Long Prairie River Watershed Stressor Identification Report

This report summarizes the key causes or "stressors," contributing to impairment of fish and aquatic macroinvertebrate communities of the Long Prairie River tributaries in the Long Prairie River (LP) Watershed located in west-central Minnesota. There are four aggregated 12-digit HUCs that will be covered in this report that contain streams that are listed on the 303(d) list of impaired waters for failing to meet established criteria for the index of biological integrity (IBI). Stream biology is scored based on a numeric value given to each of several metrics which comprise the index. Metrics are based on community diversity, and reproductive, feeding, or trophic characteristics that are specific to groups of fish and macroinvertebrates. Low scores indicate a lack of certain groups of fish and invertebrates which mean that the stream is not meeting expectations.