Papers included in Watershed 96 proceedings reflect the opinions of the authors and do not necessarily represent official positions of the Environmental Protection Agency.
All organizations direct their activities toward achieving specific goals and objectives.
Indicators provide a means for organizations to measure progress toward achieving those goals and objectives, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of programs and express information clearly. The nation needs an equivalent set of environmental indicators. All three types are necessary to completely understand changes occurring in the environment, causes for those changes, and the effectiveness of specific programs in encouraging positive trends. Water Environmental Indicators Using environmental indicators is an effective way for organizations operating within a watershed to measure achievement toward water quality goals. Indicators are also vital for presenting information to policy makers, program managers, and the public.