Monitoring Ecological Condition in the Western United States

1. Front Matter

   Pages i-2

   PDF

2. Introduction

   1. EMAP Overview: Objectives, Approaches, and Achievements

      • Michael E. McDonald

      Pages 3-8

3. Regional Assessments

   1. An Overview of Epa’s Regional Vulnerability Assessment (ReVA) Program

      • Elizabeth R. Smith

      Pages 9-15

   2. Status of Aquatic Bioassessment in U.S. Epa Region IX

      • Robert K. Hall, Gary A. Wolinsky, Peter Husby, James Harrington, Patti Spindler, Karen Vargas et al.

      Pages 17-30

   3. An Integrated Ecosystem Assessment of the Interior Columbia Basin

      • Russell T. Graham, Thomas M. Quigley, Rebecca Gravenmier

      Pages 31-40

   4. A Landscape Ecology Assessment of the Tensas River Basin

      • Daniel T. Heggem, Curtis M. Edmonds, Anne C. Neale, Lee Bice, K. Bruce Jones

      Pages 41-54

4. Approaches to Database, Design, Monitoring and Modelling

   1. Designing Environmental Databases for Statistical Analyses

      • Stephen S. Hale, Henry W. Buffum

      Pages 55-68

   2. Emap Design and River Reach File 3 (Rf3) as a Sample Frame in the Central Valley, California

      • Robert K. Hall, Anthony Olsen, Donald Stevens, Barbara Rosenbaum, Peter Husby, Gary A. Wolinsky et al.

      Pages 69-80

   3. Monitoring Air Quality in Mountains: Designing an Effective Network

      • David L. Peterson

      Pages 81-91

   4. Global Grids From Recursive Diamond Subdivisions of the Surface of an Octahedron or Icosahedron

      • Denis White

      Pages 93-103

   5. An Automated Technique for Delineating and Characterizing Valley-Bottom Settings

      • Wendy A. Williams, Mark E. Jensen, J. Chris Winne, Roland L. Redmond

      Pages 105-114

   6. Combining Accuracy Assessment of Land-Cover Maps With Environmental Monitoring Programs

      • Stephen V. Stehman, Raymond L. Czaplewski, Sarah M. Nusser, Limin Yang, Zhiliang Zhu

      Pages 115-126

   7. Mapping Patterns of Human Use and Potential Resource Conflicts on Public Lands

      • James V. Schumacher, Roland L. Redmond, Melissa M. Hart, Mark E. Jensen

      Pages 127-137

   8. Monitoring Ecosystems in the Sierra Nevada: The Conceptual Model Foundation

      • Patricia N. Manley, William J. Zielinski, Claudia M. Stuart, John J. Keane, Amy J. Lind, Cathy Brown et al.

      Pages 139-152

5. Landscape Consideration

   1. Assessing and Monitoring the Health of Western Rangeland Watersheds

      • Amrita G. Desoyza, Walter G. Whitford, Sandra J. Turner, Justin W. Van Zee, Alan R. Johnson

      Pages 153-166

   2. Monitoring Australian Rangeland Sites Using Landscape Function Indicators and Ground- and Remote-Based Techniques

      • John A. Ludwig, Gary N. Bastin, Robert W. Eager, Robert Karfs, Pieter Ketner, Graham Pearce

      Pages 167-178

   3. A Landscape Approach for Detecting and Evaluating Change in a Semi-Arid Environment

      • William G. Kepner, Christopher J. Watts, Curtis M. Edmonds, John K. Maingi, Stuart E. Marsh, Gonzalo Luna

      Pages 179-195

   4. Application of Ecological Classification and Predictive Vegetation Modeling to Broad-Level Assessments of Ecosystem Health

      • Mark E. Jensen, Roland L. Redmond, Jeff P. Dibenedetto, Patrick S. Bourgeron, Iris A. Goodman

      Pages 197-212

   5. Montane Meadows as Indicators of Environmental Change

      • Diane M. Debinski, Mark E. Jakubauskas, Kelly Kindscher

      Pages 213-225

6. Water Quality and Land Use

   1. Assessing Landscape Condition Relative to Water Resources in the Western United States: A Strategic Approach

      • K. Bruce Jones, Daniel T. Heggem, Timothy G. Wade, Anne C. Neale, Donald W. Ebert, Maliha S. Nash et al.

      Pages 227-245

The monitoring of point sources by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the states, and the tribes has documented and helped reduce the levels of chemical stressors affecting our ecosystems. With the controls on point sources reducing chemical contamination, new environmental challenges associated with nonpoint sources have emerged. To adequately deal with these new problems, EPA's Office of Research and Development recognized the need to develop an overall under­ standing of the condition of our ecological resources, the trends in their condition, and the stressors affecting these systems on a broad scale. Toward this end, the En­ vironmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) was established by EPA and has been strategically developing the scientific tools and techniques to monitor and assess the status and trends of aquatic ecosystems. EMAP scientists have developed new indicators and probability-based de­ signs to fill data gaps in the development of regional-scale assessments of our aquatic resources, as required in the Clean Water Act. We have a scientifically de­ fensible approach that allows: 100 percent coverage of the aquatic resources within broad geographic areas and the formulation of reference 'conditions for es­ tablishing the health of these resources. The use of these indicators and designs were successfully demonstrated in the landscapes, streams, and estuaries of the mid-Atlantic states as part of the Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment (MAlA).

• USA
• development
• ecosystem
• environment
• environmental monitoring
• environmental protection
• natural resources
• water
• ecotoxicology
• water quality and water pollution

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, USA

  Shabeg S. Sandhu, Barbara T. Walton

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Atlantic Ecology Division, National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Narragansett, USA

  Brian D. Melzian

• National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration National Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, Seattle, USA

  Edward R. Long

• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, USDA-ARS Jornada Experimental Range, Las Cruces, USA

  Walter G. Whitford

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