This report card summarizes 2008 water quality results, which are based on data collected by the Severn Riverkeeper Program. This report card helps to clarify the Severn's health, and provides instructions on what individuals can do to improve its condition.

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The Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is developing a new transparency standard for marine waters that will protect the seagrass species found throughout the state. The current standard does not sufficiently protect seagrasses, and the new standard will help DEP identify waters in which transparency is too low for healthy seagrass beds.

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The National Park Service is carrying out assessments of the natural resource condition (NRCA) for nearly 300 of the National Parks throughout the country deemed to have significant natural resources. This project, to assess condition of Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland and Virginia, is a synthesis project aimed at collating and synthesizing all available data to assess current status and trend for each metric, combining these into an overall framework.

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The National Park Service is carrying out assessments of the natural resource condition (NRCA) for nearly 300 of the National Parks throughout the country deemed to have significant natural resources. This project, to assess the condition of Antietam, Monocacy, and Manassas National Battlefields in Maryland and Virginia, is aimed at collating and synthesizing all available data to assess current status and trend for each metric, combining these into an overall framework for each park.

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Coastal management in the U.S. is in transition toward a stronger, ecosystem-based approach implemented at the regional scale and supported by strong scientific synthesis and prediction. The division of ecosystem components among different agencies, scientific disciplines, and political boundaries, as well as the complexities of conducting Regional Ecosystem Research (RER) make effective ecosystem management very challenging.

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The goal of this project was to describe the health of the Mesoamerican Reef by identifying key indicators and calculating an Integrated Reef Health Index. Additionally, to evaluate the human footprint and social well-being of the local community. Finally, to provide recommendations for government, NGOs, private, and research sectors for future work.

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Federal agencies are uniquely positioned to address the large-scale issues facing our ecosystems. For this reason, IAN and the Packard Foundation collaborate to develop training in ecosystem-based management. Successful ecosystem-based management requires clear objectives, coordinated implementation, and effective communication of conditions and adaptations. This training provides agency staff with the tools they need to develop and initiate ecosystem-based management programs.

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Shenandoah National Park is a natural oasis in the densely populated Mid−Atlantic region. Thus, the park is an important refuge for both wildlife and people, but its location in the midst of urban, suburban, and agricultural development exposes it to threats including air pollution, water degradation, land use change, and alteration of biological communities.

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The Northern Great Plains Network consists of 13 National Park Service park units from the Dakotas, Nebraska, and eastern Wyoming. The Inventory & Monitoring (I&M) Program provides guidance, funding, and technical assistance to complete a set of 12 baseline natural resource inventories for parks.

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Four diverse products designed for different audiences make up this project based on the effects of climate change on Assateague Island. 1. A comprehensive, interactive, web-based education module, Barrier Islands and Sea-level Rise , with curricula for middle school classrooms (teachers and students) about sea-level rise and its effect on Mid-Atlantic barrier islands such as Assateague. The audience is also the general public.

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