United States
                     Environmental Protection
                     Agency
                                                Office of Research and
                                                Development
                                                Washington DC 20460
            EPA/620/R-00/005S
                January, 2001
 &ERIV    Coastal  Communications
                          NATIONAL COASTAL REPORT CARD
                  COASTAL  2000 - FLORIDA COASTAL ASSESSMENT
                  ORD/Region  IV/Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission
                                                      Sample Year
Background
The U.S. EPA's National Coastal Assessment (Coastal
2000) is a partnership among EPA's Office of Research
and Development (ORD) and 24 U.S. coastal states and
Puerto Rico to assess the condition of estuaries
(followed by coastal waters and wetlands) of individual
states and of the entire U.S. Uniform indicators of
condition and sampling and analytical protocols allow
integration  and assessment of data at state and national
scales.  The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission is  implementing Coastal 2000 for Florida,
using a two-scale sampling strategy to assess condition
of estuaries within delineated water management
districts (watersheds) and state-wide.

Objectives
Coastal  2000 addresses three major objectives: 1)
Assess the  condtion of estuaries (followed by coastal
waters and  wetlands) at state and national scales, 2)
Evaluate change in condition over time and relate to
pollution control/remediation efforts, and 3) Develop cause-effects hypotheses.

Indicators
                                                         o
                                                         o
                                                         •
                                                         o
2000

2001

2002

3003

2004
| Water Quality I Sediment Quality I Biota - Fish & Benthos I Other Indicators |
Dissolved Oxygen
Salinity, Temperature,
Depth, pH
Nutrients, Chlorophyll
Grain Size
Total Organic Carbon
Sediment Chemistry*
Sediment Toxicity*
Community Structure
External Pathology
Tissue Analysis*
Stable Isotopes of N*
Heterotrophic
Dinof lagellates in
Sediment*
Submerged Aquatic
Vegetation Composition
and Abundance
*Statewide-scale only

Further Information
Coastal 2000 information will be publically available as data (EMAP Comprehensive Data Base) and annual State
and national publication documenting the status of estuaries, followed by coastal waters and wetlands. Contact
Kevin Summers at the National Health and Environmental Effects Laboratory's Gulf Ecology Division at (850)
934-9244, summers.kevin@epa.gov or Gil McRae at (727) 896-8626, gil.mcrae@fwc.state.f I.us.

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