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The purpose of the SalmonWeb is to create, distribute, and coordinate a set of tools that support education, communication and ecological science focusing on salmon habitat. These tools includes this web page with attached database that allows access to biomonitoring data and networking opportunities and a monitoring video showing in detail how and why to conduct biomonitoring. It is our hope that this initiative will harness and coordinate the efforts of citizen and student groups in the Northwest, creating a "virtual" community aimed at preserving and restoring wild salmon and their habitat throughout the region.
There are four connected components to SalmonWeb, all designed to provide educational information and training for monitors, educators, and decision makers about the health of Pacific Northwest streams.
- The Index of Biological Integrity (IBI)
Designed by Dr. Jim Karr of University of Washington, the IBI detects change in the biotic community and in the biological integrity of streams as human impacts such as urbanization, forestry, agriculture, recreation and grazing change. SalmonWeb encourages volunteer monitors to collect biological data and then apply the IBI to assess stream health. The interactive maps included on this web site allow participants to share their sampling and IBI results with others. The goal is to provide an overview of stream health throughout the Pacific Northwest.
See the How to Participate section for more information about Index of Biological Integrity (IBI).
- A Multifaceted Web Site
This web site is designed as a data repository, educational site, and a networking tool. It provides an overview of the significance of biological monitoring, salmon's stream health needs, instructions for monitoring, and data from sampling sites throughout the Pacific Northwest. Biological monitors can upload their data or compare their data to other sampling sites from around the region. With the use of photo points taken at each sampling location, the web page provides a mechanism for viewing data both locally and regionally, and allows viewers to "walk" through a watershed or view the changes to a particular sampling location over time. Regional salmon-related data such as salmon run and stream flow information are provided as tools to help interpret locally collected data.
- Educational and Instructional Videos
Fresh Waters Flowing
Salmon belong to a web of river and ocean life. When humans enter a watershed and alter the landscape, they alter the biology of that web. Fresh Waters Flowing explores the connection between humans and streams, revealing the links between human influences and the ability of a stream to support healthy biological communities. Fresh Waters Flowing demonstrates the importance of a stream's biological integrity, and shows how measuring biological integrity can be a powerful tool for maintaining and restoring the health of watersheds.Biological Monitoring Protocol
Understanding the health of natural stream communities by means of biological monitoring is the first step in protecting and restoring watersheds and salmon runs. Based on the work of Dr. James Karr of the University of Washington, Biological Monitoring Protocol provides step-by-step instructions for collecting standardized samples of invertebrates, such as insects, in streams. These samples are used to develop an "index of biological integrity" to measure changes in stream health.See the Publications section for more information on the videos.
Who is SalmonWeb designed for?
- Everyone concerned with stream health and the plight of salmon.
- Adults and High School Youth. Biological monitoring is an excellent teaching tool to show the connection between human activities and impacts upon the stream organisms whose life cycles are intertwined with those of salmon.
- Active monitors. SalmonWeb and biological monitoring can add value to existing chemical monitoring activities.
- Communities wanting easily accessible salmon-related information at local and regional scales.
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29-Jun-2001 |