Introduction to Kilgard stream: In the past, when developers encountered a stream and its corresponding ecosystem, very little worth was placed on the environmental value or influence it had on the surrounding region. As a result logging, mining and other industry has put the environment on the 'back burner' and allowed development in environmentally sensitive areas to proceed. Since the problems of industry have started to creep into our 'backyards', the shabby mentality that swindled nature for so long has been superseded by the more modern, global perspective: preservation. fortunately for us, the  more modern perspective has been adopted and as a result rigid regulations have been implemented to protect the splendor of the British Columbia ecosystem. There are agencies empowered with the protection of all natural properties from vast forested land to small streams. It is the small streams that are the focal point of this site and the related stream ecology survey. During the stream survey students from Abbotsford's UCFV considered three fundamental components in order to fully explain or observe the characteristics with any accuracy, these components are: the Hydrogeology of the area, the Chemistry or the water, and of course the resulting Biological elements-- plants, invertebrates, fish etc. The Hydrogeology determines physical, or topographic properties such as flow patterns, erosion, and sediment deposition rates in addition to influencing water chemistry. The water chemistry determines what sort of minerals or pollutants are dissolved, or in suspension in the water and in turn dictates what sort of life forms can exist within the riparian corridor. More specifically, water chemistry deals with elements such as pH, temperature, and dissolved ions which all play a critical role in the biological potential of a given region. In short, the biological impact represents the cumulation of all these factors and ultimately dispays the overall 'health' of an area.