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UPPER MISSOURI RIVER ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM (EMAP-UMR): A ROBUST DESIGN FOR A GREAT-RIVER ASSESSMENT
Citation:
Angradi, T., D Bolgrien, E. W. Schweiger, J. R. Kelly, J. V. Scharold, J A. Thompson, C W. West, S E. Miller, AND T D. Corry. UPPER MISSOURI RIVER ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM (EMAP-UMR): A ROBUST DESIGN FOR A GREAT-RIVER ASSESSMENT. Presented at North American Benthological Society Meeting, LaCrosse, WI, June 3-8, 2001.
Description:
Great rivers are complex, trans-border resources that are difficult to assess without bias. The U.S. EPA is using the Upper Missouri River to develop tools for biological assessments of large rivers. Our focus is to l) apply multi-density randon tessellation stratified (MD-RTS) survey designs to major habitats, and 2) develop robust, policy-relevant indicators of ecological condition. The MD-RTS approach produces unbiased estimates of resource conditions with known statistical confidence. Initial studies have been completed on the Garrison/Lake Oahe Reach in North Dakota. Riverine open water, shoreline, and lentic habitats (e.g., contiguous backwaters), floodplain and in-channel riparian habitat (e.g., islands and sandbars), and reservoir open water and embayments were identified as significant resources. Indicators of mainstem condition include water chemistry, benthos, woody debris, and physical habitat. Indicators of riparian condition include cottonwod stand condition and successional status, local topography, and understory composition. Indicators of reservoir condition include trophic status, water chemistry, sediment classification, and benthos. The EMAP-UMR design will allow integration of findings into a concurrent EMAP project for western US streams and provide a model for a future Central Basin EMAP (Missouri, Mississippi, and Ohio River Basins.)