EPA-600/M-90-011
Monitoring
Our Notion's
-
Resources
.S._ feviron-,3ntP.l Protection Age
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WHY MONITORING
IS NiCESSARY
This brochure describes interagency
monitoring efforts to address the condi-
tion of our Nation's ecological resources.
Several Federal agencies currently
operate traditional chemical monitoring
programs, however, the purpose of this
brochure is to foster interagency coopera-
tion and enhance integrated ecological
monitoring activities. Such an ecologi-
cal monitoring effort is unprecedented
in scope because of the breadth of cover-
age that is provided by the participation
of many Federal agencies having exper-
tise in ecological and chemical monitor-
ing. An interagency monitoring strat-
egy is being developed to focus the effort
on critical ecosystems in this country
upon which our continued quality of life
depends, with current representation
from the following agencies:
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration - National Status
and Trends Program
• U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service - Forest Health
Monitoring Program
• U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Agricultural Research Service
• U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service -
National Wetlands Inventory
• U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency - Environmental Monitoring
and Assessment Program
These agencies, their programs, and
other agencies that will be participating
as this effort expands, will contribute ca-
pabilities to the overall success. The ex-
pertise from these organizations is inte-
grated to address ecological problems
from a multimedia perspective, provid-
ing information to enhance our Na-
tion's ability to protect our most critical
ecological resources.
There is increasing concern over
potential and actual hazards to the
environment from the use of over
60,000 chemicals and other man-
induced stresses. While adverse effects
on a local environment may be readily
recognized, the build-up of pollutants
both regionally and globally may not
be identified until they are at a critical
stage. This is especially true if pollut-
ants pass through various segments of
the environment causing delays in the
response.
The Nation's land and natural
resources have continually nourished
our civilization. Because our original
heritage was so abundant, often these
resources are taken for granted. The
abundance of our land and natural
resources, however, has limits and the
demands upon them are steadily in-
creasing. Resources such as farmlands,
fisheries, and forests can be depleted
through overuse, misuse, and pollu-
tion. Reports increasingly appear on
the symptoms of current or potential
ecosystem problems: declining
waterfowl populations as well as
declining fish and shellfish harvests and
blooms of toxic algae in near-coastal
waters, dying high elevation forests,
diseased and cancerous fish in lakes and
rivers, and loss of biodiversity. Some
examples of the magnitude of the
pollutant and man-induced stresses on
our ecological resources are:
• It is estimated that by the year
2000, over 90% of the U.S. popula-
tion will live within 50 miles of a
major body of water.
• Annual wetlands losses in the 1970s
were estimated to be 300,000 -
500,000 acres.
• Forests throughout southern and
central California, and high eleva-
tion eastern spruce forests, are
weakened by high levels of air
pollution. Other forests which are
showing possible signs of man-
induced stress include northeastern
sugar maple and southeastern yellow
pine.
• From 1980 to 1985, eleven coastal
states suffered losses of 1,000 to
200,000 acres of productive shellfish
beds.
Existing chemical monitoring
efforts of various Federal agencies have
collected data assessing the presence
and distribution of chemicals in the
environment. However, we presently
lack an integrated national approach
for monitoring biological indicators of
ecological condition and pollutant ex-
posure in these ecosystems. Therefore,
we can not determine with confidence
the scope and rate of ecological degra-
dation or im-
provement in
response to
management
and protection
programs.
Natural re-
sources within
ecosystems such
as wetlands,
forests, estuaries,
croplands, fish,
grasslands,
deserts, wildlife,
and coastal areas
must be moni-
tored to ensure
their protection
from pollutants
and other abuse.
Monitoring
should not be
conducted for some brief period of
time; rather monitoring for the
preservation of the nation's ecosystems
should be an ongoing process. Such
an ambitious effort requires a partner-
ship among various levels of govern-
ment, as well as public, and private
actions.
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A NEW PERSPECTIVE
ADDRESSING THE
PROBLEMS
As we enter the 1990's our Nation has
rededicated itself to protecting the
integrity and sustainability of our
ecosystems. Accompanying this red-
edication is a new perspective of the
value of ecological resources and a
commitment to enhance the quality of
the environment. Although significant
progress has been made since Earth
Day, 1970, we cannot assume that our
ecosystems will have complete protec-
tion against degradation or adverse
effects from man-induced stress. Some
of the threats to ecosystems, such as
global climate change, acidic deposi-
tion, point and nonpoint source
impacts on estuaries, ozone, and loss of
habitat, pose an imposing hurdle to
scientists charged with addressing these
problems. There is an immense need
for progress on these and many other
environmental issues. As the needs and
goals of the nation have changed, new
environmental problems and issues
have been created and will require
rapid, effective response.
Several Federal agencies have re-
sponsibilities for the Nation's ecologi-
cal re-
sources.
The infor-
mation
needed to
assess fully
the value
and effec-
tiveness of
environmental protection programs
and to validate the science upon which
they are based, however, is limited.
Federal agencies must be able to assess
with certainty to what extent changes
in environmental quality are occurring
and the overall progress toward accom-
plishment of legally mandated goals for
protection of ecological resources. De-
cision-makers must have reliable and
unbiased estimates of the extent of
damage to ecosystems on a regional
basis. This information can be used to
target most effectively a :ailable re-
sources to identify and correct these
problems.
Addressing the environmental prob-
lems of the 21st Century requires
carefully planned and executed scien-
tific research programs that focus on
the reduction of risks associated with
pollution. Our ability to address and
effectively manage future problems,
however, is
contingent on
accurate scientific
information.
Solutions to
pollution
problems require
a better under-
standing of the
scientific issues
involved; better
systems for collecting, managing, and
assuring the quality of the scientific
data used for making decisions;
improved interaction and information
exchange at all levels of government,
especially among Federal agencies;
education of the public about environ-
mental risk and the role of the individ-
ual citizen in environmental protec-
tion; and improved enforcement of
existing environmental laws and
regulations.
In the past two decades, pollution
control efforts have been successful in
improving the air quality in many
cities, protecting thousands of miles of
rivers and streams, and restoring and
protecting thousands of acres of lakes.
The chemical-by-chemical and site-by-
site approaches of regulating environ-
mental pollution that have historically
been used appear to have been success-
ful at reducing the impacts of pollu-
tion. These approaches based most
frequently on acute toxicity studies on
individual organisms, however, have
not addressed the serious ecological
impacts associated with long-term
exposure or the subtle changes in our
environment. While the risk assess-
ment process based on pollutant char-
acterization and mathematical models
remains critical to site-specific and
single pollutant effects, many threats
such as cumulative pollution impacts
and global climate change require the
integration of
traditional data
bases with
enhanced ecologi-
cal approaches.
Presently, a
limited informa-
tion framework
exists from which
to assess the
cumulative effects of pollution on eco-
systems as a whole. Moreover, the
need to document baseline conditions
against which future changes can be
assessed has become more acute as en-
vironmental issues have grown in com-
plexity.
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AN INTERAGENCY
PERSPECTIVE
PURPOSE
THE FUTURE
The public is increasingly concerned
about the lack of critical scientific in-
formation on the condition of our eco-
logical resources. Several organizations
have highlighted the need for more
relevant and accessible data on ecosys-
tem conditions, which will form the
basis for strategies to mitigate the
problems. In response to these needs,
development of a long-term research
and monitoring effort has been initi-
ated to address environmental prob-
lems resulting from cumulative
pollution and other man-induced
stress. The approach being imple-
mented to address the environmental
problems in the next decade includes
(1) establishment of an interagency
monitoring program to assess ecologi-
cal status and trends and (2) develop-
ment of methods to detect pollution
problems before they become severe.
The coordinated efforts of the agencies
will attempt to accomplish the follow-
ing:
• Quantify exposure of ecosystems to
pollutants;
• Define the responses and conse-
quences of ecosystem exposure to
pollution;
• Determine the status and trends and
rate of change of conditions in the
Nation's ecosystems;
• Identify emerging pollution prob-
lems before they reach crisis propor-
tions;
• Assess the effects of pollutants on
surface water quality, ground-water
resources, soils, plants, animals, and
ecosystems; and
• Evaluate the effectiveness of the
regulatory programs aimed at
reducing exposure.
Data from integrated ecological
monitoring efforts will serve a wide
spectrum of users including decision-
makers, research and monitoring
program managers, scientists, and
analysts. Such activities will serve as
mechanisms to examine the current
status and geographic distribution of
resources such as estuaries, lakes,
streams, wetlands, croplands, forests,
grasslands, and deserts.
Ecological monitoring will provide the
scientific information needed to
identify and determine the extent,
magnitude, and location of deteriorat-
ing or improving environmental
resources. The data derived from these
activities will indicate whether serious
changes are occurring in these sys-
tems, at what rate, and what are the
likely causes for those changes. Accu-
rate assessments of change require that
comparative data be collected on large
geographic scales over extended time
periods. Monitoring changes in trends
through a national, long-term ap-
proach, along with statistically based
design, distinguishes this collective
effort from most current ecosystem
monitoring efforts. Such a compre-
hensive approach offers the advantages
of earlier detection of problems, an
improved ability to solve them, and
development of more cost-effective
regulations or remedial actions. The
sampling design will be adaptable to a
range of environmental problems and
ecological resources and will facilitate
the integration of data from multiple
environmental resources and networks.
Ecosystems and specific areas of
concern to be monitored include, but
are not limited to:
• near coastal areas
• wetlands
• estuaries
• inland surface waters
• croplands
• forests
• grasslands
• deserts
• acid precipitation
• air quality
This interagency monitoring effort is
designed with the commitment to
evaluate the current status of our
Nation's critical ecological resources.
Through a comprehensive national
approach, monitoring data will be
collected to meet the growing need to
identify trends in degrading environ-
mental conditions. In addition, the
coordinated interagency monitoring
activities will complement the available
data and expertise from existing
programs of several organizations. As
such, interagency coordination will
avoid duplication of effort, facilitate
the exchange of data, and increase
available expertise, while maximizing
the available resources. Ultimately,
these essential activities will serve to
protect the ecosystems upon which our
Nation's quality of life depends.
des
Agricultural
Research
Service
Printed on Recycled Paper
EPA/6001 M-901011
July 1990
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