Where are the watersheds in the Best and Worst Environmental Condition?
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A simple method for interpreting environmental quality across the region is to determine the watersheds in
the best and worst environmental condition. Each watershed was scored on the number of environmental variables that fell into the best 20% or worst 20% of the values for that variable. This process creates easily interpretable maps that illustrate where favorable conditions cluster and where unfavorable conditions cluster. The maps are colored such that green always implies best overall conditions and red always implies worst overall conditions.
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The map shows that the watersheds in the best environmental condition are concentrated in the highlands. These highland areas follow the Appalachian Mountains and foothills from western Virginia, north and east to central Pennsylvania. Because these watersheds have steep topography, they are less accessible and historically less stressed by human activities. These watersheds may be considered as good candidates for conservation and preservation.
The map illustrates that the watersheds in the poorest environmental condition are concentrated in the urban areas along the eastern edge of the map and in the vicinity of Raleigh, North Carolina. Historically, these watersheds have been altered by urban development and most of the environmental resources within these watersheds have been lost.
The best/worst watershed maps provide a simple overview of the region that clearly separates high quality areas from poor quality areas. However, this approach does not account for the complex interrelationships among the environmental measures. For example, if several variables measure forest condition in slightly different ways, a watershed with high percentage forest will have high scores for many forest variables and therefore have a high overall score. Any assessment based on this method should be supported with confirming independent evidence.
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