One of the themes that has persisted through the Gulf of Maine Council's existence is the importance of viewing the Gulf of Maine as a single ecosystem—irrespective of political boundaries—and promoting cross-boundary collaboration to help manage the region's resources and address environmental concerns. This basic philosophy will help guide the Council toward one of its most ambitious long-term goals, which is to help identify and track a set of regional environmental indicators and produce a "State of the Gulf" report.

Environmental indicators are used to describe the status and trends of our natural resources, environmental health, and ecological condition. They help raise awareness about important issues, can inform environmental policy decisions, and serve as a tool for evaluating the effectiveness of management actions. Environmental indicators are similar to many of the economic and social indicators that are ingrained into our culture, such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average. Just as the Dow gives investors a general picture of the state of the market, environmental indicators give scientists and managers a picture of the state of our ecosystems.

Some examples of environmental indicators include:

•  Toxic contamination in shellfish

Mussels and other shellfish are an important commercial resource in the Gulf of Maine, and they are excellent indicators of chemical pollution because they accumulate certain chemicals in their tissue. Thus, understanding toxic contamination in shellfish is important from both a human health and ecosystem health perspective. The Gulf of Maine Council’s Gulfwatch Monitoring Program uses mussels to monitor chemical contaminants in coastal waters. To learn more, read the Gulfwatch fact sheet.

•  Nitrogen concentrations in coastal waters

While nitrogen is an important component of a healthy ecosystem, excess nitrogen in coastal waters can cause a variety of problems such as water quality degradation, habitat loss, and harmful algal blooms. Increased nitrogen pollution to coastal waters is often caused by urbanization, residential development, agriculture, and other human activities in the watershed. By monitoring nitrogen in coastal waters, we can better evaluate the impacts of different activities, assess the threat of more nitrogen pollution, and evaluate the effects of advanced wastewater treatment, wetland restoration, and other management actions. To learn more about nitrogen indicators, read State of the Gulf Report: Nutrient Indicators, prepared by Elizabeth Mills for Gulf of Maine Summit Planning Committee.

•  The area of urban and suburban lands in coastal watersheds

Population growth and urban sprawl impinge on natural habitats, affecting wildlife and leading to increased water pollution. Tracking the extent of urban lands will help planners and managers make decisions on issues ranging from zoning restrictions to riparian protection to wastewater management.

Several federal agencies have been developing nationwide environmental indicators for many years. The publication "The State of the Nation's Ecosystems: Measuring the Lands, Waters, and Living Resources of the United States", published by the H. John Heinz III Center for Science, Economics and the Environment in 2002, was produced specifically for decision makers, opinion leaders, and informed citizens. The US Environmental Protection Agency's Environmental Indicators Initiative produced the "Draft Report on the Environment." Some local groups have developed state of the environment reports for areas within the Gulf of Maine—including the Casco Bay Estuary Project (State of the Bay), New Hampshire Estuary Project (State of the Estuaries 2003), and the Conservation Council of New Brunswick (The Quoddy Report).

Efforts are underway to develop Gulf-wide environmental indicators. In December 2002, more than 100 representatives of government agencies, academia, and non-government organizations met in New Hampshire for the Atlantic Northeast Coastal Monitoring Summit, which explored the potential for integrated regional monitoring, and provided participants with a forum to discuss possible indicators. As a follow-up, the Northeast Coastal Indicators Workshop planned for January 2004 will develop regional indicators for six categories: fisheries, eutrophication, contaminants, land use, aquatic habitat and climate change. The meeting is currently being organized, and will be attended by, representatives from six northeast states, two Canadian provinces, and five U.S. and Canadian federal agencies.

Regional efforts will culminate in the Gulf of Maine Summit in the fall of 2004. The goal of the summit is "to assess of the health of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem and resources from the bottom up, taking full advantage of and integrating all the initiatives (e.g. watershed monitoring, research, coordinated regional planning, habitat restoration, etc) currently underway by many agencies, organizations and institutions in the Gulf". The summit will set the stage for the preparation of a "State of the Gulf of Maine" report that will serve many purposes:

•  Provide structure for an integrated monitoring program

•  Identify information gaps

•  Identify problem areas and research needs

•  Compile information on standard protocols and quality assurance

•  Help inform and engage the public on environmental issues

•  Advocate for enhanced science, policy-making and management

The report will also help connect the various jurisdictions and organizations around the Gulf of Maine and allow people to see their own areas and issues as part of the larger Gulf of Maine ecosystem. Future generations will benefit by having a basis for comparison to evaluate long-term changes in ecosystem health and recovery.