Environmental Indicators Initiative

How do we get useful information about our environment?

The causes of environmental change are hard to pin down, but environmental issues often call for immediate action. If our natural resource decisions are to be wise and sustainable, we need to base them on sound information about the environmental pieces as they relate to the whole.

Environmental indicators are selected measurements of the environment and our activities that provide information for reporting on environmental conditions, assessing the performance of natural resource programs, or developing an understanding of human-environment interactions. Indicators do not measure every process or every relationship. Like the "vital signs" of medical science, a set of effective environmental indicators should summarize and highlight the most essential conditions and trends. But how do we select the right indicators?

The Environmental Indicators Initiative (EII) provides a systems framework for selecting sets of indicators that are scientifically valid and useful to the public. EII's goals are (1) an integrated set of environmental indicators for assessing the health of Minnesota's ecosystems and (2) regular environmental monitoring using indicators as a source of information for natural resource management.

Funding provided by the Minnesota Environmental and Natural Resources Trust Fund as recommended by the Legislative Commission on Minnesota Resources. Sponsored by the Environmental Quality Board.