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Partnership USGS, Missouri State to cooperate on environmental researchDecember 13, 2005
This agreement combines the unique capabilities and resources of the two organizations with a goal of identifying and offering solutions to regional environmental problems, with an emphasis on water quality in southwest Missouri. The Missouri congressional delegation has identified this as a critical issue in the region and has been instrumental in securing federal funds to address the problem. "Missouri State University's strategy for increasing its research capacity is to form collaborative research partnerships with high quality organizations like USGS," said Dr. Jim Baker, vice president for research and economic development. "The combined resources and expertise of the Ozarks Environmental Water Resources Institute and the Mid-Continent Geographic Science Center will result in a world-class geographic research team that will be able to focus on crucial issues in our home region." The Memorandum of Understanding sets forth the basic principles and guidelines under which the parties intend to work together to foster coordination and cooperation in research; to exchange ideas and information; to utilize university research and government research and facilities, and other efforts; and to further the advancement of knowledge in the areas of mutual interest. Specific areas of mutual interest include research and product development, instructional support and technology exploration. "The USGS, through its Geographic Analysis and Monitoring program, has a focus on landscape change and its effects on water quality," said Emitt C. Witt, MCGSC director. "Through this partnership, we hope to better understand how urban expansion and the changing nature of agricultural activities in the region may be impacting water resources." "This opens up a lot of opportunities. We can relate land use to streams and water quality to land use," said OEWRI director Dr. Robert Pavlowsky. He also noted that the partnership between MSU and the USGS will benefit students and research activities in several science research areas. U.S. Sen. Jim Talent addressing the audience at the ceremony indicated his commitment of push of increased Federal funding for the collaboration. Both Talent and Sen. Kit Bond, along with many regional environmental groups, have been instrumental in the development support of this partnership. OEWRI is a functional institute of Missouri State University and has a national reputation in the fields of geospatial, hydrologic and geologic research. The USGS serves the nation by providing reliable scientific information to describe and understand the Earth; minimize loss of life and property from natural disasters; manage water, biological, energy, and mineral resources; and enhance and protect our quality of life. The MCGSC and OEWRI will be collaborating on a project in the James River Basin during fiscal year 2006. The project will be assessing historical land use change in the basin. |
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U.S. Department of the Interior |
U.S. Geological Survey
URL: http://mcgsc.usgs.gov/usgs-msu_partnership.html
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