The Report Card measured six broad goals for America's Watershed - Ecosystems, Flood Control & Risk Reduction, Transportation, Water Supply, Economy, and Recreation. The Report Card Measures how well we are currently meeting each one of these goals, using real data and relevant information that was identified by experts in these fields. Over time, as we adapt our management strategies for the Mississippi River Watershed, the Report Card can track progress in achieving objectives.

Read more

This newsletter describes the diverse ecosystems and the issues and threats surrounding the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in southwest Florida. The Rookery Bay NERR covers 110,000 acres of coastal lands and waters in Collier County on the Gulf coast of Florida. The Reserve takes its name from the mangrove rookery islands that serve as a roost and nesting site for dozens of coastal birds. Learn more about the Rookery Bay Reserve and its ecosystems in this newsletter!

Read more

Report cards are useful assessment tools and have been widely used to inspire and endorse changes. They have paved the way to new legislation, improved longitudinal data collection systems, established new professional partnerships, and inspired reforms on community-wide and national scales. With the abundance of report cards available, it is beneficial to compare reporting styles and critique data collection methods and dissemination strategies across the board.

Read more

The South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative (South Atlantic LCC) is a partnership of federal, state, and private organizations dedicated to conserving a landscape capable of sustaining the nation’s natural and cultural resources for current and future generations. The primary objective of this project was to develop a short synthesis report assessing 11 habitats, using a variety of ecological indicators.

Read more

Utilizing R software and a variety of data sources, daily forecasts of bacteria levels were developed and automated for beach waters in Myrtle Beach, SC. Modeled results are then shown for beach locations via a website and mobile device app. While R provides a robust set of tools for use in forecast modeling, the software has an extensive learning curve and requires skilled statistical interpretation of results.

Read more

The CEIA project describes a broad framework for developing a comprehensive impact assessment that accounts for current and anticipated pressures on the ecosystem. The framework consists of five steps:

Read more

Daily forecasts of beach water bacteria levels have been developed and automated by a beach water quality forecast team. With support from the Southeast Coast Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA), R software and a variety of data sources were used to model daily bacteria levels in beach swimming waters in Myrtle Beach, SC. Modeled (predicted) water quality results are then shown for beach locations via a website and mobile device app.

Read more

The Mississippi River watershed is a globally important resource, providing water resources for people, industries, and ecosystems, food and energy production, and transportation of important agricultural and industrial commodities. Management of the watershed for these potentially conflicting uses and services is challenging, as the watershed spans parts of 31 states and 2 Canadian provinces.

Read more

The America's Watershed Initiative concluded the series of workshops in the five basins with a meeting in Arlington, Virginia to discuss the integration of basin results into the overall watershed results. The meeting also addressed issues that are applicable at the scale of the entire watershed, but that were not evident from the basin workshops. This meeting built on the results of the workshops held in each of the basins in the watershed over the previous year.

Read more

The America's Watershed Initiative Report Card project continued with regional workshops for the Missouri River Basin, held in Rapid City, South Dakota, May 22–23, 2014 and in Kansas City, Missouri, August 26, 2014. At the workshop, stakeholders and experts from social, economic, and environmental sectors identified easily understood and transparent ways to measure status and trends for the Missouri River Basin in relation to six broad goals.

Read more