Extended Council Context for the NMN Design

• Management Questions• Objectives• Environments• Resources of Primary Concern• Stressors affecting resources• Core Indicators List• Specific locations for measurement of

core indicators

Management Questions1. What is the condition of the Nation’s surface, ground, estuarine, and

coastal waters?

2. Where, how, and why are water-quality conditions changing over time?

3. Where are the problems related to water quality? What is causing the problems?

4. Are programs to prevent or remediate problems working effectively?

5. Are water-quality goals and standards being met?

6. What research activities are needed to support these important resources?

Objectives of the National Monitoring Network

1. Define status and trends of key water quality parameters and conditions on a nationwide basis.

2. Provide data relevant to determining whether goals, standards, and resource management objectives are being met, thus contributing to sustainable and beneficial use of coastal and inland water resources.

3. Provide data to identify and rank existing and emerging problems to help target more intensive monitoring, preventive actions, or remediation.

4. Provide data to support and define coastal oceanographic and hydrologic research, including influences of freshwater inflows.

5. Provide quality-assured data for use in the preparation of interpretive reports and educational materials.

The Six Environments

(Recognition that we cannot measure the entire resource)

• Major river systems and major tributaries of those primary drainages (HUC 8?)

• Estuaries,

• Outlets of major estuaries and bays

• Near-shore coastal zone

• Regional aquifers

• Great Lakes

Resources of Primary Concern

• Aquatic life in each of the components we have identified

• Human use of water (recognize that a national monitoring network will not address drinking water at the tap)

Stressors Affecting Resources

• Oxygen depletion

• Nutrient enrichment

• Toxic contamination

• Sedimentation

• Harmful algal blooms

• Habitat degradation

• Invasions by exotic species

Core Indicator List

Indicators appropriate to each of the:

• resources,

• waterbody types,

• objectives, and

• management questions