The purpose of CAMNET is to raise public awareness about the effects of air pollution on visibility. This is accomplished, in part, through a network of realtime visibility cameras located at scenic urban and rural locations. CAMNET pictures are updated every 15 minutes. In addition, near realtime air pollution and meteorological data are provided to help distinguish natural from man-made causes of poor visibility, and to provide health-relevant data to the public on current air pollution levels. The air pollution and meteorological data are updated every hour.

CAMNET was initiated by the Northeast States for Coordinated Air Use Management (NESCAUM), a non-profit association of the air pollution control agencies of New Jersey, New York, and the six New England states. However, funding and technical support are provided by a number of government agencies and non-profit organizations, including:

• The Mid-Atlantic/Northeast Visibility Union (MANE-VU)
• Blue Hill Meteorological Observatory
• Maryland Department of the Environment
• Talcott Mountain Science Center
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency - New England
• The U.S. National Park Service
• The U.S. Forest Service
• The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• The New Brunswick Department of Environmental and Local Government
• The Maine Department of Environmental Protection
• The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services
• The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection
• The New York Department of Environmental Conservation
• The Vermont Department of Environmental Conservation
• The Mount Washington Observatory
• The University of Vermont School of Environment and Natural Resources
• Kennett High School
• New Jersey Transit

The camera monitoring system was developed by Air Resource Specialists, Inc., which also provides technical support to the CAMNET sites and web server. This website was designed by Cobalt Multimedia.