Ensuring adaptability and applicability of long-term contaminant monitoring initiatives: A discussion of NOAA's National Mussel Watch Program current practices and future approaches Environmental Monitoring and Assessment

The maintenance of long-term contaminant monitoring programs, which are critical tools for establishing and providing the historical baselines necessary to guide future management and research efforts, faces inherent challenges related to evolving management priorities, budgetary constraints, variable end-user needs, and the dynamic nature of the systems in which they operate. This short communication explores these difficulties, proposes adaptive strategies, and highlights the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) 40-year continuous national contaminant monitoring initiative, the National Mussel Watch Program (MWP), as a principal case study. We identify and discuss three adaptive strategies to ensure the continued applicability and longevity of such programs: (1) emphasizing stakeholder engagement; (2) refining data collection, evaluation, and analysis; and (3) ensuring data accessibility. Through the implementation of these adaptive measures, long-term contaminant monitoring programs, such as the MWP, can continue to fulfill programmatic mandates, serve as the provider of applicable baseline contaminant data, navigate shifts in contaminant monitoring priorities, and tailor data products to best meet the present and future needs of managers and stakeholders.