The theme of this symposium, "Developing the Tools to Meet the Nation's Monitoring Needs: The Evolution of EMAP", implies a view both of how EMAP has evolved up to the present and in what way it might evolve in the future. The objectives of the 1997 EMAP research strategy include the formulation of "policies and programs that promote the preservation of ecosystem integrity and sustainable use of natural resources" (USEPA, 1997). Among the information needs for such programs are "approaches to monitor important ecosystem characteristics and the human perturbations which alter them over space and time." EPA's Science Advisory Board, according to the strategy, has recommended research on "techniques that can be used to help anticipate environmental problems" before they become widespread or irreversible.
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