Klamath Network Water Quality Report (Phase II)
Section 4: Water Quality Monitoring and Research Programs of Allied Agencies Relevant to Klamath Network Park Units
This section describes past and ongoing research or monitoring programs in the Klamath Network region. Many of these programs could provide funding, protocols, or partnership opportunities for the Klamath Network as it develops its water quality monitoring program.
A. US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) – Surface Waters – Western Pilot Study, USEPA (with collaborators). Project Dates: 2000–2005: The Western Pilot study is the Surface Waters component of the USEPA Western Geographic Study through the EMAP Program. The program goal is to answer questions about the importance of stressors and the extent of their effects on ecological condition of wadeable streams; the objective is to develop monitoring tools to estimate the ecological condition of surface waters across the Western US. Project methodology includes sampling of water chemistry, stream discharge, periphyton, sediment, benthic macroinvertebrates, fish, and physical habitat characteristics. Contact: David Peck, USEPA, Corvallis, OR. Phone: 541-754-4426, E-mail: peck.david@epa.gov.
B. US Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) – National Coastal Assessment, USEPA (with collaborators). Project Dates: 1990–2003: The USEPA National Coastal Assessment has conducted estuarine monitoring in all 23 coastal States and Puerto Rico (accounting for 99.8% of estuarine acreage in the continental US and Puerto Rico). Data from several regional and national programs conducted by NOAA, USGS and the USFWS are included in the assessment of coastal condition. The West Coast of the US was assessed in 1999 and 2000, and the assessment was extended in 2003 to cover the continental shelf. Marine biota (plankton, benthos, and fish) and environmental parameters associated with water quality, sediment quality, and tissue bioaccumulation were sampled. The first and second Coastal Assessment Reports can be accessed using the following website link:
http://www.epa.gov/owow/oceans/nccr2/index.html. Contact: J. Kevin Summers, US EPA. Phone: 850-934-9201, summers.kevin@epamail.epa.gov.
C. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), with the Western Regional Climate Center (Desert Research Institute). Climate Reference Network. Project Dates: implemented in 2004: The Climate Reference Network is a network of climate stations being established, with the help of the Western Regional Climate Center, as part of a NOAA initiative. The goal of this project is to monitor long-term precipitation and temperature observations to investigate present and future climate change. If fully implemented, the network will have about 250 sampling stations nationwide. Many of these stations are being established in national parks. Contact: John Jensen, Program Manager, NOAA. Phone: 828-271-4475, E-mail: John.A.Jensen@noaa.gov.
D. US Geological Survey (USGS), Amphibian Research and Monitoring Initiative (ARMI), with NPS, FWS, BLM. Project Dates: 2000–ongoing: In response to growing awareness of amphibian declines and malformations, the USGS ARMI program was initiated by the United States Congress in 2000 to monitor trends in amphibian populations on Department of Interior (DOI) lands; and to research the cause of amphibian declines. While intensive monitoring will be focused on DOI lands, ARMI will also provide a framework for other agencies outside of DOI lands for incorporating amphibian monitoring data. Partnerships with other DOI agencies include a nationwide Fish and Wildlife Service survey for contaminants that may induce malformations in amphibians on 48 National Wildlife Refuges in 31 states. Contact: Mike Adams, Wildlife Biologist, USGS Forest and Rangeland Ecosystem Science Center (FRESC) Corvallis, OR. Phone: 541-758-8857, E-mail: Michael_adams@usgs.gov.
