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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM (EMAP) IN THE 21ST CENTURY
Citation:
McDonald, M E., R L. Blair, J. J. Dlugosz, S S. Hale, S. F. Hedtke, D T. Heggem, L E. Jackson, K. Jones, B. M. Levinson, A R. Olsen, S G. Paulsen, J L. Stoddard, K Summers, AND G D. Veith. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY'S ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM (EMAP) IN THE 21ST CENTURY. AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF HYDROLOGY 18(1-4):133-143, (2002).
Description:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agancy's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) is improving the tools to assess status and trends in the condition of aquatic ecosystems across the U.S. Within the Office of Research and Development, EMAP has developed an approach fo: State-based statistical monitoring designs fro streams and estuaries; aggreagation of State data to the regional or national level; and providing scientifically defensible measures of changes and trends in ecosystem conditions. EMAP has developed and tested monitoring designs and ecological indicators in the Mid-Atlantic region of the U.S. To further test our approaches, remove scientific barriers to implementation, and to demonstrate the approaches to States, Tribes and EPA Regions, we are currently conducting additional large-scale geographic studies. EMAP's Western Pilot is a major study in 12 western states that is testing the generalitt of our stream designs and indicators in a vast, ecologically variable area of the country. Our National Coastal Assessment (NCA) is a demonstration of a consistent, probablistic monitoring framework in the estuaries of 24 marine coastal states and Puerto Rico. The NCA will provide the first national condition assessment of all US marine estuaries. Future plans for EMAP include establishing ecological condition of large rivers, and demonstrating a national monitoring framework