BLM/OC/GI-11/002+6500

TRAININGS

NAMC offers macroinvertebrate 

bioassessment trainings to BLM field 

offices in macroinvertebrate ecology, 

study design, statistical analysis, and data 

management. 

COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS

Currently, NAMC is conducting collaborative research 

projects with the U.S. Forest Service, National 

Park Service, Bureau of Reclamation, Utah State 

University, and a variety of other state and federal 

agencies. Research efforts fall into three broad 

categories: 1) the effects of contemporary water 

management on freshwater biodiversity, 2) grazing 

impacts on riparian and aquatic ecosystems, and 3) 

the development and evaluation of bioassessment 

methodologies for large-scale assessments. 

For more information, visit 

www.usu.edu/buglab/

NAMC Director

BLM National Operations Center

Utah State University

Scott Miller

(720) 545-8367

swmiller@blm.gov

CURRENT NAMC SITES 

on WESTERN BLM LANDS

P-463
OVERVIEW

Stream and riparian areas 

managed by the Bureau 

of Land Management 

(BLM) are among the most 

productive and diverse 

ecosystems in the United 

States. They support a 

myriad of aquatic species 

and ecosystem services 

such as fish, amphibians, 

drinking water, and 

flood attenuation. The 

maintenance of freshwater 

biodiversity and ecosystem 

services under the BLM’s multiple-use mandate 

requires accurate monitoring information to quantify 

the status and trend of freshwater resources and inform 

management decisions. One partnership the Bureau 

uses to achieve this goal is with the National Aquatic 

Monitoring Center (NAMC), also known as the BugLab.

MISSION

The NAMC is a cooperative agreement between 

the BLM and Utah State University which seeks to 

encourage and foster scientifically sound watershed 

monitoring programs on public lands. NAMC’s primary 

focus is the use of aquatic macroinvertebrates as 

bioindicators of freshwater biological integrity. NAMC, 

housed at Utah State University in Logan, provides five 

fundamental services to BLM field 

offices and other state and federal 

agencies:

1. Processing aquatic 

macroinvertebrate samples 

2. Database development and 

maintenance for more than 

50,000 macroinvertebrate 

samples 

3. Freshwater bioassessment trainings

4. Assistance with the design, 

implementation, and interpretation 

of aquatic biomonitoring programs

5. Research to address 

watershed management 

issues and advance the 

science and practice of 

aquatic biomonitoring

BIOASSESSMENT

Freshwater monitoring is increasingly 

conducted with aquatic macroinvertebrates, with all 

50 states using them in biomonitoring programs. Aquatic 

macroinvertebrates are animals that do not have a 

backbone, can be seen with the naked eye, and spend 

at least part of their lives in water. They are effective 

bioindicators because they: 1) are relatively long-lived 

and thus integrate conditions through time, 2) are 

ubiquitously found in perennial streams, 3) exhibit a 

variety of life history strategies (e.g., modes of respiration, 

reproduction, and feeding) which can be used to 

discriminate among stressors, and 4) can be sampled 

and identified in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

SAMPLE 

PROCESSING

Since 1992, NAMC 

taxonomists have identified 

more than 13 million 

macroinvertebrates from 

greater than 34,000 samples 

collected at over 14,000 

sites throughout the U.S. 

and from BLM Eastern States 

offices. Numerous online 

query tools are available 

or are being developed to 

access this information on NAMC’s Web 

site. Macroinvertebrate samples collected 

by BLM field offices are processed at no cost 

under the assistance agreement.

BLM FIELD OFFICE 

ASSISTANCE

NAMC is currently working on several projects 

to design and implement aquatic monitoring 

programs from the field office scale to national 

initiatives. Some projects include the quantification of 

prey resource availability for migratory shorebirds in 

Colorado’s Lara wetlands; monitoring to detect impacts 

of gas development throughout the Roan Plateau 

in Colorado; the design and implementation of 

probabilistic surveys to determine the status and trend 

of BLM freshwater resource throughout ecoregions 

of the Intermountain West; and the development 

of biological condition scores for more than 800 

stations to be used in rapid ecoregional assessments.

FACILITATING INTERPRETATION 

through MODELING

NAMC is developing models for use throughout the 

West to simplify the interpretation and application 

of macroinvertebrate data. These are important 

tools to help land managers determine 

freshwater biological integrity.