National Estuary Program Coastal Condition Report - NEP CCR

The National Estuary Program Coastal Condition Report presents the condition of 28 estuaries covered by National Estuary Program based upon two major types of monitoring data for each estuary:

(1) data collected as part of EPA´s National Coastal Assessment program and;

(2) data collected by individual NEPs or by NEPs in partnership with interested stakeholders, including state environmental agencies, universities, or volunteer groups.

Together, this information paints a picture of the overall condition of the coastal resources of the NEP estuaries.

As part of the 20th Anniversary of the National Estuary Program, the NEP CCR reports on the condition of those 28 estuaries while the National Coastal Condition Report series describe the condition of 100% of all estuaries in the contiguous 48 states. Based upon NCA data collected from 1997-2003, the NEP estuaries are rated "fair" and scored equal to or higher than all other US estuaries combined despite increasing population pressures. During the past 20 years, population pressures along the coast have increased. By 2000, over two-thirds of the coastal population lived in NEP-coincident counties, which comprise less than 6 percent of the coastal land area.

Use the links in the table below to download the individual sections.

(Note: If your browser is opening the files instead of downloading them, right click on the link with your mouse and choose "Save Target As" or "Save Link As" from the pop-up menu.)

Read the Summary of the Findings from the Executive Summary

Table of Contents

• Report Cover and Front Matter (PDF) ( 23 pp, 1.3MB)
• Executive Summary (PDF) ( 15 pp, 410K)
• Chapter 1: Introduction (PDF) ( 25 pp, 1.9MB)
• Chapter 2: National (PDF) ( 19 pp, 1.2MB)
• Chapter 3: Northeast
• Regional (PDF) ( 12 pp, 1.5MB)
• Casco Bay (PDF) ( 11 pp, 1.6MB)
• New Hampshire Estuaries (PDF) ( 12 pp, 1.8MB)
• Massachusetts Bays (PDF) ( 12 pp, 2.5MB)
• Buzzards Bay (PDF) ( 12 pp, 1.8MB)
• Narragansett Bay (PDF) ( 12 pp, 2.2MB)
• Long Island Sound (PDF) ( 13 pp, 2.2MB)
• Peconic Estuary (PDF) ( 12 pp, 1.6MB)
• New York/New Jersey Harbor (PDF) ( 12 pp, 2MB)
• Barnegat Bay (PDF) ( 13 pp, 2.1MB)
• Delaware Estuary (PDF) ( 14 pp, 2.4MB)
• Delaware Inland Bays (PDF) ( 13 pp, 1.8MB)
• Maryland Coastal Bays (PDF) ( 15 pp, 1.8MB)
• Chapter 4: Southeast
• Regional (PDF) ( 10 pp, 1.5MB)
• Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine Complex (PDF) ( 11 pp, 2.8MB)
• Indian River Lagoon (PDF) ( 12 pp, 1.7MB)
• Chapter 5: Gulf of Mexico
• Regional (PDF) ( 12 pp, 2.3MB)
• Charlotte Harbor (PDF) ( 11 pp, 2.3MB)
• Sarasota Bay (PDF) ( 11 pp, 1.5MB)
• Tampa Bay (PDF) ( 13 pp, 1.9MB)
• Mobile Bay (PDF) ( 13 pp, 2MB)
• Barataria-Terrebonne Estuarine Complex (PDF) ( 12 pp, 3MB)
• Galveston Bay (PDF) ( 14 pp, 1.6MB)
• Coastal Bend Bays (PDF) ( 12 pp, 2.1MB)
• Chapter 6: West
• Regional (PDF) ( 10 pp, 996K)
• Puget Sound (PDF) ( 12 pp, 1.9MB)
• Lower Columbia River Estuary (PDF) ( 11 pp, 2MB)
• Tillamook Bay (PDF) ( 11 pp, 1.5MB)
• San Francisco Estuary (PDF) ( 14 pp, 2MB)
• Morro Bay (PDF) ( 10 pp, 989K)
• Santa Monica Bay (PDF) ( 11 pp, 1.5MB)
• Chapter 7: Puerto Rico (PDF) ( 17 pp, 2.1MB)
• Appendix A, References, and Back Cover (PDF) ( 46 pp, 1.7MB)

Table of Contents (by larger sections of the report)

• Front Matter, Executive Summary, Chapter 1: Introduction, Chapter 2: National Discussion (PDF) ( 80 pp, 4.4MB)
• Chapter 3: Northeast (PDF) ( 151 pp, 18.3MB)
• Chapter 4: Southeast, Chapter 5: Gulf of Mexico (PDF) ( 121 pp, 16.6MB)
• Chapter 6: West, Chapter 7: Puerto Rico, Appendix A, References (PDF) ( 134 pp, 10.6MB)