119 



NUMMARY AND RECOMMENDATIONS *9 



environmental inibrmacion generated from a range of sources, primarily 

 federal departments and agencies, but also state and local governments, 

 academia. industry, and nongovernmental organizations. The Center should 

 be responsible for developing policies to ensure that environmental data 

 are properly stored and readily accessible to all users (see pages 76-78). The 

 NCEI should build strong tics with the National Library of Medicine (NLM), 

 whose Board of Regents recendy approved c^ansion of its cfcrts in toxi- 

 cology and environmental health.* 



The RM) capabilities of several key federal agencies should be 

 strengthened. The following recommendations arc discussed in more detail 

 in the report: 



• A federal interagency Environmental Technologies Program should be 

 established to promote and support the development of advanced technol- 

 ogies by federal agencies, universities, industry, and nongovernmental or- 

 ganizations (see pages 78-79). 



■ The National Aeronautics and Space Administration should link its en- 

 vironmental monitoring activities closely with those of other federal depart- 

 ments and agencies and of other nations (see pages 79-81). 



■ The new research and training programs at the National Institute of En- 

 vironmental Health Sciences should be expanded, and the Institute should 

 establish closer ties with EPA's health research program (see pages 81-8 j.). 



■ The Department of the Interior should develop a long-range plan for its 

 environmental RBcD activities and should work to integrate and focus its 

 programs in the context of clearly defined goals (sec page 81.). 



■ The National Park Service should establish a strong environmental re- 

 search and monitoring program to build the knowledge base necessary to 

 protect the resources of the National Park system (sec pages 81-83). 



• The Bureau of Land Management should expand its environmental 

 monitoring and technology programs and should seek the assistance of other 

 federal agencies in devising land use, biological resources management, waste 

 management, and monitoring programs to protect public lands and to ensure 

 their productive use in the future (see pages 8}-84). 



■ The Department of Agriculture should continiu to strengthen its envi- 

 ronmental R8cD by following the recommendations recently made by the 

 National Research Council and the congressional Office ofTechnology Assess- 

 ment that call for a substantial increase in funding for competitive research 

 grants and for a more structured, integrated, and coordinated RSiD plan- 

 ning system (see pages 84-86). 



