Critical Loads Meeting, Riverside, February 1518, 2005


1
Critical Loads Meeting Riverside February
15-18 2005

• Jim Sedell
• Director
• USDA Forest Service
• Pacific Southwest Research Station
• AlbanyCalifornia

2
(No Transcript)
3
PSW Laboratory Locations

• 1. Arcata
• 2. Redding
• 3. Placerville
• 4. Davis
• 5. Albany
• 6. Fresno
• 7. Riverside
• 8. Honolulu
• 9. Hilo

1
2
3
4
5
6
8
7
9
4
(No Transcript)
5
National Research Council (NRC) Report Air
Quality Management in the United States (2004)

• Need for tighter air pollution controls and
  monitoring in the US to protect sensitive
  ecosystems.
  
• Need for an enhanced research on air pollution
  impacts on ecosystems.
  
• Concentration standards are inappropriate for
  some resources at risk from air pollution (ozone
  N S deposition).
  
• Deposition-based standards for N S are more
  appropriate. Critical Loads are suggested as a
  tool for evaluating ecological effects of N
  deposition.

6
Europeans and Canadians have recently greatly
improved CL methodologies

• The CL approach has been used in Europe since
  late 1980s by the UN Economic Commission for
  Europe International Cooperative Programs
  
• The CL approach has allowed for developing risk
  probability maps for forests and other ecosystems
  for entire Europe.
  
• A similar approach at a smaller scale has been
  used in SE Canada and New England.
  

7
Need for developing national ozone secondary
standard

• The NRC Report recommends development of a
  secondary standard for ozone. A concept of an
  effective flux of ozone on vegetations is being
  developed in Europe.
• US researchers including the FS scientists have
  participated in these efforts.
  
• Presence of the US scientists and managers in
  these activities and staying abreast with
  state-of-science on ozone phytotoxicity
  evaluation is essential for any future
  standard-setting activities of the EPA.
• These of course may have important effects on
  how the federal resources are managed and
  protected in the future.
  

8
Meeting Objectives

• (1) Evaluation of work at the FS demonstration
  sites where methodologies of the ICP Forest and
  ICP Modeling and Mapping for CL are tested.
  
• (2) Consolidation of collaboration between FS RD
  and NFS on development and implementation of the
  CL approach on US Forest Service lands.
  
• (3) Development of close collaboration between FS
  and US EPA as well as other land-management
  agencies in testing developing and implementing
  CL or similar methodologies for better assessment
  of N S deposition and ozone on forest and other
  ecosystems (according to the NRC
  recommendations).

9
Tradition of the Mission Inn Critical Loads
meetings continues

• This is 3rd CL meeting hosted by the Riverside
  Fire Lab at Mission Inn in last 2 years.
  
• These meetings have had a national impact on our
  program direction for both Atmospheric Sciences
  and Watershed Sciences.
  
• Recently we have been developing along with our
  sister federal agencies a Performance
  Accountability System (PAS) in response to OMB
  requirements for accomplishment reporting.
• For our RD PAS Critical Loads have been
  identified as one of core budget activities
  nationwide.
  

10
I wish you a very successful meeting!!!