![[logo] US EPA](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/eot2008/20081103073201im_/http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
Ecosystem Protection Research
"Protect, sustain, or restore the health of people, communities, and ecosystems using integrated and comprehensive approaches and partnerships."
Ecosystem Protection Research - EPA's mission includes protecting, sustaining and restoring the health of critical natural habitats and ecosystems. To accomplish this mission, EPA must have the ability to assess accurately the condition of the environment, diagnose causes of impairment and forecast the impact of alternative activities and policy scenarios. ORD's Ecosystems Protection Research Program performs core research to provide broadly applicable scientific information and tools for use by all Agency programs that consider ecosystems in policy decisions. ORD's Ecosystems Protection Research Program is described more fully in an ORD Ecosystems Protection multi-year plan: ORD Ecological Research MYP.
NERL's Ecosystem Protection Research Program is an integral part of ORD's, and is conducted to help ORD achieve two of its Ecosystem Protection Research Program long term goals by providing tools and data to improve understanding of: (1) ecological condition and accountability (i.e. the impact of policy choices on condition); and (2) diagnostics and forecasting.
NERL Research Areas
Ecological Condition and Accountability
Diagnostics and Forecasting