EPA Program for Monitoring Ecological Status and Trends

摘要

Despite hundreds of millions of dollars spent annually in the United States onenvironmental monitoring, policy and decision makers seldom have ready access to monitoring data to aid in prioritizing research and assessment efforts or to assess the extent to which current policies are meeting the desired objectives. EPA is currently conducting research to evaluate options for establishing an integrated, cooperative monitoring program, with participation by federal, state, and private entities, that could result in annual statistical reports and interpretive summaries on the status and trends in indicators of adverse disturbance and corresponding 'health' of the nation's ecosystems on the regional and national scale.