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USING IBI SCORES TO PREDICT POTENTIAL STREAM RESTORATION SUCCESS IN PENNSYLVANIA

    Lang, Ava, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Susquehanna University, 514 University Avenue, Selinsgrove, PA 17870, langa@susqu.edu; Ressler, Daniel E., Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Susquehanna University, 514 University Avenue, Selinsgrove, PA 17870, resslerd@susqu.edu; Wilson, Matthew J., Freshwater Research Institute, Susquehanna University, 514 University Avenue, Selinsgrove, PA 17870, wilsonmatt@susqu.edu.

    The U.S Environmental Protection Agency set goals in the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement that Pennsylvania must cut 69% of nitrogen outputs but this target has not yet been met. The Susquehanna River basin that flows to the Chesapeake is largely agricultural communities. Of the 69% of nitrogen production that Pennsylvania is responsible for, 80% is the byproducts of agriculture. Pennsylvania’s delisting stream initiatives are efforts to reduce the number of streams that are considered in poor health and thus impact the bay. For a stream to become listed as impaired, its Index of Biological Integrity score must be less than 50. This score indicates the stream has a high level of disturbance with a predominance of benthic macroinvertebrate species that are tolerant to pollution. We plan to use recently released IBI scores and Land Use/Land Cover datasets to predict which streams will likely improve with restoration. Using PA Department of Environmental Protection IBI scores from 1991 to the present. We plan to use the state-wide DEP data to develop trends in subwatershed stream quality based on IBI scores, as well as conduct case studies of specific stream reaches where Freshwater Research Institute projects have given us a complete history of stream restoration efforts and timing. Using these case study results, we anticipate a process in which we can make predictions about other watersheds that might be good candidates for new stream restoration projects. We hope to provide some insight into trends associated with water quality and restoration in streams, contribute to efforts to delist streams in Pennsylvania, and accelerate the restoration of the Chesapeake Bay.

    Benthic Macroinvertebrate, Stream Restoration, Delisting Strategy, Index of Biological Integrity