Monitoring and Assessment in a Changing World

Monitoring and assessment is essential (1) to evaluate progress in meeting goals put into place to protect aquatic resources and (2) to respond and detect changes in the environment due to anthropogenic pressures, climate change, and other unforeseen stressors.  In this seminar, Dr. Amanda M. Nahlik (United States Environmental Protection Agency Office of Research and Development) discusses historical monitoring approaches used to address large-scale issues in the United States and the current National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS) Program.  Using examples from the National Wetland Condition Assessment (NWCA), benefits of implementing long-term, large-scale monitoring are discussed.

Impact/Purpose

In this invited seminar to the Water Resources Graduate Program at Oregon State University, Dr. Amanda Nahlik discusses the U.S. Clean Water Act, a history of monitoring in the U.S., and the rise of EPA's National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS) program. Using examples from the National Wetland Condition Assessment, she will describe the NARS program and the importance of large-scale monitoring.

Citation

Nahlik, A. Monitoring and Assessment in a Changing World. Oregon State University's Water Resources Graduate Program Seminar, Corvallis, OR, May 14, 2025.