![[logo] US EPA](http://www.epa.gov/epafiles/images/logo_epaseal.gif){kind=logo}
WED Organizational Structure
Organization of the Western Ecology Division
Director's Office
Director: Thomas D. Fontaine
Special Assistant to the Director:
Peter Beedlow
Special Assistant to the Director:
Denis White
Quality Assurance Officer: Robert
J. Ozretich
Administration
Associate Director for Program Operations:
Kathleen M. McBride
Freshwater Ecology Branch (Corvallis)
Chief: Tony Olsen
The mission of the Freshwater Ecology Branch is to
provide the scientific leadership to develop monitoring tools for
assessing the status and trends in condition of freshwater
ecosystems (including streams, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and riparian
areas). Important aspects of this research include environmental
statistics, design of monitoring networks at different scales,
development of biocriteria and determining reference conditions for
freshwater aquatic resources.
View Current Projects
Introduction to the Freshwater Ecology Branch
Ecological Effects Branch (Corvallis)
Chief: David Hammer
The mission of the
Environmental Effects Branch is to determine the
effects of natural and anthropogenic stress on the structure and
function of terrestrial ecosystems at multiple spatial and temporal
scales. Key stressors include pesticides, pollutants, and
genetically modified plants. Research focuses on development of
predictive models of sol ecosystem effects, particularly nutrient
and carbon cycling, coupled to plant community response models;
development of spatially explicit wildlife population models;
advancement of risk assessment methods for herbicide testing and
registration, and development of methodologies for assessing risk of
gene flow from crop to noncrop species
View Current Projects
Introduction to the Ecological
Effects Branch
Pacific Coastal Ecology
Branch (Newport)
Chief: Walter G. Nelson
The mission of the Pacific Coastal Ecology Branch is to determine the
effects of natural and anthropogenic stressors on ecological
resources of Pacific Coast estuaries at multiple spatial and
temporal scales. Key stressors include nutrients, sedimentation,
pollutants, and nuisance exotic species. Research focuses on valued
habitats such as submerged aquatic vegetation and on understanding
the effects of stressors on estuarine food webs. Research includes
the development of models of nutrient and sediment impacts on
aquatic vegetation and estuarine food webs, development of
indicators of estuarine condition, and development of approaches to
estimate comparative ecological values of estuarine habitats.
View Current Projects
Introduction to the Pacific
Coastal Ecology Branch