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USEPA REGION 10 REGIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM: SITE LOCATION AND CHARACTERIZATION
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Description:
The USEPA designed and implemented the Environmental Assessment Program (EMAP) to determine the current status, extent, changes, and trends in indicators of the condition of the Nations ecological resources on regional and national scales with known confidence. USEPA Region 10s Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (REMAP) adapted EMAP procedures for inland surface waters for use at the regional level. The REMAP is a cooperative program between USEPA Region 10, the Washington Department of Ecology, and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. Sample sites were selected with a randomized, systematic design using Region 10s Reach File 3 as the basis of the stream population. The sample population was restricted to wadeable streams represented by the blue- line stream network on USGS 1:100,00 maps. In 1994, 60 sites were sampled in the Coast Range Ecoregion (30 sites per state) and 15 sites were sampled in the Yakima River Basin. The study was repeated in 1995. In 1996, only Oregon conducted sampling; 30 sites in the Coast Range Ecoregion. The site location and characterization data set contains information describing the location of each site visited by field crews. This information includes spatial coordinates (latitude/longitude), confirmed using a global positioning system (GPS) unit, and other site descriptors including sampleability, dominant land use, elevation, and sample reach length. Average wetted width was measured to determine the stream length to be sampled. A minimum sample reach length of 150 m was used for streams less than 4 m wide; the sample reach length for wider streams was calculated as 40x the average wetted width. Other data sets (e.g., fish, water chemistry) are available for this study and can be linked with this data set.