The Fish & Wildlife Service Branch of Air Quality administers an extensive Air Monitoring Program that measures air pollution levels in the wilderness areas. The purpose of the air monitoring program is to establish current air quality conditions and to assess long-term trends of air pollutants that affect refuge resources. The data are also used to determine compliance with the National Ambient Air Quality Standards and to assess national and regional air pollution control policies. Measuring air pollution levels in the wildernesses is an essential part of the FWS air resource management program and provides vital information to Congress, air pollution control agencies, academia, and the public.
The Fish & Wildlife Service Branch of Air Quality participates in partnership with three national programs: atmospheric pollutants in rain are analyzed as part of the National Atmospheric Deposition Program (NADP - the "acid rain" program); mercury in rain is analyzed as part of the Mercury Deposition Network Program (MDN); fine particles responsible for visibility impairment are measured as part of the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE) program.
The Visibility Information Exchange Web System (VIEWS) site below gives access to air quality data, research and ideas designed to understand the effects of air pollution on visibility. Also provided are the links to the IMPROVE, NADP and MDN Program websites.
• Views- Visibility Information Exchange Web System
• Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments (IMPROVE)
• National Atmospheric Deposition Program/National Trends Network
• Mercury Deposition Network (MDN) Overview
Provided below are two webcams that monitor visibility at Seney National Wildlife Refuge and Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge.
• Live Webcam at Seney National Wildlife Refuge
• Live Webcam at Moosehorn National Wildlife Refuge
For further information on monitoring and data for the Department of Interior please visit the National Park Service, Air Quality Branch website at http://www2.nature.nps.gov/air/monitoring/index.cfm.
