Lapwai Creek is a 4th order stream that drains into the Clearwater River in Nez Perce County, Idaho. It includes the tributaries of Mission, Sweetwater, Webb, Rock, and Tom Beall Creeks. To meet restoration objectives within the watershed, stream temperature data are collected for implementation and compliance monitoring (I & C) and trend Lapwai Creek Stream Temperature 2020 Monitoring Results monitoring. The stream temperature data is used to evaluate the health of the stream for fish and determine the effectiveness of installed conservation measures.

Stream temperature monitoring in the Lapwai watershed is part of an inter-agency effort to restore steelhead habitat. Monitoring in the watershed by the NPSWCD began in the 1990's. As of 2020, the district monitors 65 sites on the main tributaries and headwater streams. A location map and the geographic coordinates of the sites are included below.  Stream temperatures are monitored mostly with submersible (HOBO) dataloggers, though a few temperature recorders are cabled sensors colocated with district stream gages and weather monitoring sites.  The district monitors air temperature and soil temperature to better understand how these correlate with stream water temperature.  

Site selection is coordinated with watershed stakeholders including landowners, the Nez Perce Tribe, Bureau of Reclamation, and the University of Idaho.  The sites are monitored on a rotating schedule. Elevation in the Lapwai watersheds ranges from 770 to 5,070 feet. For trend evaluation it is useful to characterize the sites in the watershed as low or high elevation, with the division being at about an elevation of about 2700 feet.  This roughly corresponds to the division between lower canyon-valley  terrain and higher prairie landscapes. The higher prairie landscape has a shorter growing season, lower annual average temperature, more precipitation, and more snow cover,  Stream channels in the prairie soils are relatively stable, though often incised. The canyon-valley terrain is warmer, drier, and the gravel-cobble channels are much more active.  While a true statified sample of sites is difficult in the mixed ownership of the watershed, the district attempts to balance the number of sites and monitoring events  in the low and high elevation terrains.  The district's goal is to monitor each site about once every five years. Key sites on the main tributaries are monitored more frequently. A histogram of the yearly monitoring events since 2003 is included below.  At present, the district has no stream temperature sites in the higher elevation of the Sweetwater Creek drainage, but this may become a priority in the next monitoring cycle. Selection of new sites is influenced by landowner support of conservation work.