National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS) Capabilities: 15 Years and Counting

Presentation to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (OR DEQ) for their "Thirsty for Knowledge" webinar series

Impact/Purpose

The National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS) program, established circa 2007, is a collaborative partnership between U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water (OW), Office of Research and Development (ORD), EPA Regions, and the states, tribes, and territories. In this presentation, Dr. Amanda Nahlik (USEPA, ORD) provides a brief history of the NARS Program and describes some of the aspects that set NARS apart from many other monitoring programs. Examples from within EPA and from states are used to demonstrate the numerous contributions NARS data and assessment-related tools (e.g., survey designs, ecological indicators) have made to the scientific community. Dr. Nahlik discusses how the hundreds of sites sampled in Oregon as part of the NARS Program (and its predecessor, the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP)) may be leveraged for future work beyond 305(b) reporting.

Citation

Nahlik, A. National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS) Capabilities: 15 Years and Counting. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's "Thirsty for Knowledge" Seminar Series, Virtual, OR, October 19, 2023.