EPA's Region III and the Office of Research and Development (ORD) are working jointly on an ecosystem-based evaluation of the Mid-Atlantic region and its watersheds: the Mid-Atlantic Integrated Assessment (MAIA). This multi-year project fulfills both research and management objectives: it serves as the demonstration for a multi-tiered monitoring network, as recommended by the President's Committee on Environment and Natural Resources (CENR) . In addition, the information will be used to produce a State of the Region report that addresses strategic environmental management needs.
MAIA will incorporate numerous state, regional, and national environmental monitoring programs into an assessment process specifically targeted to the management needs of Region III. Examples of programs with which there are specific plans for cooperative efforts include the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP), the mid Atlantic Highlands Assessment, the National Biological Service's Gap Analysis Program, the Chesapeake Bay Program, the Delaware Estuary Program, the Virginia Coastal Bays Program, the U.S. Geological Survey's National Water Quality Assessment Program, the Forest Service's Forest Inventory and Analysis Program, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coastal Change Analysis Program.
A slide show of the briefing by the EMAP Director to Regional Administrators on the EMAP/MAIA coordination efforts is currently available from this exhibit.