Monitoring and Data

The Clean Air Act directs federal land managers to determine those features of a national wilderness area which are sensitive to air pollution. Sensitive features of the wildernesses are known as Air Quality Related Values (AQRVs). Monitoring AQRVs serves the purposes of determining ecosystem health related to air pollution impacts as well as gathering background data for the Prevention of Significant Deterioration (PSD) permit process. In addition to AQRV monitoring, both air chemistry and atmospheric deposition monitoring are necessary to establish linkages between air pollution and any changes to the physical, chemical, or biological condition of the sensitive receptors.

Learn more about our monitoring:

• Aquatic Ecosystems
• Lichens
• Smoke
• Visibility
• Wilderness Air Quality Monitoring
• Alphabetical List of Class I Wildernesses
• Location of Class I Wildernesses