| Aquatic monitoring of fish and amphibians in The Geysers region of Lake and Sonoma Counties was initiated in past decades to monitor in-stream fisheries health and water quality within an active geothermal field. Since 1998, six stream reaches have been studied in the Bear Canyon/West Ford Flat (BC/WFF) area in Lake County and six reaches in the Squaw Creek/Big Sulphur Creek aquatic monitoring program in Sonoma County. The six BC/WFF sites were within the footprint of the 2015 Valley Fire in Lake County. Data are collected in late summer on stream flow rates, stream condition, temperature, conductivity, contaminants, and benthic macroinvertebrates, in addition to fish and amphibian population sampling. Population data on foothill yellow-legged frog (Rana boylii) and California giant salamander (Dicamptodon ensatus) have been collected since 1999 using standard electrofishing methods, and will be collected on an ongoing basis. Our findings indicate consistent habitat use by in-stream amphibian populations despite changes in the physical environment, including canopy changes due to fire and reduced flow regimes in response to drought. In the future, they will allow us to examine responses to altered habitat and water quality conditions following severe fire. |