Eco-Logical

A Regional Ecological Assessment Protocol (REAP) for the South Central United States

State: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma

Applicant: US EPA, Region 6

Grant Amount: $100,000

Period of Performance: 36 months

Summary: The US EPA Region 6 proposes to enhance and extend the Texas Ecological Assessment Protocol (TEAP). EPA will enhance the TEAP from its current resolution of 1.0 km2 to 0.25 km2, a 16-fold increase in resolution. Further, EPA will extend TEAP from 18 ecoregions to 38 ecoregions forming a REAP (Regional Ecological Assessment Protocol) which will encompass Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas (South Central US). The TEAP/REAP is a planning and screening level assessment tool that uses existing GIS data to classify land based on ecological importance.

Project Status: This contract has been awarded and the official kick-off has been held.

As of November 2008, The USEPA Region 6 achieved the following highlights:

• Held two webinars for FHWA and State DOTs
• Developed plans to perform calculations for the diversity and sustainability layers are being in the next quarter
• Rare Species data were obtained from Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Contact:

Sharon Osowski Morgan, Ph.D.
Ecologist
US EPA Region 6
214-665-7506
osowski.sharon@epa.gov
(202) 366-7808