United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
Office of Research
and Development
Washington, D.C. 20460
EPA/620/N-93«HH
July 1993
Introduction
The Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program
(EMAP) is an innovative research, monitoring, and assessment
program designed to determine the condition of our Nation's
ecological resources. The principal goal of the program is to
provide decision makers with sound data on which to base
environmental risk management decisions.
The EMAP Approach
• Regional Scope
• Ecological/Biological Indicators
• Probability-based Sampling
• Long-term Monitoring
• Interagency Partnerships
EMAP is managed by the Office of Research and Develop-
ment within the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The
program is designed to provide "America's Ecological Report
Card." It has four strategic objectives:
(1) Estimate the current status, trends, and changes in
selected indicators of the condition of the Nation's
ecological resources on a regional basis with known
confidence.
(2) Estimate the geographic coverage and extent of the
Nation's ecological resources with known confidence.
(3) Seek associations between selected indicators of
natural and anthropogenic stresses and indicators of
the condition of ecological resources.
(4) Provide annual statistical summaries and periodic
assessments of the Nation's ecological resources.
* U.S.G.P.O.:1993-'752-973
An ambitious task such as EMAP requires the participation
of the Nation's best scientists. More than 12 Federal agencies, 20
States, and 40 universities are currently active in various program
components.
EMAP has three functional components: resource monitor-
ing and research, integration and assessment, and program
coordination. Usingaprobabilisticsamplingdesign and ecologi-
cal indicators, EMAP is assessing the condition of seven ecologi-
cal resources (defined within EMAP as: Agroecosystems, Arid
Ecosystems, Estuaries, Forests, Great Lakes, Surface Waters, and
Wetlands). In addition to theseseven ecological resource groups,
EMAP also has an integrated landscape ecology component.
EMAP Implementation
EMAP initiated its field monitoring in FY90 with demonstra-
tion projects in estuaries of the mid-Atlantic coast and in forests
of New England. Field monitoring is expanding geographically
and other ecological resources are being added as the program
movestowardfull implementation. EMAP's ecological resource
groups are described below.
Agroecosystems
In FY92, EMAP-Agroecosystems conducted a pilot study in
North Carolina in conjunction with the U.S. Department of
Agriculture's Agricultural Research Service and National Agri-
cultural Statistics Service. Data were collected on crop produc-
tivity, soil quality, agricultural chemical use, and water quality
from 116 sampling sites in North Carolina. Additional pilot
studies in Nebraska are being initiated.
Arid Ecosystems
In FY91, the Arid Ecosystems group conducted a joint pilot
study with EMAP-Landscape Characterization in the San Pedro
watershed of Arizona. This pilot study focused on using remote
sensing techniques to determine arid ecosystem condition. In
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FY92, a pilot study in the southeastern Utah portion of the
Colorado Plateau examined the global environmental issue of
sustainability (i.e., desertification and climate change). This pilot
is continuing.
Estuaries
EMAP is working with the National Oceanic and Atmo-
spheric Administration (NOAA) and several State and local
programs to coordinate estuarine monitoring. Indicators of
estuarine condition used by EMAP include fish pathology (tu-
mors), toxic sediments, dissolved oxygen, marine debris, and
condition of benthic(bottom-dwelling) organisms. In FY91 -92,
EMAP conducted demonstration projects in the mid-Atlantic
(Virginian Province) and in the Gulf of Mexico (Louisianian
Province). EMAP estuaries is adding a pilot study in the southeast
(Carolinian Province).
Forests
EMAP-Forests is measuring visual symptoms of forest condi-
tion, indicators of exposure, and other indicators in conjunction
with the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Service and Soil
Conservation Serviceand several State forestry agencies. In FY91
and 92, the New England Forest Health Monitoring effort
continued and monitoring expanded to the mid-Atlantic and
Southern States. Pilot projects were also conducted in several
western states. Demonstration projects are continuing in New
England, the Southeast, and Rocky Mountain areas.
Great Lakes
The EMAP-Great Lakes group conducted pilot studies dur-
ing FY92 in Lake Michigan and Lake Superior in cooperation
with the EPA Great Lakes National Program Office, the Interna-
tional Joint Commission, and Environment Canada. Water and
sediment quality, and fish and invertebrate abundance and
community composition were determined at 12 locations in
Lake Michigan and 25 locations in Lake Superior. These projects
are continuing.
EMAP Interagency Partnerships
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