NW Biological Assessment Workgroup
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Contact: hayslip.gretchen@epa.gov You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.
What is Aquatic Bioassessment?
Aquatic biological assessment (bioassessment) is the use of resident biota to determine the condition of aquatic resources. Information on this page concentrates primarily on the use of macroinvertebrate, periphyton and fish assemblages in rivers and streams, although many of the principles apply to wetland and lake ecosystems as well.
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Who are we - The Northwest Biological Assessment Workgroup
The purpose of the Northwest Biological Assessment Workgroup (NBAW) is to promote better understanding of the biotic communities in freshwater aquatic ecosystems of the northwest. The NBAW was founded in 1990. The NBAW encourages and facilitates the use of benthic macroinvertebrates and fish assemblages and other biota in the assessment of the condition of freshwater aquatic resources and other environmental and natural resource management decision-making. Membership is open to anyone who is interested in freshwater biotic communities and their role in aquatic ecosystems in the Northwest (generally, but not limited to: Alaska, British Columbia, Idaho, Oregon, Washington, and Northern California). Below is a list of agencies and other entities who have participated in our annual meetings over the past few years.
FEDERAL AGENCIES:
| Environmental Protection Agency | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Bureau of Land Management | U.S.D.A. Forest Service |
| National Park Service | U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service |
| Natural Resource Conservation Service | National Marine Fisheries Service |
STATE AGENCIES:
| Alaska Dept. of Environmental Conservation | California Dept. of Fish and Game |
| Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality | Idaho Dept. of Environmental Quality |
| Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife | Washington Dept. of Ecology |
Washington Dept. of Fish and Wildlife
|  |
TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS AND ORGANIZATIONS
| Kootenai Tribe of Idaho | Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission |
| Makah Tribe | Collville Tribes |
| Nez Perce Tribe | Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe |
Quileute Tribe
| |
LOCAL GOVERNMENTS:
| City of Bellevue | King County |
| City of Seattle | City of Boise |
| Clallam County | Snohomish County |
PRIVATE ENTITIES:
| Aquatic Biology Associates, Inc. | Dynamac, Inc. |
| EcoAnalyst | Idaho Power Company |
| Rhithron Bological Associates | Statistical Design |
| Weyerhaeuser | Xerces Society |
| TerraGraphics | KWA Ecological Sciences, Inc. |
| HDR Inc. | Tetra Tech |
ABR Inc.
| |
ACADEMIA:
| Oregon State University | Utah State University |
| University of Washington | Western Washington University |
| Portland State University | Eastern Washington University |
| University of Alaska | Idaho State University |
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Announcements
Puget Sound Stream Benthos Data Available on the Web!
The Puget Sound Stream Benthos site (http://www.pugetsoundstreambenthos.org/) is dedicated to using stream macroinvertebrate data as an indicator of stream health. This site was developed as a collaborative project between King County (DNRP and DOT), City of Seattle, Pierce County, and Snohomish County.
At this point they have loaded data from 2006 and anticipate loading 2007 data over the next couple of months. Data for the 2008 monitoring season will be loaded to the system directly by the taxonomic laboratories using the standardized data loading tool, making maintenance of the data sets far more manageable and easier than otherwise would be the case. Pre-2006 data probably won’t be loaded until next year. King County has also received funding from Ecology to help expand this system to include data from other entities by June 2009.
This data management system allows for:
- Collaborative data management with professional and consistent management of stream benthos data,
- Enhanced data sharing and comparability between data sets,
- Improved documentation,
- Transparent and repeatable analyses,
- Updating of taxonomic data according to official Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) nomenclature,
- Automatic data loading directly from taxonomic laboratories, and
- Data ownership by entities collecting the data.
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Causal Analysis/Diagnosis Decision Information System (CADDIS)
EPA has released a new web-based tool, the Causal Analysis/Diagnosis Decision Information System (CADDIS), which simplifies determining the cause of contamination in impaired rivers, streams and estuaries. Causal analyses look at stressor-response relationships, meaning the effect of a specific substance or activity (stressor) on the environment. Typical water stressors include excess fine sediments, nutrients, or toxic substances.
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19th Annual Meeting Information
Final Agenda for the November 12-14 Meeting in La Conner, Washington (PDF) (4 pp. 78K)
November 12-14, 2008 - La Conner, Washington.
Our annual meeting will be held starting promptly at 1:00pm (registration at 12:30pm) at the La Conner Country Inn & Channel Lodge, La Conner, Washington (www.laconnerlodging.com). Hotel and other information is attached below. Please contact Gretchen Hayslip (hayslip.gretchen@epa.gov) if you are interested in making a presentation and/or are planning on attending. The agenda is under development and will be available by September 30.
Hotels: La Conner Country Inn & Channel Lodge (they are 2 blocks apart) www.laconnerlodging.com
Rooms: There is a block of rooms reserved under "NW Biological Assessment Workgroup". Each person is responsible for making their own reservation (360-466-3101). The block of rooms will be held until October 12th.
- Group Rates: Country Inn
There are 28 rooms at the Country Inn. All rooms are available at the government per diem rate of $80.00. Rate is based upon Single Occupancy Plus 10% Tax.
- Group Rates: Channel Lodge
There are 12 queen rooms at the Channel Lodge. The group discounted rate for queen rooms is $129.00. Rate is based upon Single Occupancy Plus 10% Tax.
Directions: La Conner is located approximately 80 miles north of Seatac Airport. For a direct route from Seattle: take I-5 North, just past the town of Mount Vernon take EXIT 230 turn left, you will be heading west on Highway 20. Note: do not take the exit at Conway even though the sign says 'La Conner'. At highway 20 go West towards the San Juan Ferries/Anacortes. After about 6 miles you will come to an intersection at the Farmhouse Inn Restaurant. Turn left on La Conner-Whitney Road. This road turns into Morris street and takes you directly into the town of La Conner. The La Conner Country Inn is on 2nd street and the Channel Lodge is on 1st street.
Notes from previous annual meetings
- 18th Annual Meeting Information - November 7-9, 2007 (PDF) (11 pp. 166K) - Cannon Beach, OR
- 17th Annual Meeting Information - November 1-3, 2006 (PDF) (7pp, 110K) - Post Falls, ID
- 16th Annual Meeting Information - November 2-4, 2005 (PDF) (8pp, 89K) - Port Townsend, WA
- 15th Annual Meeting Information - November 3-5, 2004 (PDF) (7pp, 28K) - Hood River, Oregon
- 14th Annual Meeting Information - October 29-31, 2003 - Priest Lake, Idaho
- 13th Annual Meeting Information - November 6-8, 2002 - Long Beach, Washington
- 12th Annual Meeting - November 2001 - Cannon Beach, Oregon
- Annual Meeting Notes from the First 11 years
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List of Related Websites
The following links provide useful information but may be outside the EPA.gov domain.
GOVERNMENT AGENCIES/WORKGROUPS:
Bureau of Land Management - National Aquatic Monitoring Center
EPA - National Bioassessment and Biocriteria Program
EPA - Office of Research and Development, Western Ecology Division, Corvallis
EPA - Biological Indicators of Watershed Health page
U.S. Geological Survey - National Water Quality Assessment Program (NAWQA)
Idaho Department of Environmental Quality - Water Quality Program
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality - Watershed Monitoring
Washington Department of Ecology - Ambient Freshwater Biological Monitoring
California Department of Fish and Game - Aquatic Bioassessment Laboratory
PNW Native Freshwater Mussel Workgroup
Pacific Northwest Aquatic Monitoring Partnership
ACADEMIC INSTITUTIONS:
The Western Center for Monitoring and Assessment of Freshwater Ecosystems
Orma J. Smith Museum of Natural History - Albertson College of Idaho
University of Alaska - ENRI - Aquatic Ecology Program
VOLUNTEER AND NON-PROFIT GROUPS:
Streamkeepers - Clallam county
Xerces Society - Aquatic Monitoring Program
PRIVATE ENTITIES:
Aquatic Biology Associates, Inc.
EcoAnalysts, Inc.
Pocket Water, Inc.
Rhithron Biological Associates
Statistical Design
PROFESSIONAL SOCIETIES:
American Fisheries Society
North American Benthological Society
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