ADBNet

Assessment Comments

Assessment is based on results of 1997 Biocriteria sampling: Fish IBI=42 (fair), BM-IBI=69 (good).

Basis for Assessment

Upgraded the the assessment of support of the Class B(LR) aquatic life uses from PS to FST due to a review of the field sheet from the July 1992 DNR stream use assessment that shows a fish community of 6 species and 2 families (minnows; catfishes) contains a majority of the species/genera expected in Class B(LR) streams in this region.  Notes on the field sheet indicate difficulty seining due to "large rocks."  Follow-up monitoring is needed to better determine the status of the aquatic communities and habitats of this stream.   The primary threats to the continued support of the Class B(LR) uses include frequent pasture impacts to the riparian corridor as well as freqent streambank erosion.  Thus, despite the threats to continued support, the fish community present in this stream suggests that the Class B(LR) uses are fully supported.   Also for the 1998 report, used results of the August 1997 DNR watershed bioassessment approx.  8 mi NNE of Ida Grove to support the assessment of the Class B(LR) aquatic life uses as FST due to (1) presence of a moderately diverse fish community (10 species from 4 families), (2) presence of a majority of the expected fish taxa (5 of 9) for streams in the Northwest Iowa Loess Prairies subecoregion, and (3) the lack of violations of Class B(LR) WQ criteria in the sample collected during the watershed bioassessment.