Watershed Academy Webcast Presents Lakes Assessment
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Watershed Academy will present a Webcast on Jan. 5 from 1 to 3 p.m. Eastern time on the first-ever assessment of the condition of the nation’s lakes, "The National Lakes Assessment: A Collaborative Survey of the Nation’s Lakes."
This draft report is available for public review and comment at www.epa.gov/lakessurvey.
The results indicate that 56 percent of the nation’s lakes support healthy biological communities. The report identifies poor lakeshore habitat conditions and high levels of nutrients as widespread stressors impacting lake water quality in the United States.
The National Lakes Assessment (NLA) is the latest in a series of surveys of the nation’s aquatic resources being conducted by EPA and its state and tribal partners. Sarah Lehman, team leader for National Aquatic Resource Surveys, Monitoring Branch, U.S. EPA’s Office of Water, will provide an overview of the aquatic resource surveys and an introduction to the NLA. Neil Kamman, chief, Water Quality Monitoring, Assessment and Planning, Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation, will summarize key findings of the draft report and policy implications. Kamman served on a detail to EPA for more than a year to manage the analysis and reporting of the NLA.
To register for the Webcast, visit www.epa.gov/watershedwebcasts.