A Water Quality Monitoring Forum will bring together regulators, consultants,  municipalities representatives, volunteers, and researchers who conduct and use the results of water-related monitoring programs within the state of North Carolina to:

• Foster improved communications,

• Improve information sharing, and

• Explore new efficiencies in monitoring.

The forum will highlight current status and yield a broad perspective across NC regions.

 Key note speakers will include:

Larry Band (UNC Chapel Hill, LTER, Baltimore Urban Ecosystem) and Jim Vose (LTER Coweeta Hydrologic Laboratory) who represent two of the NSF long term ecological monitoring projects.

In addition, the Coastal Habitat Protection Plan developed by the Department of Environment and Natural Resources recommended that monitoring for water quality, physical habitat and fisheries resources from the headwaters to the near shore ocean be coordinated and enhanced. The Division committed to host a forum for coordinating water related monitoring between government agencies, universities and local governments in 2007.