An Analysis of Potential Stream Fish and Fish Habitat Monitoring Procedures for the Inland Northwest
Author | : |
Publisher | : |
Total Pages | : 61 |
Release | : 1999 |
ISBN-10 | : OCLC:68438649 |
ISBN-13 | : |
Rating | : 4/5 (49 Downloads) |
Book excerpt: Recent concerns over the rapid declines of native stream-fish populations in the inland Northwest have prompted the USDA Forest Service to institute interim land management practices intended to stop further declines in fish habitat quality and protect existing high quality habitat. Natural resource managers in the Inland Northwest need tools for assessing the success or failure of conservation policies and the impacts of management actions on fish and fish habitats. Effectiveness monitoring is one such potential tool, but there are currently no established monitoring protocols. Since 1991, US Forest Service biologists have used the standardized R1/R4 inventory procedures to measure fish and fish habitats on agency lands throughout the Intermountain West. The widespread use and acceptance of these standardized procedures and the large amount of data collected suggest that the R1/R4 procedures might provide the basis for an effectiveness monitoring protocol. Using fish and fish habitat data collected by Forest Service biologists, the authors assessed the efficiency of the R1/R4 procedures for monitoring stream fish and fish habitats.