Community-Based Restoration Monitoring

Tracking Restoration Project Effectiveness

As restoration projects continue to be implemented, it is critical to assess whether these practices are working and are improving the quality of local streams to ensure the investments are helping to meet Chesapeake Bay restoration goals. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation’s (NFWF) implements numerous restoration practices aimed at reducing the impact of agricultural practices and urban/suburban land uses on the rise across the Chesapeake Bay. NFWF partnered with the Alliance and our Chesapeake Monitoring Cooperative (CMC) partners to fund the development of a Community-Based Restoration Monitoring Project aimed at tracking changes in stream health conditions as a result of stream restoration, riparian forest buffers, and cattle exclusion fencing practices implemented through NFWF’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund (CBSF).

Project Beginnings and Current Progress

NFWF partnered with the Alliance, Dickinson College’s Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM), the Izaak Walton League of America (IWLA), and Stroud Water Research Center in 2021 to identify the appropriate indicators to monitor, develop the protocol pulling from approved EPA and CMC methods, and pilot the implementation of the protocol on stream restoration and buffer project sites.

The monitoring team (the Alliance, ALLARM, and IWLA) is now working with organizations funded through the CBSF in order to select 5-10 monitoring sites annually.

The team conducts and coordinates all monitoring activities at each site with the support of the grantee organization to coordinate with the landowner and the timing of the restoration activities.

For more information about our monitoring project and what we ask of you, please review the Landowner Packet. If you have any NFWF-funded stream restoration, cattle fencing, or buffer projects and are interested in having your projects monitored, contact us below to get on our site selection list.

Projects funded by other entities are not being accepted at this time.

Monitoring Goals

  • Assess the impact of stream restoration and stream health practices aimed at improving local water quality and the Chesapeake Bay.
  • Assess the stream’s quality of habitat for aquatic life (fish and macroinvertebrates) by evaluating water quality and riparian forest buffer health.
  • Assess the status of the intervention pre and post-restoration.
  • Alert project managers and landowners to potential issues.
    Community engagement and education.

When We Monitor

To assess the benefits of the restoration project(s), our team monitors the stream before a project is installed and for at least 5 years after installation. Monitoring occurs in the Spring (March – May) and Fall (September – October) and can take between 3 – 4 hours per site.

What We Monitor

  1. Water Quality Monitoring Indicators
    • Turbidity
    • Water temperature
    • Water clarity
  2. Benthic Macroinvertebrates
    • Identified to the family level by a certified taxonomist
  3. Visual/Physical Assessment
    • Cross-section stream bed assessment
    • Channel geometry
    • Biological habitat indicators
    • Riparian zone assessment
    • General stream reach characteristics
  4. Standardized photo documentation
    • Standardized stream reach photos
    • Concerns/issues related to the restoration project

Where We Monitor

Sites are selected on an annual basis once awards have been announced for grants funded through NFWF’s CBSF. The monitoring team will work with grantees to identify sites within their NFWF project that contain stream restorations, riparian buffers, or cattle exclusion fencing and meet the site selection criteria below.

Site Selection Criteria

  • The site includes at least 100m of a stream receiving treatment.
  • The site is located on a 1-3 order perennial stream.
  • The site must be safe, accessible, and wadable along the entire stream reach.
  • Landowners are willing to allow monitoring activities for at least 6 years.

Documents

Landowner Packet       Restoration Monitoring Protocol

Our Partners

Izaak Walton League of America

Stroud Water Research Center.

Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring est. 1986.

Dickinson.

This project is funded by National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), Regional Conservation Partnership Program (RCPP), and Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS).

Contact Us to Learn More

Contact Maya Sterrett at msterett@allianceforthebay.org or 202-270-8235 to get started.

Email Maya