Large Aquatic Ecosystems Background

The managers of many of the large aquatic ecosystem programs met with national and Regional EPA water program managers on October 22-23, 2007, to discuss how best to support and enhance efforts to protect these vital water resources, (see Large Aquatic Ecosystems report (PDF) (20 pp, 852K, About PDF). The group drafted a Charter for the Council of Large Aquatic Ecosystems (April 2008), (see Large Aquatic Ecosystems charter (PDF) (5 pp, 239K, About PDF), that outlines the membership and purpose of the effort. EPA's then Assistant Administrator for Water, Benjamin Grumbles established the Council of Large Aquatic Ecosystems on May 20, 2008, (see Large Aquatic Ecosystems memo (PDF) (3 pp, 130K, About PDF).

EPA's Large Aquatic Ecosystem (LAEs) programs have improved the health of estuaries, rivers, lakes, and streams despite intense development pressures, yet ecosystems will continue to face challenges. With the creation of the Council of Large Aquatic Ecosystems, LAE programs can better work collectively to share best practices, identify common research needs, develop unified measures of progress, and obtain the resources and tools needed to achieve greater on-the-ground results (see Large Aquatic Ecosystems FAQs (PDF) (2 pp, 49K, About PDF)).