Rock Creek Park (ROCR) is a forest and wetland oasis in the heart of Washington, D.C. A National Park Service natural resource condition assessment (NPS NRCA) was conducted using two synthetic frameworks: 1) an ecological monitoring framework, and 2) a habitat monitoring framework. Data metrics and thresholds were determined and monitoring data applied.

This report card provides a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed assessment of 2008 Coastal Bays’ health. Prepared annually, the report card rates six reporting regions of the Coastal Bays, using six indicators combined into a single overarching index of health. Health is defined as progress towards established scientifically derived ecological thresholds or goals. The overall health of Coastal Bays was moderate in 2008, obtaining a grade of C+.

While engaged in professional oceanographic research and teaching, Marshall, like the postman who goes for a hike on Sundays, spent much of his free time cruising in his 30-foot auxiliary sloop. Underway he realized that, with the equipment readily available on vessels, whether large or small, interested observers could learn a great deal about their surroundings. This prompted him, in his retirement, to write Oceanography: An Observer's Guide.

Referring to both the dynamic nature of the barrier islands forming the coastal lagoons of Maryland’s Atlantic Ocean coastline and also the changing cultural landscape, Shifting Sands is a richly illustrated, multi-authored introduction to Assawoman Bay, Isle of Wight Bay, St. Martin River, Sinepuxent Bay, Newport Bay, and Chincoteague Bay.

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 transparency 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.

The central Kura River basin is a large river basin in the mountainous South Caucasus region of Eurasia. It contains important water resources for three countries—Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan—and has a combined population of some 17 million people. There are many threats to these shared water resources, including nutrient inputs, heavy metal pollution, and sediment erosion.

The central Kura River basin is a large river basin in the mountainous South Caucasus region of Eurasia. It contains important water resources for three countries—Georgia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan—and has a combined population of some 17 million people. There are many threats to these shared water resources, including nutrient inputs, heavy metal pollution, and sediment erosion.

This report card provides a transparent, timely, and geographically detailed annual assessment of 2008 Chesapeake Bay habitat health. This is the third year that the report card has been released. This report card rates 15 reporting regions of the Bay using six indicators that are combined into a single overarching index of habitat health. The overall health of Chesapeake Bay was poor in 2008, obtaining a grade of C-.

The Chesapeake Bay Program and its partners developed an improved stream health indicator that provides a regional assessment of benthic (bottom-dwelling) macroinvertebrate community health. Benthic data collected in different ways by various natural resource agencies were incorporated into a Benthic Index of Biotic Integrity that rates stream health across the entire 64,000 square miles of watershed that drain into Chesapeake Bay.

This newsletter introduces the first Severn River ecosystem health report card. The 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.