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ECOSYSTEM RESEARCH: THE WESTERN PILOT

Contact

https://ecomments.epa.gov/aboutcphea

Impact/Purpose:

EPA's Office of Water is responsible for reporting on the condition of the Nation's waters and for conducting an assessment of the relative importance of stressors having an impact on them. The Clear Water Act requires, under Section 303(b), that States report to the EPA and that EPA report these findings to Congress. One persistent deficiency in these reports is that they do not adequately reflect the condition of our Nation's water because the State use different sampling designs and indicators of environmental health. Conditions research addresses several questions, including what are effective indices of ecological condition in freshwater ecosystems and what reference conditions should they be compared against, what sample survey designs will allow inference from the sample of surface waters to all surface waters in a State or Region, what are the primary indicators of anthropogenic stress that can be used in a monitoring effort, and how are these tools brought together to produce an effective assessment of condition and relative ranking of stressors. The Western Pilot is a component of the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) that focuses on streams and rivers in 3 Western EPA Regions and 12 Western States.

Description:

The products of this research include tools, monitoring data and assessments. Tools include biological indicators and a process for setting expectation or reference conditions against which to evaluate the indicators. It will also include a prioritized set of indicators on anthropogenic stress that can be associated with biological quality. Monitoring designs and a design development process will also be developed. Resources will also be allocated to transferring survey design technology and bioindicators to the Regions, States and Tribes who will ultimately have the responsibility for conducting long-term monitoring in their areas. This research will focus on developing a comprehensive set of data on ecological conditions in the Western U.S. Considerable effort will be expended to produce a validated dataset, with data for fish assemblage structure, macro-invertebrate relative abundance, alga composition and biomass, and a comprehensive description of chemical and physical stream and riparian habitats. This research will also focus on actual assessments from surveys in the West that could result in information suitable to guide discussions about management and restoration in this region of the country.

Record Details:

Record Type:PROJECT
Start Date:03/01/1999
Projected Completion Date:03/01/2008
OMB Category:Other
Record ID: 72344