Synopses & Reviews
From the Introduction The EPA established the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) to monitor ecological status and trends, as well as to develop innovative methods to anticipate emerging environmental problems before they reach crisis proportions (EPA, 1991) . . . EMAP's stated goals were to: 1.Estimate the current status, trends, and changes in selected indicators of condition of the nation's ecological resources on a regional basis with known confidence. 2.Estimate the geographic coverage and extent of the nation's ecological resources with known confidence. 3.Seek assocation between selected indicators of natural and human stresses and indicators of the condition of ecological resources. 4.Provide annual statistical summaries and periodic assessments of the nation's ecological resources.
Synopsis
This is the fourth and final volume reviewing EPA's Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). After 4 years of review, the authoring committee retains its belief that EMAP's goals are laudable. However, because achieving the goals of this ambitious program will require that EMAP successfully meet the difficult scientific, practical, and management challenges, the committee continues to question whether and how well all these goals can be achieved. This final overall review reiterates that general assessment.