Project Experience

In order to bring together a more coordinated and definitive resource management effort for the Territory of American Samoa, the American Samoa Environmental Protection Agency (ASEPA) retained Pedersen Planning Consultants to develop a watershed protection plan for 41 individual watershed areas.  An initial phase of the project involved five primary tasks that were ultimately documented into a Phase One Plan report:

1. Completion of a field survey of all watersheds in the Territory. 

2. An inventory of existing resources.

3. Development of a geographical information system (GIS) for American Samoa that brought together digital information from a variety of available information sources, as well as new data gained from field surveys.

4. The identification and evaluation of resource management issues such as sedimentation and nutrient impacts upon nearshore water quality and coral communities; wetland conservation; stormwater management opportunities; the conservation of wildlife habitat; anticipated type and location of future land uses; anticipated resident population growth; future water consumption and wastewater generation; and the development of surface and groundwater water resources.

5. The recommendation of resource management actions and assignments of responsibility to various ASG agencies.