The Xerces Society and those who have supported this project are very excited that you are interested in listening to the stories aquatic macroinvertebrates have to tell of life in wadeable streams of the Pacific Northwest.

This Guide will lead you through the process called macroinvertebrate monitoring. Tools developed for technical monitoring are discuss and promoted for use in creating a macroinvertebrate monitoring program. At the same time, if you just want to turn over a rock and learn more about the wonders underneath, this Guide will certainly be helpful.

The major sections of this guide include:

• Why macros? - reasons for monitoring; history and case studies of biological assessment and macroinvertebrate monitoring
• Sampling Process - organization and development of a monitoring program; necessary equipment and where to get it; protocols for collecting samples
• Identify taxa - identification guides to most Northwest macroinvertebrates with detailed information on each taxon; list of taxa found in each Northwest ecoregion; introduced species; life histories and more
• Interpret data - analysis tools that help make sense of macroinvertebrate data
• Use results - hints for using macroinvertebrate data to protect and restore streams and watersheds

• Resources - links and references to books, papers, macroinvertebrate laboratories, regional contacts, related websites, and equipment suppliers
• Glossary - selected terms and abbreviations used in macroinvertebrate monitoring and identification
• Site map - clickable flowchart of the overall structure of this Guide for easy access to the different sections

The Bullitt Foundation,