The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), in support of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program (NOAA/MMHSRP) conducts annual interlaboratory comparison exercises for the determination of chlorinated pesticides, polychlorinated biphenyl congeners, and trace elements in marine mammal tissues. These exercises provide one mechanism for laboratories to evaluate their measurement quality and comparability for these constituents in marine mammal tissues. In the 2003 exercise, 24 laboratories participated in determining the concentrations of selected polychlorinated biphenyl congeners (PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides in a homogenized blubber control material Marine Mammal Quality Assurance Exercise Homogenate VI (Homogenate VI) and Standard Reference Material (SRM) 1945 Organics in Whale Blubber. This report includes the results reported by the participating laboratories, combined consensus data results, and summary statistics for each analyte in the samples. The numerical indices used to assess laboratory performance are also discussed.

This report presents a summary of the forest monitoring data collected in 2009 by the National Capital Region Network Inventory and Monitoring Program. The data collected is used for reporting on three vital signs: forest condition, exotic invasive plant species, and forest pests and diseases. Monitoring was conducted on 100 forest plots randomly located throughout the parks in the National Capital Region Network. This data is part of a long term forest monitoring effort that includes 400 forest plots. One hundred plots are monitored each year, and any particular plot will be monitored once every four years. As this is the first time that this particular set of one hundred plots has been monitored, only status data is available. Trend data will become available once repeat monitoring of the plots begins.

This report presents a summary of the forest condition data collected in 2007 by the National Capital Region Network Inventory and Monitoring Program. Forest condition was monitored on 100 forest plots randomly located throughout the National Capital Region. This data is part of a long term forest monitoring effort that will include 400 forest plots. One hundred plots will be monitored each year, and any particular plot will be monitored once every four years. As this is the first time that these plots are monitored only status data but not trend data is available.

In 2000, the National Capital Region Inventory and Monitoring Network (NCRN) initiated a deer monitoring program to collect information on deer densities. The program is carried out through fall spotlight surveys in Antietam National Battlefield, Catoctin Mountain Park, Chesapeake and Ohio Canal National Historic Park- Gold Mine Tract, George Washington Memorial Parkway - Great Falls Park, Manassas National Battlefield Park, Monocacy National Park, National Capital Parks - East (Greenbelt and Piscataway units), Prince William Forest Park, and Rock Creek Park. Pellet-group counts are used in Harpers Ferry National Historic Park because of the lack of a road network. This report summarizes and analyzes the fall 2007 spotlight surveys and the 2007 fall-winter pellet-group count.

Consider that out there, somewhere, amongst the vastness of the seas, lives a single shark who swims, hunts, sleeps, thinks, and dreams...who may be dong any one of these activities at the same time you yourself are swimming, hunting, sleeping, thinking, and dreaming. Curious, isn't it? That both can share the same earth and do the same thing at the same time? We have some interesting commonalities. The first book by Dr. Jaws is Carcharhinus obscurus.

Did you ever hear of a fish that can whistle? Or a fish that can move a boulder? You can read about them in I Like the Fish, second in a series of picture books for 4- to 8-year-olds that explores the whimsical side of nature, with colorful pictures and clever text, portraying fish and their idiosyncrasies.

Artificial reefs are human-made structures that are either deliberately or unintentionally submerged underwater, commonly with the result of mimicking some characteristics of a natural reef. Artificial reefs alter local habitat by providing hard substrate and complex vertical relief where typically none previously existed (Bohnsack and Sutherland 1985, Sheehy and Vik 1992, Sheehy and Vik 2010). They may be created from a variety of sources and materials including the intentional sinking of ships and barges, rubble, concrete, rocks, stone, boulders, steel, and metal, etc. (Baine 2001). They may also be created through unintentional means (e.g., shipwrecks that can become historical in nature) and through structures built for other purposes (e.g., decommissioned oil and gas platforms, breakwaters1, jetties, bridges, offshore lighthouses, air force towers, navigational aids, marine data buoys, etc.). These various materials have benefits and drawbacks when used in artificial reef construction.

The authors detail why monitoring the current status and population trends of fish communities and their habitats is an important tool for preserving and conserving aquatic resources in the national parks. The framework for monitoring small streams located in HTLN parks is directed towards maintaining their ecological integrity, which will be assessed through periodic monitoring of fish communities, physical habitat, and water quality. The authors describe the protocol which has been designed to incorporate the spatial relationship of biotic indicators with chemical constituents and physical habitat.

This research is part of the Socioeconomic Research & Monitoring Program for the NOAA Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. In 2010, a baseline study of users and non-users of Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary (GRNMS) was initiated. Mail surveys were designed in 2010 and implemented in 2011 and 2012. The study provides baseline data on the knowledge, attitudes and perceptions of users and non-users of GRNMS in regard to management strategies and regulations. It also provides information on socioeconomic/demographic profiles, activity participation and use of coastal and ocean waters off the Georgia coast both inside and outside GRNMS. The surveys collected data on sources of public information on GRNMS used and the amount of trust in sources used, familiarity with GRNMS rules and regulations, and attitudes about selected management strategies for coastal and ocean resources both inside and outside GRNMS. For users of GRNMS, perceptions of resource conditions were also addressed.

The billfish is fixed at the apex of the oceanic food chain. Composed of sailfish, marlin, spearfish, and swordfish, they roam the pelagic waters of the Atlantic and are easily recognized by their long, spear-like beaks. Noted for their speed, size, and acrobatic jumps, billfish have for centuries inspired a broad spectrum of society. Even in antiquity, Aristotle, who assiduously studied the swordfish, named this gladiator of the sea xiphias - the sword. The Billfish Story tells the saga of this unique group of fish and those who have formed bonds with them - relationships forged by anglers, biologists, charter-boat captains, and conservationists through their pursuit, study, and protection of these species. More than simply reciting important discoveries, Stan Ulanski argues passionately that billfish occupy a position of unique importance in our culture as a nexus linking natural and human history. Ulanski, both a scientist and an angler, brings a rich background to the subject in a multifaceted approach that will enrich not only readers appreciation of billfish but the whole of the natural world.

Each story stands alone. Believe it or not these are the facts and they happened to me. No matter how incredible they may seem, they are all true. Enjoy these short journeys into my life and world. You will come away remembering them, and I got to personally experience them.

This report is the "Technical Appendix" for users version 2 as found in Leeworthy (2013) and documents the statistical tests that were done for comparing users version 1 and 2 surveys and the statistical tests for differences between the responses by users and non-users to version 2 survey questions on various policy/management strategies included in version 2 surveys.