USEFUL WEBSITES
FOR URBAN WATERSHEDS

These links were compiled by Dr. Ron Stewart as part of a group project for the GMU course entitled "Forested Watersheds."

Maps, Map-Based Information, and Data Sets

     The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: EPA maintains a number of useful watershed related websites.  Surf Your Watershed allows you to locate your watershed and to obtain specific information about watershed condition from EPA’s database.  This site also links to a Watershed Atlas that contains a geo-spatial display and analyses of information important for watershed restoration and protection.  This includes an Enviromapper for Watersheds that displays various indices of watershed indicators selected by the user.  Finally, the EPA Office of Water has a useful home page with various links to publications, laws and regulations, training, and other environmentally related websites.
· EPA home page
    ° Surf Your Watershed-Search
    ° Surf Your Watershed-Locate Your Watershed
    ° Surf Your Watershed-Fairfax County, VA
    ° Surf Your Watershed-Watershed Information-Middle Potomac-Catoctin Watershed, includes Difficult Run
    ° Middle Potomac-Catoctin Watershed-Index of Watershed Indicators, includes Difficult Run
    ° Enviromapper for Middle Potomac-Catoctin Watershed, includes Difficult Run
    ° EPA’s Watershed Atlas home page
    ° EPA’s Office of Water home page

    U.S. Geological Survey:  The USGS maintains a wealth of map-based information on all U.S. watersheds.  The National Mapping Information page contains information on obtaining electronic geospatial data files, aerial photos, and maps.  The GIS Data for Water Resources is a particularly useful site that allows you to find and access spatial data related to water resources and the National Water Information System.  The National Hydrography Dataset (NHD) is a comprehensive set of digital spatial data that contains information about surface water features such as lakes, ponds, streams, rivers, springs and wells.  USGS also maintains hydrologic unit maps and a site containing information on Difficult Run.  The Geographic Names Information System (GNIS), developed by the USGS in cooperation with the U.S. Board on Geographic Names (BGN), contains information about almost 2 million physical and cultural geographic features in the United States.  The National Atlas of the United States updates a large bound collection of paper maps that was published in 1970.  It delivers easy to use, map-like views of America's natural and sociocultural landscapes. Unlike the previous Atlas, this version is largely digital.
· USGS home page
    ° USGS National Mapping Information home page
    ° GIS Data for Water Resources
    ° Hydrologic Unit Maps
    ° National Hydrography Dataset
    ° The National Hydrography Dataset data gateway website
    ° Geographic Names Information System home page-You can access Difficult Run information through this site
    ° The National Atlas home page

    The Natural Resources Conservation Service: The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) maintains geospatial mapping data on soils, water and climate, plants, and other subjects.  Their home page provides links to NRCS Technical Data Resources and information for teachers and students.
· The NRCS home page
    ° NRCS Technical Resources website

    The U.S. Census Bureau: The U.S. Census Bureau maintains a public database on population growth and demographics by county.  They also have a number of specific analyses of economic and other indicators useful for projecting potential growth.
· Census Bureau home page
    ° Census Bureau Population Projection Program

    Commonwealth of Virginia: The Departments of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Conservation and Recreation (DCR) of the Commonwealth of Virginia have several watershed related sites.  For example, the DEQ home page has a link to information on the various watershed level strategies for reducing the controllable flow of nutrients into the Chesapeake Bay.  The DCR site has a link to soil and water conservation programs.
· Department of Environmental Quality home page
    ° Virginia tributary strategies
· Department of Conservation and Recreation home page
    ° Soil and water conservation website

    Center for International Earth Science Information Network:  CIESIN was established in 1989 as a non-profit, non-governmental organization to provide information that would help scientists, decision-makers, and the public better understand their changing world.  They specialize in global and regional network development, science data management, decision support, and training, education, and technical consultation services.  They are housed at Columbia University.
· CIESIN home page

    The Geography Network: The Geography Network is a global community
of data providers who are committed to making geographic content available. This content is published from many sites around the world, providing you with
 immediate access to the latest maps, data, and related services.
· The Geography Network home page

    Fairfax County, VA: Fairfax County has made its GIS and mapping data available to the public.  This information includes maps of special features that can be easily downloaded and printed.
· Fairfax County home page
    ° Fairfax County GIS data and maps
    ° Downloadable maps, including a color map of the watersheds of Fairfax County

    The Chesapeake Bay Program: The Chesapeake Bay Program home page has links to information about all aspects of the Chesapeake Bay watershed, including profiles of Difficult Run.
· The Chesapeake Bay Program home page
    ° Profile of the entire Chesapeake Bay watershed
    ° Profile of the Difficult Run watershed
 

Manuals, Handbooks and Educational Resources

Many of the government and non-government organizations listed here have educational materials available.  Some have information for use by children.  In addition, several universities have training and teaching materials available, sometimes through their extension activities.

    Purdue University: As an example, Purdue University has a “Know Your Watershed” website where you can download videos that define a watershed and show how watersheds are impacted.  This site also links to a number of watershed guides: building local partnerships, getting to know your watershed, leading and communicating, managing conflict, putting together a watershed plan, reflecting on lakes, wetlands: a key link in watershed management, and ground and surface water: understanding the interaction.
· Know Your Watershed home page

     The Interagency Stream Corridor Restoration Working Group: Fifteen federal agencies combined their experience, skills and technology as the ISCRWG to produce “Stream Corridor Restoration: Principles, Processes, and Practices.
· Stream Corridor Restoration-The complete, as-printed version of the document is available at this site

    The Center for Watershed Protection: The CWP has a number of “how-to” resources for watershed protection and restoration.
· CWP home page- This text hyperlink sometimes does not work—if necessary, enter the address directly

    Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service: The USDA Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension Service (CREES) National Program in Natural Resources and responds to a broad spectrum of natural resource and environmental issues: air quality; animal waste management; biodiversity; climate changes; conflict resolution; ecosystem management; fish and wildlife management; forestry; geographic information systems; housing and indoor air quality; land-use planning; public issues education; remote sensing for forest mapping, soil studies, range management; soil science; solid waste management; water quality; watershed science; and wood products.
· Home page for CREES-Natural Resources and Environment

Models and Software

     U.S. State and Local Gateway (U.S. EPA): EPA maintains a website, “Environment/Energy Tools,” that includes links to the Center for Environmental Information and Statistics (CEIS), community based environmental protection, EPA databases and software, envirofacts, environmental software, environmental planning for small communities, pollution prevention tools for homeowners and renters, and others.
· State and Local Gateway home page

    American Forests: American Forests developed CITYgreen , a GIS-based software tool that helps people understand the value of trees to the local environment.
Planners and natural resources professionals use the program to test landscape ordinances, evaluate site plans and model development scenarios that capture the benefits of trees. The software conducts complex statistical analyses of ecosystem services and creates easy-to-understand maps and reports. CITYgreen calculates dollar benefits based on your specific site conditions. CITYgreen analyzes: stormwater runoff, air quality, summer energy savings, carbon storage and avoidance, and tree growth.
· CITYgreen website

    Natural Resources Conservation Service: The USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has designed a runoff model, Technical Release 55 (TR-55).  The model presents simplified procedures to calculate storm runoff volume, peak rate of discharge, hydrographs, and storage volumes required for floodwater reservoirs.  These procedures are applicable in small watersheds, especially urbanizing watersheds, in the United States. Limits: NRCS type distributions, 24-hour duration rainfall, 10 subwatersheds, minimum 0.1 hour and maximum 10-hour time of concentration.  The model can be downloaded free of charge.
· TR-55 website

    University of Wisconsin-Madison: The University of Wisconsin-Madison maintains a website (Insite) with the Natural Resources Conservation Service that contains a number of software tools relevant to conservation decision making, including a community conservation toolbox under Natural Resources.
· Computer tools index download website
 

Non-Governmental Organizations

     TreePeople: TreePeople is a Los Angeles based organization that works with private groups and local government to develop and implement innovative approaches to urban watershed management.  Their home page has links to the T.R.E.E.S. Project that includes a design charrette which brought together planners, architects, engineers, and others to develop Best Management Practices for the LA Basin watershed.  It includes a planbook, implementation plan, and demonstration site.
· TreePeople home page
    ° TREES Project website

    Center for Watershed Protection: Founded in 1992, the CWP works with local, state, and federal governmental agencies, environmental consulting firms, watershed organizations, and the general public to provide objective and scientifically sound information on effective techniques to protect and restore urban watersheds.   They have CD-ROM presentations designed to provide community leaders, watershed managers, educators and activists with materials to craft their own watershed protection seminars. The Center also acts as a technical resource for local and state
governments around the country to develop more effective urban stormwater and watershed protection programs. The Center publishes a periodic journal entitled Watershed Protection Techniques, which provides reliable and accurate summaries of the latest tools for protecting watersheds across North America. Techniques is designed to link watershed practitioners together and provide a forum in which to exchange research, ideas, and experience in the field.   Their home page has links to watershed planning, land conservation, aquatic buffers, better site design, erosion control, stormwater BMPs, non-stormwater discharges, and watershed stewardship (under “Protecting a Watershed”), and model ordinances.  Their “Protecting a Watershed” link is particularly useful.
· Center for Watershed Protection home page-This text hyperlink sometimes does not work—if necessary, enter the address directly
    ° Protecting a Watershed website
    ° Model watershed ordinance website

    American Forests:  American Forests is the nation's oldest nonprofit citizen conservation organization, founded in 1875 by citizens concerned about waste and abuse of the nation's forests. Their mission today remains helping people improve the environment with trees and forests. They work to ensure a sustainable future for our nation's forests - both urban and rural - through national and international tree planting, forest policy, urban forestry, and popular programs, such as Global ReLeaf.  Through their Global ReLeaf program, they have planted more than 15 million trees in 500+ forest ecosystem restoration projects and urban and community forest projects. Their home page links to an extensive information base on trees, cities and sprawl; and to a watershed planning tool called CITYGreen 4.0.
· American Forests home page
    ° American Forests index to urban sprawl resources
    ° Urban forest information links
    ° Trees fight sprawl-five step plan to combat sprawl