Benthic Invertebrate Stream Monitoring

Each fall and spring the Forestry Crew puts on their waders and gets in the Swannanoa River where it flows through the Warren Wilson Forest to monitor the health of the river. The crew works in collaboration with the Stream Monitoring Information Exchange, an organization that indirectly measures water quality by capturing, identifying, and counting benthic invertebrates. If the right number of these invertebrates are in the river, coupled with the presence of some indicator species, then the water quality is good and the river is healthy.

Dragonfly larva from the Swannanoa River

Forestry Crew member Morgan Kaelin spends some time with the dragonfly larva while Charles Williamson counts bugs