National Estuary Program
Background
In 1983 the Governors of three states (Maryland, Virginia, and Pennsylvania), the Mayor of the District of Columbia, and the Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency signed the Chesapeake Bay Agreement, which called for plans to be developed to protect and improve the water quality and living resources in the Chesapeake Bay. As it was subsequently developed, the Chesapeake Bay Program increased the awareness of the need to protect other estuaries across the country through federal-state partnerships. As a result, the National Estuary Program (NEP) was created in 1987 by amendments to the Clean Water Act, with the goal to "identify, restore, and protect nationally significant estuaries in the United States."
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At times you've heard them called bays, sounds, lagoons, marshes, swamps, inlets, and sloughs. In simplest terms, estuaries are transition zones between fresh and salt water, usually where a river or stream flows into the ocean. Estuaries are protected from the full force of ocean waves and wind by barrier islands, reefs, mudflats, or sand. The sheltered waters support an abundance and diversity of plant and animal life, including marine mammals, shore birds, fish, crabs, clams and other shellfish, and reptiles, just to name a few. A number of marine organisms, including many of the commercially valuable fish species, depend on the estuaries for spawning, nursing, or feeding.
Besides serving as an important habitat for wildlife, estuaries also serve as a water filtration system, by removing sediments, nutrients, and pollutants before they reach the ocean. The filtration process creates cleaner water, which is of benefit to both marine life and people who inhabit the surrounding areas. Estuaries also are important sources of flood control, with porous salt marsh soils and grasses absorbing flood waters and dissipating storm surges. Like barrier islands, they provide natural barriers between the land and the ocean.
 Protected wildlife at the Massachusetts Bays estuarine system courtesy of the Environmental Protection Agency |
The Program Today
Selection for inclusion in the National Estuary Program is based on nominations submitted to the EPA by the governor(s) of the state(s) where the estuary is located. Once an estuary is selected for inclusion, committees are established to develop a plan for protecting the estuary and its resources. Since an important goal of the National Estuary Program is to have program decisions and activities carried out at the local level, the representatives who serve on the committees include not only members of federal, state, and local agencies, but members of the community, such as business leaders, educators, and researchers. The formal management plan addresses the full range of environmental problems, as well as the economic and social values of the estuary. Of the 102 estuaries in the United States that have been identified by the EPA, 28 threatened estuaries have been designated by their states and the federal government to be included in the National Estuary Program.
Other useful resources:
American Coastal Coalition - a membership organization interested in preserving the role of the federal government in shore protection and promoting the protection of coastal areas.
Estuary Habitat Restoration Act - includes bill highlights and section by section analysis.
Estuarine Research - links to estuarine research societies, national governmental organizations, research projects and programs, and other related sites.
Estuarine Research Federation - promotes research in estuarine and coastal waters.
National Estuarine Research Reserves - a protected areas network of federal, state, and local partnerships concerned with management and scientific understanding of the nation's estuarine and coastal habitats.
National Estuary Program - links to programs of the EPA, other federal and interstate agencies, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, and more.
Restore America's Estuaries - a national coalition of 11 regional, coastal community-based environmental organizations concerned with preservation and restoration of America's estuaries and coastal heritage.