National Wetland Condition Assessment (NWCA)

For the 2011 NWCA season, GLEC field crews were tasked with sampling in the Great Lakes, Louisiana and Mississippi.  GLEC designed, developed and distributed unique specialized field survey soil sampling equipment to meet specific sampling objectives. GLEC project leaders trained national trainers and state and consultant sampling teams; assisted EPA with the design and delivery of the NWCA field operations manual and Quality Assurance Project Plan Laboratory Operations Manual; and provided logistical support with scheduling and project tracking of laboratory analyses and field data. For the 2016 NWCA survey, GLEC delivered and coordinated training of national field crews and provided logistical support preparing and shipping field equipment to crews along with coordinating and tracking all field samples and survey data. As an outcome of NWCA program development, GLEC researchers published a manuscript in the journal Environmental Monitoring and Assessment entitled Applying Adaptive Management and Lessons Learned from National Assessments to Address Logistical Challenges in the National Wetlands Condition Assessment. For the 2021 NWCA, GLEC assisted EPA with design and delivery of NWCA training documents and COVID-19 appropriate training for 80 field crews conducting 1,280 site visits, as well as providing logistical support and shipping of field equipment and sampling kits. GLEC is scheduled to lead the training and logistics effort for the 2026 NWCA.