Otter Creek #2

Habitat Assessment

Description	Very narrow, headwaters; surrounded by thick vegetation and forest upstream and downstream; crosses a walking trail.
Width	.4 meters
Water Appearance	Clear
Odor	none
Attachment Sites	18/20	Well-developed riffle and run; riffle is as wide as stream and length extends 2 times the width.
Embeddedness	20/20	Fine sediment surrounds and fills in 0-25% of the living spaces around and in between the gravel, cobble, and boulders.
Shelter For Fish	17/20	Snags, submerged logs, undercut banks, cobble and large rocks, or other stable habitat are found in over 50% of the site.
Channel Alteration	20/20	Stream straightening, dredging, artificial embankments, dams or bridge abutments absent or minimal; stream with meandering pattern.
Sediment Deposition	20/20	Little or no enlargement of islands or point bars and less than 5% of the bottom affected by sediment deposition.
Channel Flow Status	20/20	Water reaches bases of both lower banks and minimal amount of channel substrate is exposed.
Bank Vegetative Protection	LEFT:10/10; RIGHT:10/10	More than 90% of the streambank surfaces covered by natural vegetation, including trees, shrubs, or other plants; vegetative disruption, through grazing or mowing, minimal or not evident; almost all plants allowed to grow naturally.
Condition of Banks	LEFT:10/10; RIGHT:10/10	Banks stable; no evidence of erosion or bank failure; little potential for future problems.
Riparian Vegetative Zone Width	LEFT:10/10; RIGHT:10/10	Width of Riparian Zone is greater than 50 feet; no evidence of human activities within the riparian zone.

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