This document has been designed to provide an overview of the biological, physical and chemical methods of selected stream biomonitoring and assessment programs. It was written to satisfy the need to identify current methods that exist for sampling large rivers. The primary focus of this document is the boating methods used to assess flowing waters, but both boat based and wading methods are included. The target audiences are individuals tasked: to work with data generated from one or more of these programs; to design or improve a bioassess- and monitoring program; to conduct field work using methods (or based on methods) reviewed in this text; to conduct field comparisons among these methods to determine the extent of their comparability and when each method is best employed. This document is useful to these individuals in that it brings together relatively obscure literature from a wide variety of sources and it presents current and developing methods in a comprehensive context. These features allow this document to serve as a guide for comparing the methods used by various agencies for assessing large rivers.

Prepared at the EPA National Exposure Research Laboratory (Ecological Exposure Research Division, Cincinnati, Ohio) "April 2001." Includes bibliographical references (page 66). "EPA 600-R-00-109." Cover title. PB2001-102900.