Riparian Habitat Assesment-July 21st

Today was the first day I visited my stream for ESAT. Even though I had been to this particular stream many times before, visiting it with the intent to observe it. One of the main revelations I had while sampling was the fact that the Riparian Habitat Assesment gave me a insight into what actually meant to have a "good stream." When I picked my stream I had simply assumed that it was healthy. In general, the stream was healthy; it had a relatively healthy riparian zone, and lots of fallen logs. The assessment, however, allowed me to really pinpoint exactly why the stream was healthy, and why it could have been healthier. For instance, I was able to recognize that the stream was not entirely healthy as it had lots of erosion from recent flooding, and it did not completely fill its channel. Also due to the flooding there was moderate amounts of sediment deposition, and many of the larger rocks were surrounded by fine silt, which I had learned was not ideal for macroinvertebrate communities. I was still able to identify all four Velocity/depth regimes wich told me that even though the river was very low, it still had a variety of habitat options.  There was also extensive vegetative cover on both banks. Of all of the things I have learned about thus far I think this is the most useful because without having to do a water chemistry test or a macroinvertebrate sample I can tell if the stream is relatively healthy or not based on its surroundings.