Monitoring is probably the most talked about and least undertaken part of restoration. Why? Because, as rancher Phil St.Clair commented, "It's work and it costs money." On the other hand, it's second only to watershed assessment in importance. There's no point in spending time and money on restoration if you don't know whether or not it did any good.

This section offers an overview and some startup advice for monitoring watershed restoration. Detailed guides to monitoring are listed in the Resources section.

This section also includes a brief discussion of the value of monitoring water quality to identify and reduce water contaminants coming from urban, industrial, and agricultural sources.

With monitoring, as with watershed assessment, there is always a question of scale. How far do you need to go with your monitoring, in terms of time and geographic area? That depends on the scale of your question.

What parameters to measure, what methods to use, when to monitor, and how often to monitor are key questions. There's no simple answer; it depends on what type of monitoring you undertake. As you consult guides and develop a monitoring plan you will also work out a protocol.

The following questions may help to focus your monitoring goals.

While you need to select parameters that can feasibly be measured, given staff, budget, and weather constraints, it is also important that the parameters be able to indicate changes beyond natural variability. Parameters such as temperature, flows, and sediment that can be measured during the summer base flow period generally reflect a variety of conditions, such as those resulting from the annual cycle of streamflows, channel response to these flows, vegetative growth, and watershed impacts. These parameters are also the easiest to measure.

Temperature is monitored either by a thermometer, paper chart thermograph, or digitally recording thermistor. The analog or digital recorders allow for continuous monitoring. Digital recorders are most convenient in allowing transfer of data directly to a computer. Stream temperatures can vary across the stream, through time, and with water depth. Measurements should generally be taken in a turbulent stretch of the stream to obtain an average.

Suspended sediment is an important variable to measure, because high concentrations can affect spawning success. It is measured by obtaining a water sample and then drying or filtering the contents and weighing. Measurements can be complicated, since sediment concentrations vary greatly over time, among cross sections, among points across the stream, and with depth in the water column. A depth-integrated sampler, which measures concentrations at all depths, is preferred. Samples are best taken throughout high flow events, since this is when most sediment becomes suspended.

Peak flows are an important consideration in salmon habitat maintenance and restoration, since they shape channels, determine how much sediment can be carried by the channel, and determine whether or not erosion, deposition, or scouring of sediment will occur. Changes in peak flows can be measured a number of ways. One way is to measure water surface elevation (called stage), convert this measurement to streamflow, and compare this to streamflow in a similar basin in which management or restoration activities are not taking place. To establish a valid statistical relationship, these measurements have to be taken over a number of years.

Changes in low flows can significantly affect fish habitat. This parameter is most accurately measured by comparing an unmanaged or pristine watershed to a restored or heavily managed watershed. It is often difficult to detect these differences among large streams, so these changes are better measured in smaller tributaries.

Changes in channel morphology, as measured by cross-sectional features (area, form) may be valuable to monitor for several reasons: they can be used as benchmarks for other parameters such as width-to-depth ratios or channel incision; they may provide information on channel or bank stability; and they can also provide information on the balance between sediment and flow. Measure changes in cross section by surveying a series of cross sections at each of several key stream segments in order to account for site-specific factors. Segments surveyed for cross section should represent spawning and rearing areas that might reflect channel-forming processes. While changes in cross section are easy to observe, it can be difficult to determine their cause.

Changes in pool characteristics can indicate trends, since sedimentation is often related to management activities. Pools may change because of other factors, however, such as changes in streamflow or woody debris. Streamflow affects pool depth, area, and volume; therefore, it's important to measure streamflow each time you measure pool variables.

The size and transport of particles on a streambed is important because it affects the distribution of energy in a stream, the stability of the streambed, and the amount of aquatic habitat available. Fine particles fill up the spaces between larger particles of gravel, reduce the oxygen flow, and thereby reduce the survival of salmon eggs and newly hatched fry. This parameter can be measured either through the use of pebble counts or bulk samplers. Timing is important; sampling too soon after a high flow event may give misleading results, since high flows will mobilize smaller particles and transport them downstream.

Large woody debris is a critical component of fish habitat in a stream. It helps with pool formation, contributes to bank stability, and generally results in higher salmonid productivity. For these reasons, it is an important parameter to monitor. The most common method is to measure the size and frequency of pieces within a defined reach.

Fish can be monitored to detect presence or absence of a species, number or density of individuals of a species in a fixed area or stream length, productivity, and species or age class diversity. The composition of the fish community can be used as an index of the health of the stream. Fish can be counted by electroshocking, which is commonly used because of its high accuracy, or by direct observation by snorkeling.

There are a variety of techniques to assess changes in salmon numbers. Redds can be counted to obtain an estimate of numbers of spawning salmon pairs. Emergence traps are used to estimate the numbers of fry emerging from a single redd. Counts are also made of salmon returning to a stream to spawn, of fish carcasses following spawning, or of the number of juveniles or smolts migrating out of a stream to downstream rivers and the ocean.

Macroinvertebrates are "large" organisms without backbones, such as insects, worms, and snails (compared to vertebrates, they're actually small). They are often used in monitoring programs because they are an important source of food for fish, as well as an indicator of general stream habitat and water quality conditions. Certain types of aquatic insects can survive only in streams with high water quality. Macroinvertebrates are relatively easy to sample and are abundant in streams. Sampling techniques vary depending on whether presence/absence, relative abundance, or density or biomass estimates are sought. Data are usually analyzed for species richness (the total number of different species present), abundance, or diversity (a combination of richness and abundance). Stream health can be defined in terms of the types and combinations of macroinvertebrates present.

Numerous permitted industrial processes, agricultural and forestry practices, and nuclear waste discharges can contribute highly toxic, persistent chemicals to the water environment. These can pose health risks to fish, wildlife, and people, especially people who eat fish.

Individuals or groups concerned about exposure can examine a state's human health risk assessment methodologies to determine whether water quality standards are adequately protecting human health.

Other kinds of monitoring that can be helpful in understanding and controlling toxic pollution are the following: monitoring industrial permits and researching the chemicals being discharged; obtaining local information on pesticide use and finding out whether or not these pesticides are illegally entering fish bearing waters; monitoring Forest Service herbicide spraying near fish-bearing streams; and preventing spraying during windy or other weather conditions that distribute the chemicals beyond the intended area.