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Expert Interview 

Michael T. Barbour, Ph.D.

Dr. Barbour has more than 30 years of experience in environmental assessment of various waterbody types including both freshwater and estuarine systems. He has researched and developed bioassessment methods for streams and rivers and has participated in field validation studies of innovative toxicity testing methods for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Office of Research and Development. Dr. Barbour has provided technical support to federal, state, tribal, and local agencies in the development of frameworks for biocriteria.

As an environmental educator, Dr. Barbour has published numerous scientific articles as well as two novels (The Kenai Catastrophe and Blue Water, Blue Island) and a children’s book (Caitlyn and Craig the Crayfish). His second children's book, Douglas Visits the Seashore, is due out this summer.

Q:  What are bioassessments and biocriteria?

A:  Bioassessments are surveys of the flora and fauna of waterbodies to determine the ecological condition of the water resource. Biocriteria are part of state and tribal water quality standards that establish benchmarks for judging impairments using bioassessments.

Q:  How do different agencies (federal, state, tribal, and local) use this information?

A:  Aquatic life uses are designated by state and tribal agencies for each waterbody to protect the ecological health of waterbodies. Local entities such as counties, municipalities, and watershed groups are interested in knowing the condition of their waters. Federal agencies, such as the EPA or the U.S. Geological Survey, provide oversight and assistance in determining the ecological condition of waters. Bioassessments are core to making these determinations.

Q:  What are some of the latest developments in bioassessment methods?

A:  In 1999, my staff and I revised EPA’s Rapid Bioassessment Protocols for use in state and tribal programs. This revision was of an earlier document I co-authored, which established guidelines for bioassessment. These methods are now being used throughout the world, [in places] such as the European Union and Asia, as one way of collecting biological information for making informed decisions regarding water resources.

Q:  You’re working on the Nationwide Water Resources Assessment. Tell us about the scope of this work and what it means for the country—from the EPA down to local communities.

A:  The EPA is mandated to provide a condition of the nation’s water resources as a report to Congress in the “State of the Environment” report every two years. This survey began with small streams and tributaries, progressed to lakes, and then to rivers and wetlands. The project design is based on a random selection of waterbodies across the nation and functions much like political opinion polls. From this random selection, estimates of ecological condition can be made across the country.

For the national lake survey, more than 90 field crews are sampling lakes now through September. Tetra Tech is providing a coordination role, as well as training the crews and sampling lakes in various parts of the country. The results will enable EPA to provide the requested information on the condition of the nation’s water resources; states will benefit from this effort to build capacity in their monitoring and assessment programs; and local communities will learn what stressors to the environment are working in their areas.

Q:  Why is this work so important now?

A:  Peer review reports by national programs criticized EPA for not being able to provide ecological status determination for the nation's water resources. Current state methods for bioassessment and other ecological indicator collections, as well as their biocriteria and water quality criteria, are too different to allow for extrapolation on a regional or national scale. Therefore EPA embarked on these national surveys using standard survey methods to provide that information.

Q:  Why do you write fictional novels on top of all your technical work?

A:  My scientific papers are only read by scientists, and I wanted to reach out to non-scientists about environmental issues that affect their lives every day and to provide a fun way of understanding and appreciating the world’s great ecology. As I say in my workshops and lectures, “The environment that our children’s children inherit is our responsibility.”