Benthic samples are collected from 6 streams (Oiseau Creek, White Gravel River, North Swallow River, Swallow River, Tagouche Creek and Imogene Creek) in mid to late September using standarized methods for collecting invertebrates developed by the Canadian Biomonitoring Network (CABIN). Five sub-measures are calculated for the status of this measure; family richness, percent oligochaeta, the Hilsenhoff family biotic index (HfBI), Ephemeroptera - Plecoptera - Tricoptera (EPT) index and a multivariate community metric (90th percentile Hellinger's Distance).