by Jolene Toves

Guam - The National Park Service is looking for people to get down and dirty as they prepare for their annual surveys of the Asan River.

Every year the National Park Service performs its annual surveys and every year they get help from the community who don't mind trenching through the jungle to learn firsthand about the island's river ecosystems. National Park Service biology technician Amanda McCutcheon told KUAM News, "This year we are going to be two weeks and probably another week later on and we conduct surveys on fresh water animals fish shrimp snails. We also do some water quality surveys and habitat characterization surveys."

The surveys, which begin in February, will last several weeks. Volunteers will join park biologists as they hike through the rolling hills of Nimitz, through grasslands and a bamboo forest. The data collected from the surveys will give the technicians an idea of how the Asan River is changing over the years. "For right now, it's just to kinda get that base line and to be able to know what fish species are in there and what kind of shrimp we can find and really what the water quality looks like for the time being," she said.

If you'd like to volunteer no experience is necessary but you must be in good physical condition, must be capable of hiking and carrying a pack through rough and slippery terrain. Volunteers should also be willing to learn hands-on and get wet and dirty.

Interested individuals or groups of ten or less can choose which day or days they wish to participate but should confirm in advance. The surveys are scheduled to be conducted in mid-February. For more information or to sign up contact McCutcheon at 477-7278, Extension 1013.