The Mountaineers Foundation has awarded the Skagit Fisheries Enhancement Group a grant for $3,000. This grant will support the Skagit River Stewards Program. The Skagit River Stewards monitor the health of the Skagit watershed by collecting physical and biological data for tributaries of the Skagit, Sauk, Suiattle, and Samish Rivers. The primary way the Skagit River Stewards monitor the health of our waterways is by collecting samples of aquatic macroinvertebrates.

So what are aquatic macroinvertebrates?
Let's define the terms:

• aquatic: found in fresh water;
• macro: visible with the naked eye without the aid of a microscope;
• invertebrate: an animal without a backbone

Often macroinvertebrates are referred to as "bugs" but actually they include much more. Many benthic macroinvertebrates are insects, but others include aquatic worms, snails, clams, crustaceans (crayfish, crabs, etc.) and arachnids (spiders and other 8-leggeds).

Macroinvertebrates have proven to be an excellent indicator of stream health. Skagit River Stewards collect physical data about the stream such as bankful width, stream flow, substrate, temperature, and riparian conditions which are used to characterize the stream. Macroinvertebrates are collected and sent to a lab for professional species identification. Since different species have different tolerance levels for pollution, identifying the species and numbers found in each creek sampled can give an accurate picture of the stream health. In addition to being great stream health indicators, these macroinvertebrates are food for juvenile salmon prior to their migration to the ocean. So in order to have salmon in a stream, macroinvertebrates must be present in healthy numbers.

The Skagit River Stewards is a cooperative project with the U.S. Forest Service and the North Cascades Institute. The program has just completed its sixth year with approximately 20 volunteers assisting each summer. Look for more information about volunteering for this fun and interesting program in the spring.