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A Function-Based Framework for Stream Assessment and Restoration Projects
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Download the Functional Framework for Stream Assessment and Restoration. This is the science-based development of the original function-based framework that is the basis for the SQT.
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Workspace
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Hellbender SQT Materials
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BEHI and NBS Processing Form
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Excel document for processing BEHI and NBS data collected in the field.
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Workspace
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Hellbender SQT Materials
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Eastern Hellbender Structural Habitat Augmentation Guidance
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This is a technical document to provide guidance on the installation of structural habitat for adult and juvenile Eastern Hellbenders. The document details spacing, placement, and specifications for in-stream nest and cover rocks.
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Information Materials
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NRCS Conservation Practices & Materials
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Other Guidance
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Evaluating artificial shelter arrays as a minimally invasive monitoring tool for the hellbender (Cryptobranchus alleganiensis)
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Hellbenders Cryptobranchus alleganiensis are critically imperiled amphibians throughout the eastern USA. Rock-lifting is widely used to monitor hellbenders but can severely disturb habitat. We asked whether artificial shelter occupancy (the proportion of occupied shelters in an array) would function as a proxy for hellbender abundance and there by serve as a viable alternative to rock-lifting. We hypothesized that shelter occupancy would vary spatially in response to hellbender density, natural shelter density, or both, and would vary temporally with hellbender
seasonal activity patterns and time since shelter deployment. We established shelter arrays (n = 30 shelters each) in 6 stream reaches and monitored them monthly for up to 2 yr. We used Bayesian mixed logistic regression and model ranking criteria to assess support for hypotheses concerning drivers of shelter occupancy. In all reaches, shelter occupancy was highest from June–August each year and was higher in Year 2 relative to Year 1. Our best-supported model indicated that the extent of boulder and bedrock (hereafter, natural shelter) in a reach mediated the relationship between hellbender abundance and shelter occupancy. More explicitly, shelter occupancy was positively correlated with abundance when natural shelter covered <20% of a reach, but uncorrelated with abundance when natural shelter was more abundant. While shelter occupancy should not be used to infer variation in hellbender relative abundance when substrate composition varies among reaches, we showed that artificial shelters can function as valuable monitoring tools when reaches meet certain criteria, though regular shelter maintenance is critical.
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Research
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Artificial Nest Box Research
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Fence - CPS 382
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This practice facilitates the accomplishment of conservation objectives by providing a means to control movement of animals and people, including vehicles.
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Information Materials
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NRCS Conservation Practices & Materials
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Conservation Practices
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Fence Job Sheet
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NC Fence Job Sheet Installation Instructions
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Information Materials
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NRCS Conservation Practices & Materials
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Job Sheets
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Field Day at Mountain Research Station
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The Field Day at the Mountain Research Station in Waynesville, NC will be a great event for agricultural producers to get the latest updates on agricultural research and to see the latest and best available tools and equipment at the trade show. The NRCS Partner Biologists for the Hellbender Working Lands for Wildlife Initiative will be in attendance with information about the program.
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News & Events
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Eastern Hellbender Workshops
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Harris, Morgan
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Expertise Search
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HBSQT Field Data Input Form (excel)
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Excel document that mirrors the field datasheets for data input. Gray cells in this document are calculations that will give you field values for the HBSQT Spreadsheet.
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Workspace
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Hellbender SQT Materials
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HBSQT Field Datasheet Package (pdf)
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Download and print this packet to record field data for the HBSQT. You may need multiple copies of some of the pages (e.g. LWDI, BEHI)
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Workspace
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Hellbender SQT Materials
