1: Epifaunal Substrate/Available Cover:

Score: 20/20 (optimal)

notes: plenty of fallen branches in the water, and the substrate is mostly medium to large rocks that make perfect microhabitats

2: Embeddedness :

Score: 16/20 (optimal)

notes: there is some embeddedness, but definitely not more than 25%, even in the more heavily embedded areas, which is surprising given the recent flooding and high turbidity

3: Velocity/Depth Regime:

Score: 20/20 (optimal)

notes: it isn't a large stream, but the frequent large obstructions provide every type of velocity/depth regimes several times over

4: Sediment Deposition

Score: 13/20 (suboptimal)

notes: there were a few enlarged silt bars, but overall surprisingly little given the recent flooding

5: Channel Flow Status

Score: 14/20 (suboptimal)

notes: there was a bit of exposed substrate on each side, but it was less than 25%. (note: there was a sizeable chunk of the stream which changed course for several meters before returning to the usual bed, but I don't count the resulting empty streambed as part of the site, as while it is empty, the new streambed is doing quite well)

6: Channel Alteration:

Score: 20/20 (optimal)

notes: the area is quite remote, and has, as far as I can tell, zero human interference

7: Frequency of Riffles (or Bends)

Score: 20/20 (optimal)

notes: very high frequency but still had plenty of deeper areas. I'd give it a 25/20 if I could

8: Bank Stability

Score (Left): 9/10 (optimal)

Score (Right): 8/10 (suboptimal)

notes: there's a little bit of erosion in places, but very little, and the riparian zone has enough of both small and large plants to form a very solid line that erosion is incredibly unlikely to happen past

9: Vegetative Protection

Score (left): 9/10 (optimal)

Score (right): 10/10 (optimal)

Notes: the site is in a well-forested area, which I believe is why the site survived the flooding so well. the vegetation is dense enough that I almost dropped the e.coli sample on the way back when I tripped over a bush

10: Riparian Vegetative Zone Width:

Score (both banks): 10/10 (optimal)

notes: It would take several minutes of walking to reach the nearest human-affected area

Overall Score: My opinion: 95/100

(I'll add field sketches as soon as possible)

(note the large obstructions and frequent microhabitats)

(behold the large obstructions and frequent microhabitats)

(make sacrifices to the large obstructions and frequent microhabitats)

some quick sketches of the shape of the stream (upstream --> downstream)