Sample Design has been created for assessing status/trend of stream ecosystems on the Arapaho & Roosevelt National Forests within unmanaged and managed portions of the landscape. The primary objective is to determine the status/trend of ecological conditions in stream ecosystems across the ARNF and if the Forest Plan is producing healthy aquatic ecosystems.

Target Population =  HUC6 watersheds on the ARNF where there is >75% FS ownership (i.e., considerable influence over ecological processes).

Sampling Frame = 1:24K stream hydrography data from NHD (USGS Source);  I do like the cost-surface values NPS used to address site accessibility, but I’m not 100% clear on how to set this up.

Site Selection = This will be conducted by GRTS (Generallized Random-Tessellation Stratified) spatially balanced algorithm with 500 sites selected to allow for future flexibility in sites that will be sampled.

Sample size = This is dictated by funding. We are planning for 20 sites to be sampled annually, for a total 80 sites sampled over 4 years to meet our monitoring reporting interval.  This cycle would be repeated into the future with 20 sites sampled annually and a portion of which would be revisit sites from previous years.

Allocating Samples = Samples will be allocated by: (1) geographic location (east of continental divide v. west of continental divide); and (2) watersheds with little disturbance (i.e., road densities < 1 mile road per sq mile land) and disturbance (i.e., road densities < 1 mile road per sq mile land). These 2 factors will be the primary strata for allocating sample locations. Additional land use impacts (e.g., timber harvest, motorized recreation, ski area leases, water storage and conveyance) will be associated with each site during sample visits.

Revisit Design = We will include an approach to revisit sample 20% of our sites to capture between year variation; however, I could use assistance in determining how long (how many years) those sites should be revisited. The design for ROMO was to revisit sites for 3 years. Perhaps with fewer revisit sites than the ROMO design, the ARNF design should include a longer duration of revisit sampling than 3 years.

Analytical Framework = Macroinvertebrate communities and habitat measurements will be collected at each site. Data collected under this sampling design will be examined within the RIVPACs model framework until such time that a separate, more refined model for the ARNF can be produced.