Symposium Highlights Progress of First National Coastal Report Card

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TO ENVIRONMENTAL EDITOR:

Symposium Highlights Progress of First National Coastal Report Card

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, NORTH CAROLINA, Apr. 12 -/E-Wire/-- Successful programs to evaluate the health of the nation's coastal environments and the Great Lakes, will be highlighted at the EMAP Symposium 2001: Coastal Monitoring through Partnerships, April 24-27, in Pensacola Beach, FL. The symposium, co-sponsored by the U.S. EPA's Office of Research and Development and the Council of State Governments, provides the first forum of the EPA's National Coastal Assessment to advance monitoring and assessment of coastal resources. Examples of research and technology transfer that have led to more efficient, less expensive, and more scientifically rigorous monitoring and assessment will be presented.

The National Coastal Assessment, launched last summer, is a major research initiative of the EPA's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) in cooperation with federal, state, and tribal partners. All 24 coastal states have agreed to a set of ecological indicators and survey designs which will provide the EPA and Congress with the first national report card on the health of aquatic communities.

Opening the symposium will be Henry Longest, acting Assistant Administrator for the Office of Research and Development. Keynote speakers at the symposium include Gov. Parris Glendening of Maryland who will give his perspective on national partnerships and his Smart Growth initiative as they relate to the nation's coasts; James D. Giattina, Director of the EPA's Gulf of Mexico Program, who will speak on regional partnerships and the importance of information in determining the success of environmental protection programs; and Kenneth Dzinbal, Environmental Assessment Program, Washington Department of Ecology, who will speak on the success of federal-state partnerships in accomplishing coastal monitoring goals.

Successful projects to be presented include:

* Efforts to protect Louisiana's wetlands and waters are being assisted with a new partnership between the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources and U.S. Geological Survey's National Wetlands Research Center. Since 1990, there have been 96 wetland restoration projects in coastal Louisiana. Through the partnership, both agencies plan, implement and manage data collection and analysis of monitoring efforts of each project.

* Oregon and the EPA are partnering to address the threat to salmon from human activities and other environmental stressors. As a participant, Oregon has gained new capabilities for estuarine and river sampling; expanded laboratory analytical capabilities; developed cooperative relationships with other state environmental agencies, and participated in a technology transfer workshop sponsored by EPA.

* Through new collaborations with states and the EPA, there will be more effective integration of monitoring programs and data collection efforts to protect water quality in the entire Chesapeake Bay. This effort is advancing coordination of monitoring of the bay.

For additional information or to register for the symposium, visit the web site http://www.statesnews.org/EMAP/emap_symposium_2001.htm or contact Virginia Engle, chair of the Technical Committee, by e-mail ([REDACTED-EMAIL]).

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Ann Brown of U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

http://www.statesnews.org/EMAP/emap_symposium_2001.htm

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