Bio-surveys, llc

We’ve been conducting fish and stream habitat inventories in Oregon for 25 years. In 1998, Bio-Surveys developed the Rapid Bio-Assessment (RBA) protocol with ODFW and Mid-Coast Watershed Council to begin answering the fundamental questions of species-specific spatial fish distribution within a watershed. Since then, Bio-Surveys has utilized and refined this protocol across over 13,500 miles of Western Oregon rivers and streams. We’ve worked in many watersheds throughout the state including: Alsea, Siletz, Trask, Wilson, Kilchis, Miami, Tillamook, Nehalem, Tualatin, Lukiamute, Yamhill, Calapooia, Marys, Molalla, Pudding, South Santiam, Coast Fork Willamette, Nestucca, Scappoose, Yaquina, Necanicum, Youngs, and fifty-two coastal tributaries with dependent coho populations.

The RBA protocol was designed to establish basin scale fish population estimates and distribution trends while analyzing habitat functionality. The methodology uses a contiguous census of pool habitats designed to describe the changes in salmonid distribution on a basin scale. RBA inventories provide detailed information on spatial distribution and relative abundance of salmonids and other fish present in the watershed. This facilitates the location of key rearing habitats and production hotspots (anchor sites). This combined product is the baseline for determining and informing appropriate restoration treatment options. Over the years our RBA fish data has been utilized in hundreds of stream habitat rehabilitation projects.