Contact:  NOAA - Dan Dewell              FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
          EPA -  Robin Woods             9/17/98

The image of "rivers flowing to the sea" is a literary and cultural mainstay -- representing the ceaseless march of time, the power of nature, and the beauty of our world. Estuaries, where our fresh water streams and rivers mix with the salt water of the ocean, are some of the most important and complex links in the Earth's entire ecosystem. To help increase public awareness of them, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency are gearing up for the 10th annual National Estuaries Day on Oct. 3, a celebration of our nation's bays, sounds, and lagoons.

Both agencies have ongoing programs -- NOAA's National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) system, and EPA's National Estuary Program (NEP) -- that will join with local communities to observe estuaries day with educational activities, festivals, exhibits and programs tailored to their coastal areas.

Narragansett Bay, R.I., will serve as the focal point of the national celebration. EPA's NEP and NOAA's NERR for Narragansett Bay are co-hosting a festival with exhibits, a talk radio show, and band concerts.

The theme of this year's awareness campaign is "Estuaries -- Gateways to the Ocean." The theme highlights the transitional nature of these vital areas and ties into the 1998 Year of the Ocean initiative. The estuaries celebration also serves to strengthen the partnership between NOAA and EPA, and on the local level, the NEP and NERR field programs. Together the two programs include over 50 estuaries that have been specially designated by the federal government to protect living resources, improve water quality, restore estuarine habitats, and provide opportunities for research, education, and public use.

NOAA's NERR system sponsored the first National Estuaries Day in the fall of 1988, and on Oct. 3 will dedicate the newest and largest reserve in the system at Kachemak Bay, Alaska.

National Estuaries Day will help raise public awareness about these critical coastal areas that serve as nursery grounds for two-third's of the fish and shellfish we eat; provide habitat, resting and feeding sites for thousands of birds and other wildlife; offer many recreational opportunities; serve as buffers against storms; and filter pollutants, helping to improve water quality.

These coastal ecosystems, while vital to our cultural, environmental, economic, and social well-being, are also threatened by growth and development and their associated impacts such as nutrient over-enrichment, pathogens, and habitat loss. Nearly 50 percent of Americans live in coastal areas, and approximately 180 million tourists travel to these communities each year. By the year 2010, it is estimated that the coastal population will increase to 127 million.

NOAA and EPA hope that a new appreciation and heightened understanding of our valuable yet threatened estuaries will be generated through ongoing educational and research programs and National Estuaries Day. The celebration also acknowledges the hard work and dedication of many people who work in the EPA NEP and NOAA NERR programs, and their local communities, to protect and restore our nation's estuaries.

People interested in participating in National Estuaries Day activities should contact their state department of natural resources or environmental protection agency, or find out the location of the nearest NOAA NERR or EPA NEP area at the following Web sites:

http://www.nos.noaa.gov/ocrm/nerr/welcome.html or http://www.epa.gov/nep/nep.html