Collaborative monitoring efforts to detect changing baselines
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Regional Monitoring Networks (RMNs) bring together a diverse set of partners from EPA, state agencies, tribes, federal partners, and other entities. The goal of this collaborative effort is to collect long-term biological, thermal, hydrologic, physical habitat and water chemistry data to detect changing baselines. Current sites target smaller headwater streams and lakes where continuous monitoring of some parameters is of greatest value to the partners. The regional nature of these networks facilitates pooling of data such that monitoring effort is shared across the participating organizations. This reduces the burden on any one organization for this entirely voluntary effort. The flexible framework allows new regions and new partners to join any time by using existing protocols and other documents to assist with site selections and more. It also allows partners to explore innovative technologies for continuous monitoring and share experiences across the network. Data collected across the network are used for multiple purposes, including documentation of baseline conditions; characterization of year-to-year variability; detection of thermal and hydrologic trends; and understanding ecological responses to thermal and hydrologic variability and trends. Analyses inform current programs and partner priorities in addition to providing a foundation for characterizing baseline conditions from which to assess trends. This collaborative effort is not only a venue for monitoring data, but also a forum for sharing lessons learned from implementation, new techniques and innovative technologies.