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THE ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM: THE NATIONAL COASTAL ASSESSMENT ERF 2001, ST. PETE BEACH, NOV 4-8, 2001
Citation:
Summers, J K. THE ENVIRONMENTAL MONITORING AND ASSESSMENT PROGRAM: THE NATIONAL COASTAL ASSESSMENT ERF 2001, ST. PETE BEACH, NOV 4-8, 2001. Presented at Estuarine Research Federation 2001 Meeting, St. Pete Beach, FL, Nov. 4-8, 2001.
Description:
The purpose of the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program's National Coastal Assessment (NCA) is to estimate the current status, extent, changes, and trends in ecological indicators of the condition of the nation's coastal resources on a state, regional and national basis. Based on NCA monitoring activities from 1999-2001, 100% of the nation's estuarine waters (at over 2500 locations) were sampled focusing on suites of measurements describing the benthic community, the fish community, water quality, levels of sediment and tissue contamination, sediment toxicity, and SAV extent/condition. Estuarine monitoring was based on a probability-based sampling design implemented over a 60-day window during July-September. The results of monitoring represent the first National Coastal Report Card delineating the condition of the Nation's estuarine resources. These results are compared to earlier surveys representing a portion of U.S. estuarine resources but without representation of estuaries from New England, the West Coast, Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico. Earlier surveys showed that 25% ? 4% of the sediments of the nation had degraded biological conditions while
29% ? 4% of the area showed degraded conditions in relation to human uses of the resource (e.g., water clarity tissue contaminants, and the presence of marine debris). Changes in these attributes from the early 1990s to the early 2000s are examined and specific comparisons of differences among state resources are made. An examination of the use of the estuaries associated with EPA's National Estuary Program as a representation of overall condition in the United States is made.