Restoration Monitoring Protocol Testing

In late August, the Alliance for the Chesapeake Bay (ACB) and Alliance for Aquatic Resource Monitoring (ALLARM) staff met with our partners from the Stroud Water Research Center to test out our new Restoration Monitoring Protocol. The protocol has been developed with the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) over the last 8 months. The monitoring protocol is innovative in its ability to leverage quantifiable metrics, where normal restoration protocols rely more heavily on a qualitative approach.

We met on a beautiful farm in Peach Bottom, PA where a buffer had been installed last year. The team practiced utilizing the monitoring components to capture consistent photos, assess the site status and collect benthic macroinvertebrates. The team got to utilize new equipment called stream viewers, which let us see a clear view of the stream bed to determine embeddedness and substrate size!

The CMC looks forward to continuing to refine and test this restoration monitoring protocol with our partners!