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A REVIEW OF BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS AND BIOCRITERIA FOR STREAMS AND RIVERS IN NEW ENGLAND STATES
Citation:
SHELTON, A. D. AND K. A. BLOCKSOM. A REVIEW OF BIOLOGICAL ASSESSMENT TOOLS AND BIOCRITERIA FOR STREAMS AND RIVERS IN NEW ENGLAND STATES. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-04/168 (NTIS PB2005-109882), 2004.
Impact/Purpose:
The goal of this research is to develop methods and indicators that are useful for evaluating the condition of aquatic communities, for assessing the restoration of aquatic communities in response to mitigation and best management practices, and for determining the exposure of aquatic communities to different classes of stressors (i.e., pesticides, sedimentation, habitat alteration).
Description:
The primary purpose of this document is to serve as a detailed description of the biological assessment programs for wadeable streams and rivers within U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 1 states (i.e., Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont). Specifically, this report concentrates on the target assemblages (e.g., benthic macroinvertebrates, periphyton and/or fish) and the specific methods used by each state to determine whether biocriteria set for aquatic life use are met in wadeable streams and rivers. The information contained in this report is critical to the eventual use of state data in assessing water resources on a national scale because it provides the necessary level of detail on New England state bioassessment methodologies in a single document. In addition, this report serves as a valuable resource for other states, tribes and municipalities, both those developing bioassessment tools and those with existing programs.