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WATERSHED CLASSIFICATION AS A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL FOR CONSOLIDATED ASSESSMENT AND LISTING PROGRAMS
Citation:
Detenbeck, N E., S L. Batterman, V. J. Brady, J. C. Brazner, V M. Snarski, D K. Tanner, D L. Taylor, J A. Thompson, L E. Anderson, AND C M. Elonen. WATERSHED CLASSIFICATION AS A DIAGNOSTIC TOOL FOR CONSOLIDATED ASSESSMENT AND LISTING PROGRAMS. Presented at U.S. EPA Science Forum 2002: Meeting the Challenges, Washington, DC, May 1-2, 2002.
Description:
With over 40,000 TMDLs scheduled for development, the states, tribes, and EPA Regions need efficient streamlined approaches for watershed level inventory, monitoring, condition assessment, diagnosis of impairment, and prioritization of watersheds for restoration and future load reductions, with associated targets under Sections 305(b) and 303(d) of the Clean Water Act. Watershed classification is being tested as a tool to improve the diagnosis of causes of biological impairment through an understanding of stressor-response relationships and the relative vulnerability of different ecosystems. Hydrologic response thresholds related to changes in land-use and land-cover provide natural breakpoints for a watershed classification system, the classes of which provide strata for monitoring designs. Stream condition can then be summarized for the full population of watersheds or by watershed class to define average levels of impairment, and restoration targets can be established. This approach was first tested for second- and third-order watersheds surrounding the western arm of Lake Superior. Stakeholders involved in planning of the Lake Superior Comparative Watershed Study and outreach efforts include the MN Pollution Control Agency, Lake Superior Basis Planning Committee, Bad River tribe, Wisconsin Wetland Association, local watershed organizations, county planning boards, and the Association of State and Interstate Water Pollution Control Administrators (ASIWPCA). In subsequent work, this approach is being transferred to other Great Lakes states and to the state of West Virginia through cooperative agreements and interagency agreements supported through the Regional Environmental Monitoring and Assessment (R-EMAP) Program. A separate IAG with USGS is supporting management efforts. The academic community has also been engaged in this issue through development of a special session on watershed classification at the Ecological Society of America annual meeting; multiple presentations at national scientific meetings and the EPA/NSF STAR grants Water and Watersheds program review, and development of a Request for Applications (RFA) on watershed classification for the STAR grants program. This is an abstract or a proposed presentation and does not necessarily reflect EPA policy. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.