One of the primary objectives of the aquatic biota monitoring program is to track and monitor the health and status Pacific salmon and native resident salmonids including bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout. Fish represent an important management designated use of most waters and they are culturally and economically important. All five species of Pacific salmon and steelhead are found in Park Complex waters draining the westslope of the Cascade Mountains. Pink salmon runs in the Skagit River have recently approached a million fish. Chum salmon, the primary food source for overwintering bald eagles along the Skagit River, exhibit stable populations. Sockeye, coho, and steelhead populations are currently recovering, while chinook salmon were just recently listed as federally threatened. Other native salmonids commonly occurring in park streams and rivers include Dolly Varden trout, bull trout, rainbow trout, coastal cutthroat trout, and westslope cutthroat trout. Bull trout and westslope cutthroat trout, native to the Stehekin River drainage and Lake Chelan, have been severely impacted by non-native fish introductions. Bull trout are currently thought to be extirpated from the Stehekin River and pure native strains of westslope cutthroat in the basin have suffered severe declines. Bull trout, in east-side Cascade streams, were listed as federally endangered during 1998. Westslope cutthroat trout and bull trout in west-side Cascade waters are candidate species for federal listing.

The status of certain amphibian populations is also of interest. Amphibians are an important component of the northwestern fauna. Twenty-two species inhabit forests of the northwest, with 14 of these species endemic to the region. Many of the habitats that they are associated with are increasingly affected by human activities. Fish stocking, alteration of streams, wetlands, and riparian areas, and logging practices have created widespread impacts to amphibian communities. Several species of frogs have considerably contracted distributions as a result of human disturbances. The spotted frog, cascade frog, and red-legged frog all occur in NOCA and are listed by the State of Washington as threatened species. Widespread stocking of fish into previously fishless lakes may continue to affect the distribution of certain salamander species in lakes and ponds of NOCA.

Assessment of biological integrity is another component of the aquatic monitoring program for lakes and streams. Within a given habitat strata certain expectations for community composition and abundance can be defined. Deviation in these biological attributes, between what is observed and what is expected (reference conditions), provides the framework for diagnosis of impairment. The multivariate nature of complex biological systems requires that evaluations be based on a number of relevant biological attributes. In order to facilitate the interpretation of impacts and changes occurring at different temporal scales, we will incorporate information from a variety of organisms, trophic classes and functional groups. Primary assessments of Biological Integrity will be based on community and indicator species metrics that are known to respond to human disturbance using a variety of taxonomic groups including; amphibians, fish, benthic macroinvertebrates, zooplankton and phytoplankton.

Monitoring/Research Questions: What are the effects of atmospheric deposition? What are the natural ranges of variation in chemical characteristics? What are the long-term trends and how do they correspond to climatic variation and air pollutants? What is the status of nutrients and productivity in the reservoirs? Is the water quality degraded by visitor use, park operations, or by activities on adjacent lands?

Stressors and Related Factors: Air pollutants, other non-point source pollutants, catchment ground disturbances, climatic change, elevated levels of nutrients, visitor use, park and other operations, adjacent land-use activities.

What To Monitor:  All resources: major ions, pH, ANC, conductivity, alkalinity, nutrients, turbidity, and temperature. Also color and light penetration for lakes and reservoirs. Heavy metals and pesticide/herbicide sampling on a less frequent basis at representative sites for each resource. Bacteriological monitoring at sites selected based on high visitor use.

Where To Monitor:

• Lakes: parkwide, extensive sampling program of 45 lakes sampled every 3 to 5 years. Moderate intensity sampling of 10 additional lakes 2 to 3 times a year. Intensive sampling of 1 to 3 sites biweekly, every year.
• Streams: 3 to 4 watersheds in the park. Selected sites based on management concerns.
• Reservoirs: Skagit mainstem reservoirs and upper Lake Chelan.

Justification and Other Information: All resources: Initial warning for air pollutant deposition and other pollutant sources. Important attribute data for classification and evaluating biotic components. Reservoirs: High visitor use. Recreational demands continue to increase. Important attribute data for evaluation of fish production.

Description of Recommended Action: Variable levels of sampling intensity, 1–3 years depending on parameter. Stratification by: (1) east-west; (2) vegetation zone; and (3) size and depth; and (4) glacial/non-glacial.

• Lakes: Water samples at surface and different depths.
• Streams: Temperature data collected annually with data loggers at representative watersheds and reaches.
• Reservoirs: Water samples at surface and different depths. Fish tissue samples for metals, pesticides, and herbicides.

Contacts/Potential Partners: USGS-Biological Resources Division.

Monitoring/Research Questions: All resources: What are the effects of fish stocking (for fish, on native communities)? What are the effects of atmospheric deposition and other impacts on water quality on resource populations/communities? Are restoration efforts effective? What are natural ranges of variation in community composition and abundance? What species or groups of taxa can be used as indicators of degradation? What are the long-term trends and how do they correspond to climatic variation and other environmental factors?

• BMI: Do present conditions in biology (defined by BMI community metrics) meet expected biological condition for a given geophysical setting and level of human disturbance?
• Amphibians: What is the status of threatened and sensitive species (e.g., spotted frogs)?
• Fish: What is the status of non-native fish distribution in the park? What is the quality of the fisheries in lakes designated for recreational fishing? If stocking programs are in place, are they cost-effective and do they produce the desired recreational benefit?

Stressors and Related Factors: Air pollutants, non-native fish, other non-point source pollutants, catchment ground disturbances, climatic change, UV radiation (amphibians), harvest (fish).

What To Monitor: Abundance, distribution, species composition, and:

• Phytoplankton: chlorophyll
• BMI: community metrics related to tolerance/intolerance and adaptive strategies (in addition to those mentioned above)
• Amphibians: recruitment, abnormalities
• Fish: recruitment, abnormalities, age and growth, condition

Where To Monitor: Parkwide, extensive sampling program of 45 lakes sampled every 3 to 5 years (some sites based on target species such as spotted frog). Moderate-intensity sampling of 10 additional lakes 2 to 3 times a year. Intensive sampling of 1 to 3 sites biweekly, every year. Additional sites designated based on management concerns.

Justification and Other Information: All resources:  May provide early warning for air pollutant deposition and climatic change.

• Phytoplankton: represents primary productivity and foundation of lake and pond food chains.
• Zooplankton: Represent key food chain component of lakes. Sensitive to impacts of introduced fish populations.
• BMI: Represent key food chain component of lakes. Sensitive to wide range of environmental impacts. Large number of potential indicators. Locally abundant, short generation times, and easily collected.
• Amphibians: Sensitive to impacts of introduced fish populations. Represent important predators in lake food chains.
• Fish: Represent important predators in lake food chains. May impact native aquatic biota. Provide recreational use benefits.

Description of Recommended Action: All resources:  Stratification by: (1) east-west; (2) vegetation zone; (3) lake size and depth; (4) targeted species (amphibians); (5) non-reproducing vs. reproducing populations (fish).

• Phytoplankton/Zooplankton: Plankton net tows collected over deepest part of the lake – quantitative/semi-quantitative analysis. Chlorophyll from water samples at different depths.
• BMI: Integrate seasonal variation of stressors. Time constrained kick-net samples in littoral zone. Grab samples in profundal zone.
• Amphibians: Snorkel surveys, trapping, and observations; qualitative and quantitative.
• Fish: Snorkel surveys, trapping, gillnetting, angling and observations; qualitative and quantitative sampling.

Contacts/Potential Partners: USGS-Biological Resources Division, Oregon State University (amphibians and fish)

• BMI: What are the effects of non-native fish? What are the effects of atmospheric deposition on communities? What are natural ranges of variation in community composition and abundance? What species or groups of taxa can be used as indicators of degradation? What are the long-term trends and how do they correspond to climatic variation and other environmental factors? Do present conditions (defined by BMI community metrics) meet expected biological condition for a given geophysical setting and level of human disturbance?

• Amphibians: What are the effects of non-native fish? What are the effects of atmospheric deposition on water quality? What are natural ranges of variation in abundance and recruitment? What are the long-term trends and how do they correspond to climatic variation and other environmental factors?

• Resident fish: What are the effects of fish stocking on native fish communities? Are restoration efforts effective? What is the status of non-native fish distribution in the park. What is the quality of the stream recreational fisheries? What are the effects of climatic change, pollutants, habitat alterations and harvest on native resident fish populations. What is the status of bull trout and Dolly Varden populations in the park?

• Anadromous Salmon and Steelhead: What is the status of salmon and steelhead populations in the park? Are restoration efforts effective? What are the effects of climatic change, pollutants, habitat alterations and harvest on salmon and steelhead populations (basinwide and parkwide)? What is the contribution of salmon (marine-derived nutrients) to nutrient cycling in streams?

Stressors And Related Factors: Air pollutants, other non-point source pollutants, non-native fish, catchment ground disturbances, changes in hydrology, climatic change, UV radiation (amphibians), harvest (fish). Anadromous Salmon and Steelhead: hydropower/instream flow, habitat alterations, water quality, basin-wide harvest management and hatchery programs.

What To Monitor: Distribution, abundance, and:

• BMI: community metrics related to species richness, composition, tolerance/intolerance, abundance, distribution, and adaptive strategies (ecology, behavior, and morphology).
• Amphibians: recruitment, abnormalities.
• Resident fish: recruitment, age and growth, condition, spawner surveys, abnormalities.
• Anadromous Salmon and Steelhead: number of returning adults and number of outmigrating smolts

Where To Monitor:

• BMI/Amphibians: Three to four watersheds in the park, and transportable to other areas of the park and adjacent streams on Forest Service lands.
• Resident fish: Distribution and relative abundance data. Parkwide, all fish habitat on 5- to 10-year cycle. Population estimates, recruitment, age, growth etc.; sample subset of reaches with replication every 3 to 5 years. Spawner index surveys for bull trout, Dolly Varden, and kokanee at selected locations (e.g., Company Creek and lower Stehekin for kokanee).
• Anadromous Salmon and Steelhead: Throughout the range of anadromous salmon and steelhead in the park (Skagit and Chilliwack drainages). Selected sites for indexing outmigrants, and entire habitat for returning adult counts.

Justification And Other Information:

• BMI: Methods well developed and applied throughout North America. Represents key food chain component of stream/riparian corridors. Sensitive to wide range of environmental impacts. Large number of potential indicators, integrate seasonal variation of stressors. Locally abundant, short generation times, and easily collected.
• Amphibians: Represent important grazer trophic group in streams. Sensitive to impacts of introduced fish populations. May provide early warning for air pollutant deposition and climatic change. Good indicators of stream habitat stability and productivity.
• Resident fish: Represent important predators in streams. Extensive introductions of non-native species and strains with potential impacts to native fish and other biota. Provide recreational use benefits. Sensitive to pollutants and habitat disturbances. Threatened status of bull trout.
• Anadromous Salmon and Steelhead: Represent key species for Pacific Northwest streams. Abundance of salmon affects the distribution and health of many species of wildlife and plays a major role in returning nutrients from the ocean to freshwater habitats. Populations and habitat have been heavily impacted. Important for sport, commercial, and tribal harvest. International importance. Sensitive to pollutants and habitat disturbances. Threatened status of chinook salmon.

• BMI: More work on preliminary classification of stream assemblages for stratification. Need to develop response curves to identify metrics that are sensitive to a range of human disturbances. Time-constrained sampling with kick nets from riffle areas in representative reaches. Qualitative multi-habitat samples from representative reaches. Stratification first by community assemblage types, then consider (1) east-west, (2) elevation, (3) stream size, (4) glacial/non-glacial.
• Amphibians: Protocols currently under development for Mt. Rainier, Olympic, and North Cascades National Parks. Semi-quantitative sampling using kick nets, Qualitative observational data. Stratify by: (1) east-west, (2) elevation, (3) stream size, (4) glacial/non-glacial.
• Resident fish: Snorkel surveys, trapping, electrofishing, angling and observations; qualitative and quantitative sampling. Stratification by: (1) east-west, (2) vegetation zone, (3) stream size, gradient, and confinement, (4) native vs. introduced populations.
• Anadromous Salmon and Steelhead: Snorkel surveys for spawner counts (quantitative). Trapping and electrofishing for outmigrants at selected representative habitats (semi-quantitative). Linkage to habitat is extremely important. Need to take advantage of existing survey programs.

Monitoring/Research Questions: What are the effects of fish stocking on native fish communities? What is the quality of recreational fisheries? What are the effects of climatic change, pollutants, habitat alterations and harvest on native resident fish populations. What is the status of bull trout and Dolly Varden populations? What are the effects of adjacent land-use activities on reservoir fish populations. What is the effect of water level manipulation on reservoir fish populations?

Stressors And Related Factors: Non-native species, air pollutants, other non-point source pollutants, catchment ground disturbances, climatic change, harvest, increasing recreational demands, water-level manipulations.

What To Monitor: Abundance, recruitment, age and growth, condition, spawner surveys, abnormalities.

Where To Monitor: Skagit mainstem reservoirs and upper Lake Chelan. Need to develop a link to the stream bull trout spawner survey component for adfluvial populations of bull trout.

Justification And Other Information: Extensive introductions of non-native species and strains with potential impacts to native fish and other biota. Provide recreational use benefits. Sensitive to pollutants and habitat disturbances. Threatened status of bull trout. Semi-quantitative sampling at established sites with gillnets supplemented with reservoir wide hydroacoustic surveys, during drawdown, and creel census. Link to Human Resource Group plans for creel census.

Linkages between Aquatic Biota and other LTEM components

• Aquatic habitat — linkages with chemical and physical characteristics and processes.
• Terrestrial habitat and geologic resources — linkages with upslope vegetation changes, fire and other disturbances.
• Climate/meteorology and hydrologic — linkages related to flows, flooding, temperature, and climatic change.
• Air quality — linkages to biological integrity and water quality.
• Terrestrial biota — linkages related to birds and arthropods in riparian zones as indicators of biological integrity.
• Human resources — linkages to impacts of visitor use in riparian areas, pollutants, fish harvest, etc.