Less than 0.1% of coastal prairie vegetation remains in a relatively undisturbed condition.  Encompassing as much as 3.6 million hectares of land, coastal prairie is a hybrid of coastal wetlands and tall grass prairie.  Efforts to conserve, manage, and restore this endangered ecosystem are limited by our knowledge of this ecosystem.

The Coastal Prairie Ecology Research Program at the USGS National Wetlands Research Center was created to provide scientific information to aid conservationists and managers  of natural ecosystems in the greater coastal prairie region.  To achieve this mission researchers (1) conduct research on a variety of problems associated with habitat conservation, (2) disseminate results and findings to as broad an audience as possible, and (3) seek to facilitate the exchange of information among interested parties.