United States
                       Environmental Protection
                       Agency
Office of Research and
Development
Washington DC 20460
EPA/620/R-00/005b
    January, 2000
 SrEFVK      Coastal  Communications
                       NATIONAL COASTAL ASSESSMENT-
                                     COASTAL 2000
Background
The US EPA's National Coastal Assessment (also known as Coastal 2000 or C2000) is a five-year effort led by
EPA's Office of Research and Development to evaluate the assessment methods it has developed to advance the
science of ecosystem condition monitoring. This program will survey the condition of the Nation's coastal
resources (estuaries and offshore waters) by creating an integrated, comprehensive coastal monitoring program
among the coastal states to assess coastal ecological condition. Coastal 2000 is being organized and managed by
the National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory's Gulf Ecology Division in Gulf Breeze, FL.

Coastal 2000 Strategy
The strategy for Coastal 2000 focuses on a strategic partnership with all 24 U.S. coastal states. Using a
compatible, probabilistic design and a common set of survey indicators, each state will conduct the survey and
assess the condition of their coastal resources  independently, yet, these estimates can be aggregated to assess
conditions at the EPA Regional, biogeographical, and National levels. The maps illustrated below show the states
(and Puerto Rico) that are included in the survey, the intended number of sampling sites in each state for 2000-
01 and the stage of development of the survey.
                                                                           Alaska
/<&
 Hawaii
                                                                 Number of Sample Sites
                                                                     H 50-100
                                                    Puerto Rico
                                                                     • 101-200

                                                                     D 201-500
      Twenty-four coastal states and Puerto Rico participating in Coastal 2000. Color code shows present and
      continuing participation (  ), and intended participation in 2001 (  ).
Coastal Indicators
Water Quality
Dissolved oxygen
Salinity, temperature, depth
pH
Nutrients
Chlorophyll
Sediment Quality
Grain size
Total organic carbon
Sediment chemistry
Benthic community structure
Sediment toxicity
Fish and Benthos
Community structure
External pathology
Tissue analyses
Further Information
For further information, please contact Kevin Summers at the Gulf Ecology Division at (850) 934-9244 or at
summers.kevin@epa.gov. General information on the US EPA EMAP is available at http://www.epa.gov/emap.

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