White House releases national eDNA strategy that SCCWRP helped craft

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has unveiled a national strategy intended to bring standardization and consistency to how environmental DNA (eDNA) methods get incorporated into aquatic monitoring programs nationwide – a seminal roadmap document that SCCWRP and its member agencies provided input to help craft.

The National Aquatic eDNA Strategy, unveiled at the 3rd National Workshop on Marine eDNA in June, establishes a unified vision and plan for how multiple federal, state and local environmental agencies can work together to expeditiously transition eDNA-based monitoring methods from pilot-scale studies to broadscale adoption by the end-user management community.

SCCWRP played a key role in taking the national eDNA strategy from concept to reality, starting by hosting the 2^nd National Workshop on Marine eDNA in 2022 where the idea for a national strategy was originally conceptualized.

SCCWRP also co-authored key journal manuscripts and other documents that were incorporated into the strategy. Meanwhile, during a fall 2023 CTAG intersessional meeting, SCCWRP’s member agencies provided perspectives on barriers to more widespread adoption and use of eDNA monitoring.

In advance of the national strategy’s rollout, SCCWRP’s Dr. Susanna Theroux was selected as one of four eDNA experts to give a congressional briefing on eDNA.