INTRODUCTION 



Sport fishing represents the major recrea- 

 tion value of many western streams — par- 

 ticularly the smaller ones. The ability of any 

 stream to produce fish — and thus provide 

 a fishing opportunity — is strongly related 

 to the condition of the fish habitat. In spite of 

 their obvious importance, habitat conditions 

 of most western streams remain unknown. 

 This lack of knowledge is partly due to the 

 difficulty of determining which element of 

 the habitat may be limiting and partly due to 

 the expense of collecting habitat information. 



.A. common procedure for observing and 

 measuring the fish habitat is to have an ex- 

 perienced biologist walk along sections of each 

 stream and record his evaluations. Exper- 

 ienced biologists, however, are usually in 

 short supply. This process could well be 

 expedited if personnel with minimal training 

 could make objective measurements, which 

 then could be evaluated by the biologists. 



It is not practical to completely measure 

 the varying elements of all streams. This 

 paper describes a sampling technique for 

 taking measurements along selected transects 

 across streams. When tested on three streams, 

 the results provided acceptably precise esti- 

 mates of stream length and width, surface 

 arsa, pool area, riffle area, depth, and stream- 

 bed composition, as well as of the stability 

 and vegetative cover of the streambanks. 



Such data will permit land managers and 

 fisheries biologists to evaluate the fisher>' po- 

 tential of selected streams and to diagnose 

 basic deficiencies in fish habitat. Although 

 additional information would be essential for 

 detailed planning, decisions seldom can be 

 delayed until complete biological survey data 



become available. The data obtained from the 

 technique reported here can help the land 

 manager make effective interim plans and 

 avoid costly mistakes particularly in recrea- 

 tion developments. 



In addition, the data are sufficiently 

 definitive and descriptive so that they could 

 be used as a benchmark to determine the 

 magnitude of future changes that may occur. 

 The impact of destructive floods, for example, 

 could be better determined from measure- 

 ments made before the flood rather than after- 

 ward. Changes in streambed sedimentation 

 might indicate the impact of management 

 actions involving road location or livestock 

 movement. This would require that some 

 transects be established with permanent 

 markers so that remeasurement could be made 

 as needed. 



A cost analysis of this study provides 

 guides for e.stimating expenses of similar sur- 

 veys using this technique in mountainous 

 areas where road systems are limited. Ex- 

 penditures for salaries, subsistence, vehicles, 

 and horses totaled SI, 652; thus the average 

 cost per transect was $6.43. The average cost 

 per mile was S18.93 (87.25 miles of stream 

 were surveyed). On the average, a two-man 

 crew measured 11.2 transects per day, or 2.8 

 miles of stream per day. 



Boundaries for the three drainages sampled 

 were selected to coincide with those of existing 

 working compartments for timber, forage, and 

 other resources. This was done to facilitate 

 the use of the data by fishery biologists, for- 

 esters, hydrologists, highway planners, and 

 other land managers. Wherever possible, natu- 

 ral drainage separations — ridgelines, divides, 

 and .saddles — should be used as boundaries. 



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