Stationed within the largest US metropolitan area of New York City and the 4th most visited unit within the National Park System (NPS), Gateway National Recreational Area (GATE) provides numerous water-based recreational opportunities to almost 20 million people and supports hundreds of wildlife species.

While GATE’s water-quality monitoring program contains over 40 years of data, changes in sampling frequency, metrics, and methods over time create difficulty assessing water quality to inform natural resource management decisions. Additionally other state, federal, and non-profit organizations have conducted water quality monitoring within and around GATE’s 27,025 acres of coastal lands and waters.

To better understand how existing monitoring programs represent water quality within GATE’s watershed, the U.S. Geological Survey’s New York and New Jersey Water Science Centers will provide technical assistance in the creation of a bibliography of research conducted within and around GATE, a digital database including all publicly available water-quality related data collected within the vicinity, and a preliminary gap analysis. This study will aid GATE in the development of a long-term water quality-network to adequately inform management decisions regarding water quality within and around the park.