended that the participant will become increasingly familiar with terms and detail as they progress through the course. The final lecture deals with identification of wetland indicator status (Obligate Wetland to Upland) using the Corps of Engineers’ regional and/or state listings. The recognized scientific names used are those found in the National Wetland Plant Lists and are based on the The Biota of North America Program (North American Vascular Flora). No subspecies are included. A common name is also presented, but use of the scientific names is encouraged since common names may differ by locality and/or may be applied to more than one species.

An online forum is available for discussion and for questions to be posed by participants to the instructors to help clarify points and build additional knowledge. A self-directed field component provides participants the opportunity to submit for verification, digital photographs of plants they have identified and to interact with experts and peers on the course discussion forum. Lecture Notes are available for download in full color in either two or three images per page. Participants are responsible for printing their own lectures notes. Lecture Notes are intended for registered participants only. We request that you only print the copyrighted Notes for your own personal use.

A discount is offered when you register for both a Plants of the Wetland Boundary and a Basic Wetland Delineation (BWD) course in the same year to encourage those that know that their plant ID skills are weak, to be better prepared before they go into the field portion of the BWD course. While not a prerequisite, you will gain so much more in the BWD field session if you have spent some time honing your basic plant ID skills. To receive $100 off your registration for a PWB course and a BWD course in the same year, add both to your WTI cart and enter the following coupon code upon checkout: BWDPLANT100  If you already purchased your BWD course this year and want to add this course, please contact our office at getinfo@wetlandtraining.com to receive your discount code. Or, take all three regions currently available for just $1,000! Click here to purchase our 3 region bundle (includes Northeast, North Central, Southeast).