Biological Monitoring

Data in some cases is preliminary pending final checks.

About the B-IBI

To make a broad assessment of ecosystem health in our streams, Streamkeepers uses the Benthic Index of Biological Integrity (B-IBI), a stream-health grading system based on aquatic invertebrates found at monitoring sites, developed and calibrated at the University of Washington and further calibrated by a consortium of Puget Sound local governments.

• Table Depicting B-IBI Findings (XLS)
• Map Depicting Streamkeepers' B-IBI Findings through 2017 (PDF)
  • Or see this (slightly different but more interactive) map view of Clallam County B-IBI scores from the Puget Sound Stream Benthos website
• Poster: How "Bugs" Can Tell the Story of Stream Health
• Video: "Fresh Waters Flowing" (20 minutes): Stream health and Puget Sound and the whys and hows of biological monitoring
• Slideshow: Role of B-IBI in Local Stewardship Efforts (PDF)
• Slideshow: Introduction to Benthic Macroinvertebrates (PDF)
• Influence of Land Cover on B-IBI (unpublished study) (PDF)
• Biological Integrity and the B-IBI (DOC)
• How the B-IBI works
• Bibliography on Bioassessment as a General Field of Study (PDF)
• Recalibration of the B-IBI, 2010 to 2014:
  • Summary (PDF)
  • Details
• Puget Sound B-IBI Data Repository and Analysis Tool - Streamkeepers' B-IBI data are stored here.

Streamkeepers' B-IBI procedures, 1998 to 2011

• Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE)'s Revisions of Their Bioassessment Policy, 2004 to 2014 (PDF)
• Calculating and Interpreting the B-IBI (PDF)
• Sample Analysis Procedures
• Rationale for Streamkeepers' Revision of the B-IBI Grading System
• Modifications Made by Streamkeepers to Calculate the B-IBI in Special Situations
  • B-IBI Special Analytical Procedures for Specimen Counts Outside of Target Values (PDF)

Use of the B-IBI for Water-Quality Assessments in WA State Under the Clean Water Act

Prior to 2004, biological assessments were not used in Washington State for further investigation of pollutant sources under the federal Clean Water Act. In 2004, Streamkeepers was able to establish a new precedent, requiring that the Washington State Department of Ecology (DOE) perform further assessment of stream segments where biological impairment has been found. DOE's 2006 revised Water Quality Program Policy reflected a new approach to the use of biological assessment, which has continued to evolve in subsequent years.

• Clallam County's Proposed Bioassessment Calls and Rationales, October 2007 (PDF)
• DOE's Revised Policy on the Use of Bioassessment Data, Excerpted From Their 2006 Revised Water Quality Program Policy
• Clallam County's Letter to DOE Laying out the Rationale for a New Policy, March 15, 2004 (PDF)
• EPA Memo to DOE Requiring Further Assessment of Bio-Impaired Sites, November 4, 2005 (PDF)