Characterization of North Coast and Cascades Network water quality study sites
Welch CA and Rawhouser AK. 2017. Characterization of North Coast and Cascades Network water quality study sites. Natural Resource Data Series. NPS/NCCN/NRDS—2017/1097. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado
To monitor water quality, we assess environmental conditions of the most at-risk wadeable streams and rivers in five national parks. The parks, located in the North Coast and Cascades Network (NCCN), include Ebey’s Landing National Historical Reserve (EBLA), Lewis and Clark National Historical Park (LEWI), Mount Rainier National Park (MORA), North Cascades National Park Service Complex (NOCA), and Olympic National Park (OLYM). The purpose of the monitoring is to identify trends and abrupt change in water quality characteristics. In this report we describe the environmental conditions and human activities that influence water quality at 25 stream (or river) locations selected in NCCN’s Water Quality monitoring protocol (Rawhouser et al. 2012). Seven stream locations were selected in each of the three largest parks, MORA, NOCA, and OLYM; one in EBLA; and three in LEWI. At each location, a stream reach was chosen to collect site specific data (Rawhouser et al. 2012). In addition, the watershed surrounding each stream location is characterized by the amount of precipitation, elevation gradients, type of dominant vegetation (Ecoregions), road and trail density, number of mines, land-use type, land ownership, and other factors such as hydropower generation facilities and sewage treatment plants above the sample reaches. Information in this report can serve as a reference to implement NCCN’s Water Quality monitoring protocol and interpret results, and to inform management decisions to maintain and, or improve water quality.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Welch, Carmen; Rawhouser, Ashley
- Date of Issue
- 2017-04
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- Units
- EBLA , LEWI , MORA , NOCA , NRSS , OLYM
- Keywords
- Amphibian, bioassessment, Clean Water Act, Climate Change, Condition, Dissolved Oxygen, Ebey's Landing National Historical Reserve, EBLA, Fish, Habitat, hydroelectric, Impaired, Invasive Species, Land Management, LEWI, Lewis and Clark National Historical Park, Monitoring, MORA, Mount Rainier National Park, NCCN, NOCA, North Cascades National Park Service Complex, North Coast and Cascades Network, OLYM, Olympic National Park, pH, Riparian, Road, sample location, Stream, stressor, Temperature, Turbidity, wadeable river, Water Quality, Water Quality Monitoring, Watershed
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Water Chemistry , Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Nutrient Dynamics , Ecological Framework: Water | Water Quality | Aquatic Macroinvertebrates and Algae , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Freshwater Invertebrates , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Fishes , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | Focal Species or Communities | Amphibians and Reptiles , Ecological Framework: Biological Integrity | At-risk Biota | T&E Species and Communities