EPA 842F07001 National Program

Overview WHAT ARE ? Estuaries are places where • Established under the 1987 freshwater from rivers mixes with Amendments, the National Estuary Program (NEP) saltwater from the ocean. protects and restores the ecological integrity of

estuaries of national significance. Estuaries contain important habitats such as wetlands, • The NEP operates through partnerships among mudflats, rocky shores, and EPA and other Federal, State, and local organizations, seagrass beds. industry, academia, environmental and business groups, and community Estuaries serve as nursery and residents. spawning areas. Almost 80% of the commercial and recreational • There are 28 local National Estuary Programs , each with a Director and fish we catch depend on staff, working with local stakeholders to improve the health of the waters, estuaries for part or all of their habitats, and living resources of their estuaries. lives. • The NEP uses an inclusive decision-making process to deliver on- the-ground action and results. The program is an important national model for the protection and management of watersheds.

How Do Local NEPs Protect Estuaries?

• Together with their partners, local NEPs develop and implement locally- driven plans to improve ,

habitat, and living resources in and COMMON CHALLENGES FACING LOCAL NEPs: surrounding their estuaries.

• Habitat loss & Degradation • Local NEPs develop tailored approaches to address critical water • Declines in Fish and Wildlife Resources quality priorities in their specific places. • Invasive Species • Alteration of Natural Flow • Local NEPs look across their Regimes watershed and recognize the • Nutrient Over-enrichment connection between upstream • Toxics and Emerging sources of pollution and Contaminants downstream impacts. • Harmful Algal Blooms • Local NEPs engage in adaptive • Sea Level Rise, Coastal Please visit: www.epa.gov/nep management approaches to tie Flooding, and Coastal monitoring to management actions, Erosion for more information and make corrections where necessary. Local NEP Websites Albemarle-Pamlico Sounds An Effective and Efficient www.apnep.org Barataria-Terrebonne www.btnep.org Public-Private Partnership Barnegat Bay www.barnegatbaypartnership.org/ What has the NEP accomplished? www.buzzardsbay.org Casco Bay www.cascobayestuary.org/ Charlotte Harbor ON-THE-GROUND www.chnep.org RESULTS Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries www.cbbep.org Local NEPs have Delaware Inland Bays protected and restored www.inlandbays.org over 2 million acres of Galveston Bay habitat since 2000 www.gbep.state.tx.us Indian River Lagoon www.irlcouncil.com/ www.longislandsoundstudy.net Lower Columbia Estuary www.estuarypartnership.org/ Local NEPs cultivate Maryland Coastal Bays www.mdcoastalbays.org collaboration and build Massachusetts Bays partnerships that make www.mass.gov/orgs/massbays-national on-the-ground results -estuary-program possible. Mobile Bay www.mobilebaynep.com Morro Bay www.mbnep.org Narragansett Bay www.nbep.org New York-New Jersey Harbor http://www.harborestuary.org/ Partnership for the Delaware Estuary Fostering investment www.delawareestuary.org over the long term Peconic Estuary Program builds capacity to www.peconicestuary.org provide sustained Piscataqua Region Estuaries benefits. www.prepestuaries.org/ Puget Sound www.psp.wa.gov San Francisco Estuary www.sfestuary.org/ San Juan Bay www.estuario.org Santa Monica Bay LEVERAGING FUNDS www.santamonicabay.org Sarasota Bay Local NEPs provide a high www.sarasotabay.org return on investment, with $19 Tampa Bay www.tbep.org leveraged for every dollar Tillamook Bay provided by EPA. www.tbnep.org