Watershed Academy Webcast - The Condition of U.S. Lakes and Streams: Findings from the National Aquatic Resource Surveys
March 23, 2017
Sarah Lehman, Team, Leader for NARS, Monitoring Branch, U.S. EPA’s Office of Water, Washington, DC
Dr. Amina Pollard, Ecologist, Monitoring Branch, U.S. EPA’s Office of Water, Washington, DC
Dr. Richard Mitchell, Biologist, Monitoring Branch, U.S. EPA’s Office of Water, Washington, DC
Dr. John Stoddard, Research Scientist, U.S. EPA’s Office of Research and Development, Corvallis, OR
This webcast presents the latest news about conditions in the nation’s lakes and flowing waters, based on the findings of the National Aquatic Resource Surveys (NARS). The NARS are collaborative surveys conducted by EPA, states, and tribes that use a probability-based statistical design to sample rivers and streams, lakes, wetlands and coastal waters across the U.S. They are designed to provide consistent and unbiased information on biological conditions and key stressors in our waters.
This Webcast provides a brief overview of the NARS program and a discussion of key findings from two of its recent reports, the National Lakes Assessment (NLA) and the National Rivers and Streams Assessment (NRSA). We also highlight additional NARS research that finds widespread increases in phosphorus levels in remote waters of the U.S.