Delaware has identified goals in areas ranging from water quality to land use for maintaining and improving the environment of the state's fragile coastal zone. But in order to achieve progress in meeting these goals, the state must decide on a set of key environmental indicators for each area and how these indicators should be measured and monitored.
On Friday, January 29, at the University of Delaware's Clayton Hall Conference Center in Newark, the Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) will host a "roll-up-your-sleeves" workshop aimed at pinpointing key environmental indicators with the help of technical experts at the state, regional, and national levels. The workshop is cosponsored by the University of Delaware Sea Grant College Program and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Ocean Service.
"If you have technical expertise in monitoring and evaluating air quality, water quality, living resources, or habitat, we urge you to participate in this workshop," says Dave Carter, an environmental program manager for DNREC's Delaware Coastal Programs. "By drawing on the technical expertise found in agencies, industries, and academic institutions, we hope to establish the baseline indicators for the health of the state's coastal zone and the methods by which we evaluate those indicators in the future."
The workshop will begin at 9 a.m. at Clayton Hall. Following an introductory session, participants will break into four priority environmental groups - air quality, water quality, living resources, or habitat/land cover. Facilitators will aid each break-out group by providing background information and guidance and by serving as workshop recorders.
After lunch, the groups will reconvene at 1 p.m. to identify a preliminary list of coastal zone environmental indicators. At 3:45 p.m., each group will provide a summary of their progress, and the next steps in the process will be outlined. The workshop will adjourn at 4:15 p.m.
While the workshop is free, advance registration is required. To register, or for more information, please contact Dave Carter or Carl Yetter, DNREC's Delaware Coastal Programs, at (302) 739-3451. The registration deadline is Wednesday, January 27.