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Current Distribution of Resources

One of the first questions asked in any assessment is "where are the most important environmental resources?" It is important to identify areas where management actions can prevent further damage and improve conditions. While restoration of degraded areas is valuable, preservation of areas that are still in good shape is a critical and cost-effective way to maintain a region's environmental health. Species diversity is a good proxy for overall environmental health, since degraded environmental condition often results in declines in biological populations. Areas with high species diversity have often been less impacted by stressors while highly impacted areas show little native species diversity. The duration of stress will also influence condition; unfortunately historical data on stressor distributions are rarely available.

This map shows the spatial distribution of aquatic resources (available data on numbers of native species), and can provide answers to questions such as: "Where is aquatic biodiversity the highest?" and "Which watersheds are in decline or degraded?"

Native aquatic species

 
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