Basic Wetland Delineation (2025)

Course Overview

This course satisfies the requirements for basic wetland delineation training as specified by the United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and certification programs in many states. Learn the technical guidelines for wetland delineations; field indicators of hydrophytic vegetation, hydric soils, and wetland hydrology; methods for making jurisdictional determinations and methods to apply in difficult situations.

Basic Wetland Delineation is offered as a hybrid course that includes online lectures followed by a 2-day field practicum. This course is 40 contact hours divided between lecture (24 hours) and fieldwork (16 hours). Please see dates and locations below.

2025 course participants can begin lectures anytime after your course opens on 12/11/2024. All online lectures must be completed prior to attending chosen field practicum. Progress through online lectures at your own pace and review as many times as you wish until online courses close on November 30th each year.

Successful completion of course requires completion of online/classroom lecture portion and participation in one in-person 16-contact-hour field session. Scroll down for dates, locations, and a more specific list of topics covered. Registration can be completed with payment via credit card, check, or purchase order.

Resources: Field Packing List | Sample Field Practicum Agenda | Printable Course Curriculum

$1,275.00

40 contact hours

24 hours online + 16 hours in field

Unless otherwise noted, field sessions run from 8:00 am until 5:30 pm each day.

Cunningham, Knowles, Larson, Lokovic Gamber, Love, McArthur, McEldowney, Nigro, Rogers, Santulli, Scoles, Smith, Stringer, B Whited, M Whited

Learn more about your instructors

Recommended Plant Identification Courses (Optional)

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. Our Plants of the Wetland Boundary (PWB) online courses are designed for nonbotonists that want to improve their delineation skills. To help participants strengthen their plant identification skills and be better prepared for the field portion of the Basic Wetland Delineation (BWD) course, a discount is available for those who register for both the Plants of the Wetland Boundary and Basic Wetland Delineation courses in the same year.

To receive $100 off your registration for a regional PWB course when taking a BWD course in the same year, add both to your WTI cart and enter the following coupon code: “BWDPLANT100” upon checkout. You can take all three regions currently available for just $1,000! Learn about individual regional courses by clicking the buttons below, or click here to purchase our 3 region bundle (includes Northeast, North Central, Southeast). You can also browse all of our plant identification courses, including more in-depth topics here.

North Central Plants of the Wetland Boundary

Northeastern Plants of the Wetland Boundary

Southeastern Plants of the Wetland Boundary

Your Course Includes



Pocket Guide to Hydric Soil Field Indicators

This field guide is based on the National Technical Committee on Hydric Soils’ Field Indicators of Hydric Soils in the United States.



Printed Lecture Notes and Electronic Resources

Receive a copy of lecture notes and a thumb drive of essential electronic resources to reference after the course.



Certificate of Completion

You will receive a certificate of completion with instructional contact hours documented once you have completed all course requirements (i.e. all lectures and field sessions)

Frequently asked Questions

When does the course start and finish?

You can begin your online lectures anytime after your course opens (December each year). Your printed and electronic course materials should arrive in the mail within about a week after your field location is confirmed unless you request them sooner. You must complete all online lectures before your in-person field practicum date. You may continue to review online lectures anytime until your course closes (November 30th each year).

Can I view lectures at my own pace?

Yes! You can view and review lectures as many times you wish until your course closes. All online courses close on November 30th each year.

Can I have face-to-face interaction with the Instructor?

You will have face-to-face interaction with your field practicum instructor to ensure you understand all the material as well as standard field practices. During the online componenet of the course, please contact the instructor via the discussion board or our direct messaging system from the member’s area.

Does this course count towards my certification program?

Your certificate of completion can be used to document instructional hours received in this topic. You should contact the specific certifying agency or association directly to find out how they will assess or credit this WTI course. Typically, our courses are accepted by all state and national certifying agencies and associations; however, you should confirm that with the specific certification program to which you are applying or renewing.

What if I need to cancel? Do you offer refunds?

Please click here to review our cancellation policy.

Do I need to take a field course in the state/region where I work?

The basic wetland delineation courses focus on data collection, field interpretations and wetland boundary determination. While plant identification and habitat discussions are informally part of the course, they aren’t the primary focus. In many situations, the instructor or other participants point out specific plants, but don’t have time to explain the particulars for the trees, shrubs, forbs, grasses and vines. If there isn’t a quick identification, then the class proceeds with noting the genus but not species. Thus, field sessions are not State-centric for plants or habitat.

Our Basic Wetland Delineation course requires you complete 24 hours of online lectures and a 2 day in-person field practicum. Register for this course by selecting a field practicum location below. Registration includes online lectures, printed course materials, and your selected 2 day field course:

Dates	Locations	Register by Field Location
January 22 – 23, 2026	Orange County, CA	REGISTRATION COMING
January 26 -27, 2026	Orange County, CA	REGISTRATION COMING
January 29 – 30, 2026	Ventura County, CA	REGISTRATION COMING
February 23 – 24, 2026	San Diego, CA	REGISTRATION COMING
March 19 – 20, 2026	Sacramento, CA	REGISTRATION COMING
March 23 – 24, 2026	Houston, TX	REGISTRATION COMING
March 25 – 26, 2026	Houston, TX	REGISTRATION COMING
April 8 – 9, 2026	Sacramento, CA	REGISTRATION COMING
April 27 – 28, 2026	Santa Rosa, CA	REGISTRATION COMING
April 28 – 29, 2026	Richmond, VA	REGISTRATION COMING
May 6 – 7, 2026	Des Moines, IA	REGISTRATION COMING
May 12 -13, 2026	Portage, WI	REGISTRATION COMING
May 19 – 20, 2026	Twin Cities, MN	REGISTRATION COMING
June 1 – 2, 2026	Anchorage, AK	REGISTRATION COMING
June 17 – 18, 2026	Sheridan, WY	REGISTRATION COMING
June 22 – 23, 2026	Laramie, WY	REGISTRATION COMING
August 3 – 4, 2026	Humboldt County, CA	REGISTRATION COMING
August 17 – 18, 2026	Tacoma, WA	REGISTRATION COMING
August 20 – 21, 2026	Marysville, WA	REGISTRATION COMING
September 15 – 16, 2026	Portage, WI	REGISTRATION COMING
September 15 – 16, 2026	Kalispell, MT	REGISTRATION COMING
October 5 – 6, 2026	Manchester, NH	REGISTRATION COMING
November 17 – 18, 2026	Charleston, SC	REGISTRATION COMING

These dates and locations are also offered as a 2-day Refresher Course for those who have had a full, basic wetland delineation course (at least 32 hours) from WTI or another provider. Click here to learn more.

What Our Participants Say….

“I expected to come away ready to confidently carry out wetland delineations on my own – I feel ready. Lots of great information and the ability to work through practice delineations with the appropriate amount of guidance and supervision.”

“The instructor knows the 1987 USACE Manual inside and out and is an expert in the field of wetland delineation. I would recommend this course to anyone wishing to expand their knowledge on the subject.”

“It was useful to be able to re-listen to slides as I progressed through the online course. That was a benefit compared to a live course. If I missed something or did not understand, I could “rewind.”

“As a novice in the world of hydric veg, soils, and hydrology, this course was a perfect introduction. The instructors provided all the foundational knowledge one needs to confidently begin conducting wetlands delineations.”

“This is a great course for beginners and also for people with some experience in delineating wetlands. I have done some delineations in the past, and taking this course brought a better understanding of some of the principles and indicators that will make delineation easier for me in the future.”

“Attending [this] course was a perfect fit for me as a mid-career full time professional. Serving a wide variety of private and public sector partners and clients at a conservation district, I felt like the breadth and depth provided by the instructors gave me greater confidence in navigating both the technical and policy driven aspects of wetland conservation.”

“This course is extremely helpful, especially for someone like me; freshly graduated and beginning my career. The course tied together a lot of things I’ve learned in school and the things I’ve been doing at my job, which is awesome for a synthesis understanding of everything. Now I have one more tool under my belt to not only improve my wages, but also boost my confidence when it comes to future job endeavors, both certification wise, and knowledge wise.”

“There is a ton of beneficial information in the course. The field course made the lectures much more clear and getting to practice what we learned in the field was extremely beneficial.”

Get Started Now

Select location above and click on “Register Now” to enroll.

Course Curriculum

Basic Wetland Delineation Online Lectures and Field Practicum focus on the application of the Regional Supplements and the portions of the 1987 Wetland Delineation Manual still valid as used by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and numerous state governments. Specific lecture topics are listed below. Field practicum agendas include: safety briefing, instructor demonstration and use of data sheets, student characterization of data points and use of data sheets, and a variety of field exercises.

Discussion: Welcome and Introduce Yourself Here

…
Discussion: I have questions or comments

…

Basic Wetland Delineation Pre-Field Quiz

48 questions

Welcome to Basic Wetland Delineation (17 minutes) Preview

17 minutes
Course logistics – BWD (5 minutes)

5 minutes
Geographic Jurisdiction (52 minutes)

52 minutes
Introduction to Wetlands, the 1987 Manual, and Regional Supplements (44 minutes)

44 minutes
Hydrology Fundamentals – Part 1 (46 minutes)

30 minutes
Hydrology Fundamentals – Part 2 (19 minutes)

19 minutes
Wetland Hydrology Indicators Part 1 (36 minutes)

36 minutes
Wetland Hydrology Indicators Part 2 (31 minutes)

31 minutes
Hydrology in the Field demonstration (18 minutes)

18 minutes
Soil Fundamentals (38 minutes)

38 minutes
Aspects of Soil Color (26 minutes)

27 minutes
Redoximorphic Features (12 minutes)

15 minutes
Hydric Soil Field Indicators (2 hours)

120 minutes
Soil Indicators in the Field demonstration (13 minutes)

13 minutes
Concept of a Hydrophyte (19 minutes) Preview

19 minutes
Hydrophytic Vegetation Indicators (28 minutes)

28 minutes
Hydrophytic Vegetation Exercise Results

5 minutes
Technical Guidelines (13 minutes)

13 minutes
Soil Surveys (35 minutes)

35 minutes
Methods (28 minutes)

28 minutes
Methods – Part 2 (forthcoming)

21 minutes
Completing a Routine Data Form (24 minutes)

24 minutes
Problem Areas and Difficult Situations (1 hour, 36 minutes)

96 minutes
Problematic Soils (1 hour, 14 minutes)

74 minutes
Disturbed/Atypical situations (1 hour, 13 minutes)

73 minutes
Soil Taxonomy (1 hour, 15 minutes)

75 minutes