Our Mission

Our mission is to develop scientifically sound methods to assess ecological integrity and transfer that knowledge to stakeholders involved in the conservation and restoration of stream, lake, and wetland ecosystems.

New Developments

• WRSA: The Western Rivers and Streams Assessment (WRSA) is a survey of the condition of BLM streams and rivers throughout the contiguous western U.S. The objective of this effort is to generate unbiased, quantitative condition estimates from which regional and national aquatic priorities can be established and future conditions can be compared.
• Oviposition: The abundance and composition of macroinvertebrate assemblages found below large dams varies tremendously throughout the Intermountain West. Such variability has been extensively studied in relation to altered thermal regimes, sediment supply and the trophic basis for secondary production. However, no studies have investigated population viability as a function of oviposition (egg-laying) constraints imposed by dam operations.