# Monitoring update 4 th 

### Quarter 2005 

## The IMPROVE Newsletter Volume 14 / Number 4 

## INTERAGENCY MONITORING OF PROTECTED VISUAL ENVIRONMENTS

Monitoring update continued on page 3.... 

### Feature Article: New algorithm for light extinction approved, Page 4 

### Network operation status
The IMPROVE ( I nteragency M onitoring of Pro tected V isual E nvironments) Program consists of 110 aerosol visibility monitoring sites selected to provide regionally representative coverage and data for 156 Class I federally protected areas. Additional instrumentation that operates according to IMPROVE protocols in support of the program includes:

58 aerosol samplers14 transmissometers42 nephelometers8 digital or fi lm camera systems55 Web camera systems3 interpretive displays IMPROVE Program participants are listed on page 8. Federal land management agencies, states, tribes, regional air partnerships, and other agencies operate supporting instrumentation at monitoring sites as presented in the map below. Preliminary data collection statistics for the 4 th Quarter 2005 (October, November, and December) are: Aerosol (channel A only) 96% collectionAerosol (all modules) 94% completenessOptical (transmissometer) 95% collectionOptical (nephelometer) 95% collectionScene (photographic) 84% collection (does not include Web cameras)

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service discontinued the remote digital camera systems at Wichita Mountains, KS, and Bosque del Apache, NM. The cameras collected high-resolution images of the areas for three years; both were discontinued in October 2005.The USDA-Forest Service began operating two new highresolution Webcam systems this quarter. These systems were installed in Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, MN (December 2005), and Upper Buffalo Wilderness, AR (November 2005). The transmissometer system at Big Bend National Park, TX, was discontinued by the National Park Service in October. It has operated since January 2000.

IMPROVE and IMPROVE Protocol Sites 4th Quarter 2005 

### Data availability status
Data are available on the IMPROVE Web site,
at http://vista.cira.colostate.edu/improve/Data/ data.htm. IMPROVE and other haze-related data are also available on the VIEWS Web site,
at http://vista.cira.colostate.edu/views

. Aerosol data are available through December 2004. Transmissometer and nephelometer data are available through December 2004 and September 2005 respectively. Photographic slide spectrums are also available on the IMPROVE Web site, under Data . Real-time Web camera displays are available on a variety of agency-supported Web sites.

### IMPROVE calendars available
The 2006 IMPROVE calendar was distributed in December, but additional copies are available upon request.
Since 2003, the wall-sized calendars have been distributed to IMPROVE site operators and air quality managers. The calendars highlight the aerosol sampling days, describe components of the IMPROVE Program, and feature several IMPROVE operators and their monitoring stations. Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA) staff produced the calendar. Suggestions and information for next year’s calendar are welcome. Give your local IMPROVE operators the recognition they deserve, and submit photographs, short biographies, and site information.
For additional calendars, or to submit information for next year’s calendar, contact Julie Winchester or Jeff Lemke at the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere (CIRA), Foothills Campus, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1375. E-mail: winchester@cira.colostate.edu or lemke@cira.colostate.edu. 

# Visibility news The IMPROVE Newsletter 4 th 

### Quarter 2005

2 

### Monitoring Site Assistance: Aerosol sites: contact University of California-Davis telephone: 530/752-7119 (Pacifi c time) Optical/Scene sites: contact Air Resource Specialists, Inc. telephone: 970/484-7941 (Mountain time) 

### Tower elevator available for nephelometer systems
Routine Optec NGN-2 nephelometer servicing requires an operator to climb a 14-foot tower or step ladder to inspect the instrument, change lamps, replace the clean air fi lter, and perform other routine instrument maintenance. Some operators may not feel comfortable climbing towers or ladders, while others may be prohibited by their safety offi cers. A tower elevator system is now an available option for nephelometer systems, which allows an operator to perform servicing tasks without having to climb the tower. A hand-crank winch and pulley system is used to lower the nephelometer on a captive rail system, to a working height of about 4 1/2-feet above ground level, and to raise the instrument back to its operational position at the top of the tower. Raising and lowering the 40-pound instrument is easily done by one person. Locking pins and a safety latch keep the unit from accidentally falling. The elevator system can be mounted to the existing tower and includes a 4-foot hand crank and weather enclosure for the winch components at ground level. The system costs approximately $2,000 and can be available for installation within 90 days of order.
For more information contact Mark Tigges at Air Resource Specialists, Inc. Telephone: 970/484-7941. Fax: 970/484-3423. E-mail: mtigges@air-resource.com.



### New newsletter format available

The IMPROVE Newsletter is now available in electronic format (.PDF) via e-mail distribution. If you wish future newsletters to be delivered to you via e-mail, please send your request to IMPROVEnews@air-resource.com. Otherwise, you will continue to receive the newsletter via U.S. Mail.

The newsletter will also continue to be available on the IMPROVE Web site, at http://vista.cira.colostate.edu/ improve/Publications/.
For more information contact Gloria Mercer at Air Resource Specialists, Inc. Telephone: 970/484-7941. Fax: 970/484-3423. E-mail: gmercer@air-resource.com. The nephelometer tower elevator is operated by hand cranking a winch and pulley system. The operator lowers the nephelometer to a safe servicing height, and again raises the instrument to the top of the tower for routine operation.3 

### 4 th 

### Quarter 2005 The IMPROVE Newsletter 

### IMPROVE committee approves new algorithm for estimating light extinction
In December 2005, the IMPROVE Steering Committee approved the use of a new algorithm to estimate light extinction from IMPROVE aerosol speciation data. The 2 nd Quarter 2005 IMPROVE Newsletter presented a feature article discussing preliminary work regarding changing the algorithm. The recommendations were further refi ned and the fi nal, approved algorithm is presented as the feature article in this newsletter issue (see page 4). Scientists will begin generating aerosol extinction values using the new algorithm this winter, which will be available for dissemination on the IMPROVE and VIEWS Web sites. Documentation will also be available that explains the calculations. Data values using the old algorithm will also continue to be available. EPA and IMPROVE scientists will begin to calculate default natural levels using the new algorithm for Regional Haze Rule requirements.
For more information contact Marc Pitchford at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Telephone: 702/862-5432. Fax: 702/862-5507. E-mail: marc.pitchford@noaa.gov. 

# Monitoring update continued from page 1 ....

Monitoring update continued on page 7.... IMPROVE site operator Charles Conner maintains the IMPROVE sampler, a nephelometer, and various other air/meteorology instrumentation at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, Arizona. 

### Operators of distinction
Keeping tabs on reptile and rodent populations is Charles Conner’s main responsibility at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument, in extreme southern Arizona. Maintaining the IMPROVE sampler is another responsibility for the biological technician, as well as operating 11 automated weather stations, performing groundwater measurements at several locations, and a multitude of other duties. Charles has been the primary operator of the site’s aerosol sampler for a year now, and was backup operator when the system was installed in 2003. He has devoted quite some time troubleshooting the aerosol sampler recently. “There have been several equipment failures, but we’ve worked it out. I’ve swapped controllers and eliminated problems with the black boxes, and all components are functional now. The only thing remaining is a malfunctioning motor that raises and lowers the fi lter cartridges. I can get around that, though, by manually lowering and raising the fi lters until the motor issue is resolved.” His dedication to the IMPROVE Program is much appreciated. Charles has been at Organ Pipe for 17 years. In addition to his duties there, he also services air monitoring instrumentation in nearby areas for the state of Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, and performs similar environmental monitoring work in Organ Pipe’s sister park, the Pinacate Reserve, in Mexico. Charles has a B.S. degree in mathematics from Caltech, and is fl uent in Spanish, which is helpful when living near the U.S.-Mexico border. He keeps his pet rabbit safely away from the reptiles he brings home, and can often be found hiking, playing frisbee, or broadcasting a radio program in nearby Tucson and on a local Indian reservation. 

### Mark Scruggs retires from NPS ARD
Dr. Mark Scruggs retired on January 3, 2006, after 25 years with the National Park Service Air Resources Division (NPS ARD). For the past several years, Mark was the Assistant Division Chief for Program Operations. He joined the NPS ARD in 1981 as an air quality modeler for the Permit Review Branch and was later in charge of the NPS ARD’s Research and Monitoring Branch. During his long tenure with the NPS ARD, Mark played a major role in expanding the national visibility monitoring network (IMPROVE), and in several intensive fi eld studies that increased understanding of the sources of visibility impairment at parks such as Grand Canyon (Projects WHITEX and MOHAVE) and Big Bend (BRAVO). Mark’s expertise was also recognized by others -- he chaired the Research Forum of the Western Regional Air Partnership and served as an expert witness for the Department of Justice in litigation against major power plants. Prior to joining the NPS, Mark worked for the Environmental Protection Agency and a private consulting fi rm. His historical perspective, technical expertise, and calm disposition will be sorely missed.4 

# Feature article The IMPROVE Newsletter 4 th 

### Quarter 2005



### New IMPROVE algorithm for estimating light extinction approved for use (by M. Pitchford, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) Background The original IMPROVE algorithm for estimating light extinction using IMPROVE particle data was fi rst used in 1993, and has been a useful tool in the understanding of haze by the various particle components in aerosols (sulfate, nitrate, organic compounds, elemental or black carbon, fi ne soil, and coarse mass). The algorithm performs reasonably well over a broad range of particle light scattering, but tends to underestimate the highest extinction values and overestimate the lowest extinction values. This algorithm for estimating light extinction was adopted by the Environmental Protection Agency as the basis for the regional haze metric used to track progress in reducing haze levels for visibility-protected areas under the 1999 Regional Haze Rule (RHR). As a result, the IMPROVE algorithm has been scrutinized carefully to assess deficiencies that could bias the implementation of the RHR. In light of the concerns raised by its use in the RHR, the IMPROVE Steering Committee initiated an internal review including recommendations for revisions of the algorithm for estimating light extinction. The review team (composed of scientists from the National Park Service and the Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere) developed a revised algorithm that reduces biases in light extinction estimates and is as consistent as possible with the current scientifi c literature. A review of the old algorithm and suggested revisions were presented in The IMPROVE Newsletter, 2 nd Quarter 2005. In July 2005, the status of the algorithm review and revision was presented to the IMPROVE Steering Committee. At that time, a subcommittee was formed to further investigate the proposed algorithm. The subcommittee included scientists who worked on the initial review, as well as scientists who have been critical of the original IMPROVE algorithm. Their work resulted in the fi nal version of the algorithm, which was again presented to the Steering Committee. In December 2005, the IMPROVE Steering Committee voted to adopt this revised algorithm for use by IMPROVE as an alternative to the current approach. This new, approved algorithm and justifi cations for it are presented in this article.
Overview of revised algorithm The new algorithm splits ammonium sulfate, ammonium nitrate, and organic carbon compound concentrations into two fractions: small and large. The algorithm for estimating the light extinction from particle components in aerosols is: b ext ≈ 2.2 x f
s (RH) x [small sulfate] + 4.8 x f L (RH) x [large sulfate]
+ 2.4 x f
s (RH) x [small nitrate] + 5.1 x f L (RH) x [large nitrate] + 2.8 x [small organic mass] + 6.1 x [large organic mass] + 10 x [ elemental carbon ] + 1 x [ fi ne soil ]
+ 1.7 x f
ss (RH) x [sea salt] + 0.6 x [ coarse mass ] + Rayleigh scattering (site-specifi c)
+ 0.33 x [NO 2 (ppb)]

Though not explicitly shown, the organic mass concentration used is 1.8 times the organic carbon mass concentration, (changed from 1.4 times carbon mass the original algorithm uses). New terms have also been added for sea salt and for absorption by NO 2 . The apportionment of the total concentration of sulfate compounds into the concentrations of small and large size fractions is accomplished using the following equations:

[large sulfate] = [total sulfate] x [total sulfate], for [total sulfate] < 20 μg/m 3
[ large sulfate ] = [ total sulfate ], for [ total sulfate ] ≥ 20 μg/m 3
[ small sulfate ] = [ total sulfate ] - [ large sulfate ]

The same equations are used to apportion total nitrate and total organic mass into small and large size fractions. Sea salt is calculated as 1.8 x [ chloride ], or 1.8 x [ chlorine ] if the chloride measurement is below detection limits, missing, or invalid. The new algorithm contains three distinct water growth terms, designated f S , f L , and f SS for the small and large sulfate and nitrate fractions, and for sea salt, respectively.
Technical justifi cation for revisions The new IMPROVE algorithm for estimating light extinction from particle speciation data contains fi ve major revisions from the original algorithm: 1) A sea salt term has been added. Sea salt is a particu- lar concern for coastal locations where the sum of the major components of light extinction and mass have been defi cient. 2) The assumed organic mass to organic carbon ratio has been changed from 1.4 to 1.8, to refl ect more recent peer-reviewed literature on the subject. 20 μg/m 35 

### 4 th 

### Quarter 2005 The IMPROVE Newsletter

New algorithm continued on page 6.... 3) The Rayleigh scattering factor has been changed from a network-wide constant to a site-specific value. This factor is based on the elevation and annual average temperature of individual monitor- ing sites. 4) A split component extinction effi ciency model for sulfate, nitrate, and organic carbon components has been developed. The model includes new water growth terms for sulfate and nitrate to better estimate light extinction at the high and low extremes of the range of extinction. 5) An NO 2 light absorption term has been added. This term can only be used at sites with available NO 2 concentration data. A summary of each of these points is discussed below.

Sea salt term The old IMPROVE protocol for estimating light extinction does not include light scattering by sea salt aerosols. Recent literature shows that inclusion of elements from sea salt (e.g., Na, Cl) increased the accuracy of mass reconstruction at coastal IMPROVE sites. Contributions of sea salt particles to light extinction at some coastal IMPROVE sites may be signifi cant, especially since light scattering by sea salt particles should be signifi cantly enhanced by hygroscopic growth in humid environments. Further study found that fi ne sea salt aerosols accounted for 43% of estimated light scattering at the U.S. Virgin Islands IMPROVE site. To include sea salt in the IMPROVE light extinction equation, it is necessary to: 1) estimate the sea salt mass concentration, 2) specify a dry sea salt scattering effi ciency, and 3) specify an f(RH) curve for sea salt representing the enhancement of sea salt scattering by hygroscopic growth as a function of relative humidity (RH).
Organic mass to carbon ratio A factor of 1.4 is used in the original algorithm to convert organic carbon (OC) to organic mass (OM) to account for unmeasured elements (e.g., O, H, N), in OM. More recent study suggested this factor be increased. While additional experimental work is needed to further explore this issue, it is clear that an OC conversion factor of 1.4 is not applicable for remote U.S. Class I areas. A consensus value of 1.8 was recommended for use in the new algorithm.
Rayleigh scattering factor Rayleigh scattering refers to the scattering of light from molecules of the air. A constant value of 10 Mm -1 is used in the original algorithm, however, Rayleigh scattering depends on the density of the air and thus varies with temperature and pressure. In the new algorithm, site-specifi c Rayleigh scattering is estimated as a function of temperature and pressure, corresponding to the monitoring site elevation and estimated annual mean temperature, and is rounded to the nearest integer value in units of inverse megameters. Based on the geographic extent of the IMPROVE network, site-specifi c Rayleigh values will be in the range of 8-12 Mm -1

. Split component extinction effi ciency model The original algorithm employs dry scattering effi ciencies of 3m2 /g for ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate, and 4m2 /g for organic matter. More recent studies suggest these values are variable. The new algorithm accounts for the increase of ammonium sulfate/ammonium nitrate and organic matter effi ciencies with concentration using a simple mixing model. The concentrations are each comprised of external mixtures of mass (geometric mean diameters/geometric standard deviations) of small (0.2μm/2.2) and large (0.5μm/1.5) particle sizes for ammonium sulfate/ammonium nitrate and organic matter. In addition, the original algorithm contains separate f(RH) curves to ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrate scattering based on a hygroscopic growth curve for pure ammoniumsulfate. The new algorithm contains f(RH) curves for smalland large-mode ammonium sulfate that are also applied to small- and large-mode ammonium nitrate.

NO 2 light absorption term The NO 2 absorption effi ciency term in the new algorithm is a photopic-weighted absorption effi ciency value. It was calculated by dividing the sum of the products of the relative observer photopic response values for viewing an image and the spectral NO 2 absorption effi ciency values by the sum of the photopic response values. Most IMPROVE sites are not collocated with NO 2 monitors.
Comparison of old vs. new algorithm One of the most compelling reasons for developing a new algorithm was to reduce the biases in light scattering estimates at the extremes, when compared to nephelometer measurements which directly measure particle scattering. To assess the performance of the new algorithm, the fractional bias for each sample period was calculated as the difference in estimated aerosol light scattering divided by the measured light scattering using collocated nephelometers. These biases were then averaged into quintiles to indicate the bias in each of those fi ve subsets of data. Analysis shows that the new algorithm has lower fractional bias than the original algorithm, in all but the haziest conditions.

### The IMPROVE Newsletter 4 th 

### Quarter 2005

6 New algorithm continued from page 5.... Acadia National Park, Maine Big Bend National Park, Texas Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness, Minnesota Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, Oregon Dolly Sods Wilderness, West Virginia Gila Wilderness, New Mexico Grand Canyon National Park, Arizona Great Gulf Wilderness, New Hampshire Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee/North Carolina Jarbidge Wilderness, Nevada Lone Peak Wilderness, Utah Lye Brook Wilderness, Vermont Mammoth Cave National Park, Kentucky Mount Rainier National Park, Washington Mount Zirkel Wilderness, Colorado Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, Georgia Shenandoah National Park, Virginia Shining Rock Wilderness, North Carolina Snoqualmie Pass, Washington Three Sisters Wilderness, Oregon Upper Buffalo Wilderness, Arkansas
In sum, the new algorithm for estimating haze reduces the biases compared to measurements at the high and low extremes, and is most apparent for the hazier eastern sites. The composition of “best and worst days” are very similar by the original and new algorithms. Most of the reduction of bias associated with the new algorithm is attributed to the use of the split component extinction effi ciency method for sulfate, nitrate, and organic components, that permitted variable extinction effi ciency depending on the component mass concentration. The new algorithm also contains specifi c changes that refl ect a better understanding of the atmosphere as refl ected in more recent scientifi c literature, refl ect a more complete accounting for contributors to haze (e.g., sea salt and NO 2 terms), and the use of site-specifi c Rayleigh scattering terms to reduce elevation-related bias. Efforts are currently underway to develop monthly average f(RH) terms for all IMPROVE monitoring sites. Once that work is completed, the new algorithm will be added to the suite of data analysis tools on the Visibility Information Exchange Web Site (VIEWS). At this time there has been no formal recommendation from the EPA on use of the new IMPROVE algorithm in tracking visibility progress under the Regional Haze Rule. A more complete discussion and report is available on the IMPROVE Web site at http://vista. cira.colostate.edu/IMPROVE/Publications/GrayLit/Gray_ literature.htm.
For more information contact Marc Pitchford at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Telephone: 702/862-5432. Fax: 702/862-5507. E-mail: marc.pitchford@noaa.gov. Directly measured data used in algorithm evaluation Directly measured light scattering data from collocated Optec NGN-2 nephelometers were key to evaluating the performance of the original IMPROVE algorithm, as well as for development and performance evaluation of several revised algorithms as well as the new, approved algorithm. The 21 nephelometer sites used in the evaluation are: Scatter plots (Figures 1 and 2) of light scattering estimates from the original and new algorithms vs. nephelometer data for all available data at 21 monitoring sites were used to view the overall performance differences between the two algorithms. These fi gures show that the bias at the extremes is reduced using the new algorithm compared to the original algorithm (i.e., the points tend to be better centered on the one-to-one line). They also show the somewhat reduced precision of the new algorithm compared to the original (i.e., points are more broadly scattered).

Figure 1. Scatter plot of the original IMPROVE algorithm estimated particle light scattering versus measured particle light scattering.

Figure 2. Scatter plot of the new algorithm estimates of light scattering versus measured light scattering.7 

### 4 th 

### Quarter 2005 The IMPROVE Newsletter

Sites that achieved at least 90% data collection for 4 thquarter 2005 are: Aerosol (Channel A)

Transmissometer

Nephelometer

Photographic Sites that achieved at least 95% data collection for 4 thquarter 2005 are: Aerosol (Channel A)

Transmissometer

Nephelometer

Photographic Acadia Birmingham Chiricahua

Crater Lake Flathead Frostburg Reservoir

Glacier Great River Bluffs Great Smoky Mountains Hercules-Glades Lake Sugema Livonia

Mammoth Cave Martha’s Vineyard Meadview

Mount Rainier New York Pinnacles Point Reyes Sac and Fox Sequoia

St. Marks Tallgrass Theodore Roosevelt

Washington DC White Mountain White Pass Yosemite

Canyonlands Rocky Mountain San Gorgonio

Bliss Children’s Park Chiricahua Dolly Sods

Dysart Estrella Grand Canyon (Hance) Ike’s Backbone Mammoth Cave Mayville Mount Zirkel

National Capital Petrifi ed Forest Queen Valley Seney Sierra Ancha Thunder Basin Tucson Central

Tucson Mountain Vehicle Emissions Wichita Mountains

Agua Tibia Monture

Milwaukee Nebraska Shenandoah Upper Buffalo Bandelier Grand Canyon (In Canyon) Grand Canyon (South Rim) Great Basin Guadalupe Mountains Arendtsville Blue Mounds Bryce Canyon

Canyonlands Cape Cod Cloud Peak

Columbia Gorge East Columbia Gorge West Kaiser Moosehorn Nebraska Northern Cheyenne

Petrifi ed Forest Presque Isle San Gabriel

San Pedro Parks Sawtooth Seattle Shamrock Mine Sierra Ancha Starkey

Sula Swanquarter Sycamore Canyon

Thunder Basin Wind Cave

-- none -- 

### Outstanding sites
Data collection begins with those who operate, service, and maintain monitoring instrumentation. IMPROVE managers and contractors thank all site operators for their efforts in caring for IMPROVE and IMPROVE Protocol networks. Sites that achieved 100% data collection for 4 thQuarter 2005 are: Aerosol (Channel A)

Transmissometer

Nephelometer

Photographic 

# Monitoring update continued from page 3 ....

Addison Pinnacle Badlands Baltimore Bandelier

Big Bend Bliss Bondville Bosque del Apache

Bridger Bridgton Brigantine Cabinet Mountains

Cadiz Caney Creek Cape Romain Casco Bay

Chassahowitzka Cherokee Cohutta Crescent Lake

Death Valley Denali Dolly Sods Douglas

El Dorado Ellis Fort Peck Fresno

Gates of the Mountains Gila Grand Canyon (Hance) Great Basin Great Gulf Great Sand Dunes Guadalupe Mountains

Haleakala Hawaii Volcanoes Hells Canyon Hoover

Ike’s Backbone Isle Royale James River Face Jarbidge

Joshua Tree Kalmiopsis Lava Beds Linville Gorge

Mesa Verde MK Goddard Mohawk Mountain Monture

Mount Baldy Mount Hood Mount Zirkel North Absaroka

North Cascades Okefenokee Olympic Omaha

Pasayten Petersburg Phoenix Pinnacles Proctor Research Center Quabbin Reservoir Quaker City

Queen Valley Redwood Rocky Mountain Saguaro

Saguaro West Salt Creek San Gorgonio Seney

Shenandoah Shining Rock Sikes Simeonof

Sipsey Snoqualmie Pass Three Sisters Tonto

Trapper Creek-Denali UL Bend Upper Buffalo Viking Lake

Virgin Islands Voyageurs Weminuche Wheeler Peak

White River Wichita Mountains Zion Canyon

Cucamonga Grand Canyon Shamrock Mines Acadia Big Bend Organ Pipe Grand Canyon (Indian Gardens) Phoenix Rocky Mountain Sycamore Canyon Virgin Islands Badlands Bridger GlacierPUBLISHED BY:

1901 Sharp Point Drive, Suite E Fort Collins, CO 80525

The IMPROVE Newsletter is published four times a year (February, May, August, & November) under National Park Service Contract C2350010850.

The IMPROVE Program was designed in response to the visibility provisions of the Clean Air Act of 1977, which affords visibility protection to 156 federal Class I areas. The program objectives are to provide data needed to: assess the impacts of new emission sources, identify existing human-made visibility impairments, and assess progress toward the national visibility goals as established by Congress.

To submit an article, to receive the IMPROVE Newsletter, or for address corrections, contact:
Air Resource Specialists, Inc. Gloria S. Mercer, Editor Telephone: 970/484-7941 ext.221 Fax: 970/484-3423 E-mail: IMPROVEnews@air-resource.com

IMPROVE Newsletters are also available on the IMPROVE Web site at http://vista.cira.colostate.edu/improve/ Publications/.

printed on recycled paper

8 Air Resource Specialists, Inc. 1901 Sharp Point Drive, Suite E Fort Collins, CO 80525



## TO:



# First Class Mail

IMPROVE STEERING COMMITTEE IMPROVE Steering Committee members represent their respective agencies and meet periodically to establish and evaluate program goals and actions. IMPROVE-related questions within agencies should be directed to the agency’s Steering Committee representative. Steering Committee representatives are:
U.S. EPA Neil Frank US EPA MD-14 Emissions, Monitoring and Analysis Div. Research Triangle Park, NC 27711 Telephone: 919/541-5560 Fax: 910/541-3613 E-mail: frank.neil@epa.gov NPS William Malm Colorado State University CIRA - Foothills Campus Fort Collins, CO 80523 Telephone: 970/491-8292 Fax: 970/491-8598 E-mail: malm@cira.colostate.edu USDA-FS Rich Fisher USDA-Forest Service Air Program 2150A Centre Avenue Fort Collins, CO 80526 Telephone: 970/295-5981 Fax: 970/295-5988 E-mail: rwfi sher@fs.fed.us

FWS Sandra Silva Fish and Wildlife Service P.O. Box 25287 12795 W. Alameda Parkway Denver, CO 80225 Telephone: 303/969-2814 Fax: 303/969-2822 E-mail: sandra_v_silva@fws.gov WESTAR Robert Lebens 715 SW Morrison Suite 503 Portland, OR 97205 Telephone: 503/478-4956 Fax: 503/478-4961 E-mail: blebens@westar.org NESCAUM Rich Poirot VT Agency of Natural Resources 103 South Main Street Building 3 South Waterbury, VT 05676 Telephone: 802/241-3807 Fax: 802/244-5141 E-mail: rich.poirot@state.vt.us

BLM Scott F. Archer USDI-Bureau of Land Management National Science and Technology Center Denver Federal Center, Building 50 P.O. Box 25047, ST-180 Denver, CO 80225-0047 Telephone: 303/236-6400 Fax: 303/236-3508 E-mail: scott_archer@blm.gov STAPPA Ray Bishop Dept. of Environmental Quality Air Quality Division 707 North Robinson P.O. Box 1677 Oklahoma City, OK 73101-1677 Telephone: 405/702-4218 Fax: 405/702-4101 E-mail: ray.bishop@deq.state.ok.us MARAMA David Krask Maryland Dept. of the Environment MARAMA/Air Quality Planning and Monitoring 1800 Washington Blvd. Baltimore, MD 21230-1720 Telephone: 410/537-3756 Fax: 410/537-4243 E-mail: dkrask@mde.state.md.us

NOAA Marc Pitchford * c/o Desert Research Institute 755 E. Flamingo Road Las Vegas, NV 89119-7363 Telephone: 702/862-5432 Fax: 702/862-5507 E-mail: marc.pitchford@noaa.gov * Steering Committee chair ASSOCIATE MEMBERS Associate Membership in the IMPROVE Steering Committee is designed to foster additional IMPROVE-comparable visibility monitoring that will aid in understanding Class I area visibility, without upsetting the balance of organizational interests obtained by the steering committee participants. Associate Member representatives are:

STATE OF ARIZONA Michael Sundblom Manager, Air Monitoring Unit ADEQ Air Assessment Section 1110 W. Washington Street Phoenix, AZ 85007 Telephone: 602/771-2364 Fax: 602/771-4444 E-mail: sundblom.michael@azdeq.gov Government organizations interested in becoming Associate Members may contact any Steering Committee member for information.