SEPT. 11, 2015--OR&R is holding an environmental injury assessment workshop at the Waquoit Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) in Falmouth, Massachusetts, from August 31 to September 3, 2015.

The training allows field staff from around the country and across the Damage Assessment, Remediation, and Restoration Program (DARRP) to learn and work together on marsh field assessments. The workshop focuses on three main goals:

• Enhancing staff resilience, readiness, and capacity to respond to oil spills or hazardous waste incidents.
• Improving scientific rigor and consistency in field assessments based on effective use of current knowledge and skills.
• Improving knowledge and data management in a Natural Resource Damage Assessment field assessment.

Field training is a foundational component of the workshop, providing staff with hands-on experience with established and emerging techniques. Three experts, including Dr. Keith Cooper (Rutgers University), Dr. Gregg Moore (University of New Hampshire), and Dr. Megan La Peyre (U.S. Geological Survey and Louisiana State University), are leading the workshop. They are discussing field techniques focused on assessing contaminant injuries to submerged aquatic vegetation, emergent marsh vegetation, benthic communities, and nekton (swimming aquatic organisms) communities within the salt marsh-estuarine complex at the Waquoit Bay NERR.
This training will improve scientific rigor and techniques, and consistency and readiness of DARRP staff who conduct field assessments around the country.

For further information, contact Katie.Wagner@noaa.gov.

Go back to OR&R Weekly Report.