Climate and Land Use Change Effects on Ecological Resources in Three Watersheds: A Synthesis Report (Final Report)
EPA announced the availability of the final report, Climate and Land-Use Change Effects on Ecological Resources in Three Watersheds: A Synthesis Report. This report provides a summary of climate change impacts to selected watersheds and recommendations for how to improve the process of conducting watershed assessments in the future.
During the early 2000s, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Office of Research and Development, Global Change Research Program, supported three watershed assessments to evaluate different approaches and tools for understanding and managing climate and land use change impacts on watershed ecological resources. Watershed assessments were conducted for (1) several small rivers in southern Maryland, (2) Arizona’s San Pedro River, and (3) California’s Sacramento River. In this report, we comparatively analyze the three case study approaches in order to develop recommendations that may be useful as guidance to others conducting similar assessments.
The watershed assessment case studies described in this report yield richness of detail in terms of methods and results, as well as inform more generally on best practices for conducting future watershed assessments. However these were pioneering studies addressing difficult and complex problems. Future assessments will continue to refine the understanding of how to maximize decision support, including providing necessary keystone capabilities and tools to effectively estimate climate change vulnerabilities, developing and supporting successful stakeholder processes, and characterizing uncertainty and scaling or transferring results to increase their relevance.
During the early 2000s, the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) Office of Research and Development, Global Change Research Program, supported three watershed assessments to evaluate different approaches and tools for understanding and managing climate and land use change impacts on watershed ecological resources. Watershed assessments were conducted for (1) several small rivers in southern Maryland, (2) Arizona’s San Pedro River, and (3) California’s Sacramento River. In this report, we comparatively analyze the three case study approaches in order to develop recommendations that may be useful as guidance to others conducting similar assessments.
The watershed assessment case studies described in this report yield richness of detail in terms of methods and results, as well as inform more generally on best practices for conducting future watershed assessments. However these were pioneering studies addressing difficult and complex problems. Future assessments will continue to refine the understanding of how to maximize decision support, including providing necessary keystone capabilities and tools to effectively estimate climate change vulnerabilities, developing and supporting successful stakeholder processes, and characterizing uncertainty and scaling or transferring results to increase their relevance.
Impact/Purpose
Three watershed case studies were conducted by GCRP to advance the capability of managers to consider climate and land use change in watershed management decisions. The review of these case studies was done to learn effective analytic, project management, and decision support approaches. The results of this report are relevant to the Office of Water as they consider how to incorporate climate change impacts into their watershed approach for protecting water quality and aquatic ecosystems.
Citation
U.S. EPA. Climate and Land Use Change Effects on Ecological Resources in Three Watersheds: A Synthesis Report (Final Report). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-07/086F, 2012.
History/Chronology
| Date | Description |
|---|---|
| Aug 2007 | EPA released an external review draft for public review and comment. [Federal Register Aug 10, 2007] |
| Sep 2012 | EPA released the final report. |
This document has been reviewed in accordance with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency policy and approved for publication. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute endorsement or recommendation for use.