NOAA's Program of Strategic Assessments 



The major activities of the Strategic Assessment Program are 

 focused on assembling information and providing assess- 

 ment services required for decisionmaking about the estuar- 

 ine and marine resources of the USA. The information and 

 assessments that are developed help identify strategies for 

 balanced conservation and use of these resources for maxi- 

 mum benefit to the Nation. Recent projects completed by the 

 Branch include the Bering, Chukchi, Beaufort Seas Strategic 

 Assessment Data Atlas, along with two National Estuarine 

 Inventory Data Atlases and two pre-publication editions of the 

 West Coast of North America Data Atlas. A continuing effort 

 to expand and improve the National Estuarine Inventory (NEI) 



has resulted in the publication of NEI supplement reports. 

 Several data bases, including the Estuarine Living Marine 

 Resources (ELI^R) data base, are being completed (see 

 inside front cover). Data and analytical capabilities are being 

 made more accessible through improvements in the Com- 

 puter Mapping and Analysis System (Cmas) and develop- 

 ment of the Coastal Ocean Management, Planning, and As- 

 sessment System (COMPAS). Assessment reports examin- 

 ing pesticide use in estuarine drainage areas, susceptibility of 

 estuaries to nutrients, and quality of coastal shellfishing wa- 

 ters are also being completed. 



STRATEGIC ASSESSMENT PROGRAM 



OPERATIONS & SUPPORT 



Information 



OCEAN ECONOMICS 



GEOCRAPHY 



INFORMATION SYSTEMS 



LIVING MARINE RESOURCES 



Products 



COASTAL PROCESSES 



COASTAL POLLUTION 



MARINE HABITATS 



Assessments & Information Services 



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National and Regional Assessments 

 of Estuarine and Marine Resources 

 and Environmental Quality 



The Strategic Assessment Program assembles and analyzes information to generate atlas products and 

 assessment services on the multiple uses of the Nation's coastal ocean resources. 



