Refinement of the sampling design for the LTRMP's fish component Ickes, B. S., and R. W. Burkhardt. 2002. Evaluation and proposed refinement of the sampling design for the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program's fish component. U.S. Geological Survey, Upper Midwest Environmental Sciences Center, La Crosse, Wisconsin, October 2002. LTRMP 2002-T001. 17 pp. + Appendixes A E. CD-ROM included. (NTIS# PB2003-500042) ABSTRACT Abstract: Environmental monitoring programs are frequently designed to track changes in key physical, chemical, and biological features of an ecosystem. As such, these programs provide critical information for detecting changes in system state, investigating ecological relations, and making resource management decisions. However, monitoring programs require significant investments of time, money, and human resources to implement and maintain. Periodic evaluations are necessary to assess whether the sampling design adequately addresses program goals and objectives, and whether adequate and useful information can continue to be provided for changing management and science needs. We evaluated the Long Term Resource Monitoring Program (LTRMP) sampling design for fish by analyzing data from stratified random samples collected from 1993 to 1999 in six Trend Analysis Areas (TAAs). Specifically, we investigated whether the sampling design could provide similar information with fewer sampling gears. Our goals were to identify and quantify information provided by each gear used to monitor fish in the LTRMP, develop alternative sampling design scenarios based on our analyses and expert opinion, and engage program partners in a discussion on the relative value of each gear within the present sampling design. We forward a proposal to systemically eliminate four of the ten sampling gears presently used to monitor the status and trends in fish resources within the LTRMP. KEYWORDS community composition, community structure, ecological monitoring, ecosystem management, fishing gears, Illinois River, monitoring programs, river ecology, sampling efficiency sampling gears, status and trends, Upper Mississippi River.