Citation:

Smith, E R., L. T. Tran, R. V. O'Neill, AND M. O'Connell. SYNTHESIS OF SPATIAL DATA FOR DECISION-MAKING. Presented at Monitoring Science and Technology Symposium, Denver, CO, September 20-24, 2004.

Impact/Purpose:

ReVA's program objectives are to:

Provide regional-scale, spatially explicit information on the extent and distribution of both stressors and sensitive resources.

Develop and evaluate techniques to integrate information on exposure and effects so that relative risk can be assessed and management actions can be prioritized.

Predict consequences of potential environmental changes under alternative future scenarios.

Effectively communicate economic and quality of life trade-offs associated with alternative environmental policies.

Develop techniques to prioritize areas for ecological restoration.

Identify information gaps and recommend actions to improve monitoring and focus research.

Description:

EPA'S Regional Vulnerability Assessment Program (ReVA) has developed a web-based statistical tool that synthesizes available spatial data into indices of condition, vulnerability (risk, considering cumulative effects), and feasibility of management options. The Environmental Decision Toolkit (EDT) provides data preparation support, visualization of individual variables or integrated results, and options for drilldown, exploratory analysis, and weighting of variables to evaluate alternative priorities. Designed to be entirely portable, the tool can be used with any scale data from any area. This presentation will focus on demonstrating the EDT using data from ReVA's' pilot study in the. Mid-Atlantic Region of the United States. The EDT is still under development, with collaboration from client partners at the regional, state and local levels, but provides a prototype framework for organizing large amounts of spacial data into information relevant to decision-making needs.

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