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National Wetland Condition Assessment

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Purpose/Objectives

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will collaborate with state and tribal partners to implement the National Wetland Condition Assessment (NWCA) to meet three goals:

  1. Produce a national report that describes the quality of the nation's wetlands;
  2. Help States and Tribes implement wetland monitoring and assessment programs to guide policy development and project decision-making; and
  3. Advance the science of wetlands monitoring and assessment.

The sampling design for this survey is a probability-based network that will provide statistically-valid estimates of condition for a population of wetlands with a known confidence. It is designed using modern survey techniques. Sample points are selected at random to represent the condition of wetlands across the country.

Study Area

Texas

Project Period

2011

Description

The NWCA is a statistical survey of the quality of the nation's wetlands. The NWCA is designed to:

  • Determine the ecological integrity of wetlands at regional and national scales.
  • Build state and tribal capacity for monitoring and analyses.
  • Promote collaboration across jurisdictional boundaries.
  • Achieve a robust, statistically-valid set of wetland data.
  • Develop baseline information to evaluate progress.

This is one of a series of water surveys being conducted by the EPA, states, tribes, and other partners. In addition to wetlands, partners will also study coastal waters, wadeable streams, rivers, and lakes in a revolving sequence. The purpose of these surveys is to generate statistically-valid and environmentally relevant reports on the condition of the nation's water resources.

Publications and Presentations

Oakley, J. 2012. National Wetland Condition Assessment 2011. Environmental Institute of Houston 2012 Advisory Board Meeting, Houston, TX. Presentation.

Oakley, J., Guillen, G., Shepard, M., and Vale, K. 2012. Texas Wetland Condition Assessment. In Restore America's Estuaries, Tampa, FL. Poster.

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