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Goal 3 - How does CREP measure success toward this goal?
The IDNR works alongside the Illinois Natural History Survey to maintain a basin-wide monitoring and assessment program for wadable streams in the Illinois and Kaskaskia Rivers. Baseline data on aquatic insects, freshwater mussels, and fish have been collected at several reaches to characterize conditions throughout the watershed. Special attention is paid to reaches that have been identified as biologically significant, containing a high diversity of species or certain species that are particularly sensitive to environmental disturbance. Continuous monitoring of animal assemblages and their habitat allows our scientists and policy makers to track long-term trends in these sensitive ecosystems.”
Figure 2: Locations of wadable stream sites in the Kaskaskia River Basin sampled from 2013-2018 to monitor and assess aquatic life. Survey events vary by shape and color each year
2018= Orange, diamond
2017= yellow, cross
2016= green, small circle
2015= red, triangle
2014= blue, large circle
2013= purple, square).
The basin is broken down to four United States Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrological Unit Code 8 (HUC8) scale sub-basins (Upper, Middle, Shoal, and Lower).