Water: Estuaries and Coastal Watersheds
Estuaries and Coastal Watersheds
The National Estuary Program (NEP) is a network of voluntary community-based programs that safeguards the health of important coastal ecosystems across the country.
- About Estuaries
- NEP Overview
- Challenges & Approaches
- Conditions
- Accomplishments & Results
- NEP Lessons
About Estuaries
Estuaries are places where freshwater from a river mixes with saltwater from the sea. Estuaries come in all shapes and sizes. They are often known as bays, sounds, lagoons, harbors, or inlets (note though that not all water bodies by those names are necessarily estuaries; the defining feature of an estuary is the mixing of fresh and salt water, not the name.)
National Estuary Program (NEP) Overview
A study* found the networks in NEP areas span more levels of government, integrate more experts into policy discussions, nurture stronger interpersonal ties between stakeholders, and create greater faith in the procedural fairness of local policy than other comparable estuaries.
*Building Consensual Institutions: Networks and the National Estuary Program, M. Schneider et. al., American Journal of Political Science, Vol. 47. No 1, January 2003
The NEP was established under Section 320 of the 1987 Clean Water Act (CWA) Amendments as a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) place-based program to protect and restore the water quality and ecological integrity of estuaries of national significance. Section 320 of the CWA calls for each NEP to develop and implement a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP). The CCMP is a long-term plan that contains specific targeted actions designed to address water quality, habitat, and living resources challenges in its estuarine watershed.
Each NEP has a Management Conference (MC) made up of diverse stakeholders including citizens, local, state, and Federal agencies, as well as with non-profit and private sector entities. Using a consensus-building approach and collaborative decision-making process, each MC works closely together to implement the CCMP. The MC ensures that the CCMP is uniquely tailored to the local environmental conditions, is based on local input, and supports local priorities.
Currently there are 28 estuaries located along the Atlantic, Gulf, and Pacific coasts and in Puerto Rico that have been designated as estuaries of national significance. Each NEP focuses it work within a particular place or boundary called a study area which includes the estuary, and surrounding watershed.
National Estuary Program Information
Links to NEP Homepages
This page provides links to non-EPA Web sites that provide additional information. You will leave the EPA.gov domain and enter another page with more information.
- Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program
- Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program
- Barnegat Bay Partnership
- Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program
- Casco Bay Estuary Partnership
- Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program
- Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program
- Delaware Center for the Inland Bays
- Galveston Bay Estuary Program
- Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program
- Long Island Sound Study
- Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership
- Maryland Coastal Bays Program
- Massachusetts Bays Program
- Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
- Morro Bay National Estuary Program
- Narragansett Bay Estuary Program
- New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program
- Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
- Peconic Estuary Program
- Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership
- Puget Sound Partnership
- San Francisco Estuary Partnership
- San Juan Bay Estuary Partnership
- Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission
- Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
- Tampa Bay Estuary Program
- Tillamook Estuaries Partnership
Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plans for each NEP
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Each of the 28 National Estuary Programs was charged with developing and implementing a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) which establishes priorities for activities, research, and funding for the estuary. The CCMP serves as a blueprint to guide future decisions and actions and addresses a wide range of environmental protection issues including water quality, habitat, fish and wildlife, pathogens, land use, and introduced species to name a few. The CCMP is based on a scientific characterization of the estuary and is developed and approved by a broad-based coalition of stakeholders.
For more information about CCMPs, contact the NEP directly:
- Albemarle-Pamlico Sounds CCMP
- Barataria-Terrebonne CCMP
- Barnegat Bay Partnership CCMP
- Buzzards Bay CCMP
- Casco Bay CCMP (PDF) (51 pp, 1.9MB)
- Charlotte Harbor CCMP
- Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries CCMP (PDF) (87 pp, 3.2MB)
- Delaware Inland Bays CCMP (PDF) (173 pp, 1.4MB)
- Galveston Bay CCMP
- Indian River Lagoon CCMP (PDF) (120 pp, 3.9MB)
- Long Island Sound CCMP
- Lower Columbia River Estuary Program CCMP
- Maryland Coastal Bays Program
- Massachusetts Bays CCMP
- Mobile Bay
- Morro Bay
- Narragansett Bay
- New York-New Jersey Harbor CCMP
- Partnership for the Delaware Estuary CCMP
- Peconic Bay CCMP
- Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership CCMP
- Puget Sound Partnership
- San Francisco Estuary CCMP
- San Juan Bay, Puerto Rico
- Santa Monica Bay
- Sarasota Bay CCMP
- Tampa Bay CCMP
- Tillamook Bay
NEPs on Facebook
This page provides links to non-EPA Web sites that provide additional information. You will leave the EPA.gov domain and enter another page with more information.
- Albemarle-Pamlico Sounds NEP
- Barataria-Terrebonne Estuary Program
- Barnegat Bay Partnership
- Delaware Inland Bays Estuary Program
- Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
- Indian River Lagoon NEP
- Long Island Sound Study
- Maryland Coastal Bays Program
- Morro Bay National Estuary Program
- Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership
- Puget Sound Partnership
- San Francisco Estuary Partnership
- Sarasota Bay Program
- Tampa Bay Estuary Program
- Tillamook Estuaries Partnership
National Estuary Program Booklet (PDF) (11 pp, 2.8MB, About PDF) | En Español
Cover Photo Credit: Mark Lagrange - The NEP Booklet provides an overview of the program and describes how NEPs are effective, efficient, collaborative, and adaptive community-based programs.
This page provides links to non-EPA Web sites that provide additional information. You will leave the EPA.gov domain and enter another page with more information.
Challenges and Approaches
Challenges facing our Estuaries and NEP Approaches for Restoration
Tackling common Environmental Problems
Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program
San Francisco Estuary Partnership
Tampa Bay Estuary Program
Estuaries face a host of common challenges. Because we love and depend on the water, more than half of the people in the United States live within 100 miles of the coast, including on the shores of estuaries. And more and more people are moving to these areas. Coastal communities are growing three times faster than counties elsewhere in the country.
Conditions
NEPs are required to monitor the effectiveness of their management activities to address estuary-specific priority problems. In addition, the Clean Water Act requires EPA to report periodically on the condition of the nation's estuarine waters. To meet those mandates, EPA and each NEP monitor conditions in estuarine/coastal waters.
As stated in the 2007 National Estuary Program Coastal Condition Report, the NEP estuaries are rated "fair" and scored equal to or higher than all other US estuaries combined despite increasing population pressures in the 28 estuarine watersheds. This rating is based on four key indicators of ecological health: water quality, sediment quality, benthic community condition, and fish tissue contaminants.
Individual NEPs have also worked with their many partners to collect, compile and analyze monitoring data producing "State of the Bay" reports about their estuaries every 3-5 years. Since these data are collected over a longer time period and from more sampling sites than are depicted in the NEP CCR, they provide a more comprehensive picture of NEP estuarine conditions than does the NEP CCR.
National Estuary Program Coastal Condition Report
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The report is based on available monitoring data for the period 1997-2003 collected by Federal agencies, State, Regional and local organizations. For each of these four key indicators, a score of good, fair, or poor was assigned to each NEP. These ratings were then averaged to create overall regional and national scores, illustrated in the adjacent map, using "traffic light" color scoring.
The ratings developed in the report are based solely on the National Coastal Condition Assessment data. The individual NEPs collect other monitoring data over a longer time period and at more sampling stations that further enhance the picture of conditions in their estuaries.
Factsheet: National Estuary Program Coastal Condition Report - NEP CCR | PDF Version (2 pp, 434K)
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
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- 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)
NEP State of the Bay Reports
You will need Adobe Reader to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more.
This page provides links to non-EPA Web sites that provide additional information. You will leave the EPA.gov domain and enter another page with more information.
- Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program
- Barnegat Bay Partnership
- Buzzards Bay National Estuary Program
- Casco Bay Estuary Partnership
- State of the Bay: Casco Bay Estuary (PDF) (88 pp, 15.3MB)
- Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program
- The State of the Bay, A Report for the Future, Part 1 (PDF) (34 pp, 4.7MB)
- The State of the Bay, A Report for the Future, Part 2 (PDF) (34 pp, 4.4MB)
- Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership
- Delaware Center for the Inland Bays
- 2011 State of the Delaware Inland Bays (PDF) (64 pp, 6.8MB)
- Partnership for the Delaware Estuary
- State of the Delaware Estuary 2008 (PDF) (36 pp, 20MB)
- Galveston Bay Estuary Program
- Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program
- Long Island Sound Study
- Sound Health 2008 (PDF) (12 pp, 7.4MB)
- Maryland Coastal Bays Program
- State of the Maryland Coastal Bays (PDF) (48 pp, 12.4MB)
- Massachusetts Bays Program
- The Massachusetts Bays Program: State of the Bays Report (PDF) (98 pp, 14.6MB)
- Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
- The State of Mobile Bay - A Status Report on Alabama's Coastline from the Delta to Our Coastal Waters (PDF) (48 pp, 7.1MB)
- Morro Bay National Estuary Program
- New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program
- Health of the Harbor: The First Comprehensive Look at the State of the NY/NJ Harbor Estuary 2004 (PDF) (86 pp, 1.9MB)
- Peconic Estuary Program
- Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership
- State of the Estuaries 2009: Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PDF) (32 pp, 4.8MB) (Formerly New Hampshire Estuaries Project)
- Puget Sound Partnership
- San Francisco Estuary Partnership
- Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission
- Sarasota Bay Estuary Program
- State of the Bay 2010 'Celebrating Paradise: Staying the Course' Sarasota Bay Estuary Program (PDF) (43 pp, 7.8MB)
- Tampa Bay Estuary Program
- Tampa Bay Estuary Program Progress Report 2009 (PDF) (12 pp, 3.6MB)
- Tillamook Estuaries Partnership
- Tillamook Bay Watershed Health Report 2010 (PDF) (28 pp, 3.5MB)
Environmental Indicators
To gauge an estuary's health, each NEP develops environmental indicators—"specific, measurable markers that help assess the condition of the environment and how it changes over time" (see Indicator Development for Estuaries, EPA 842-B-08-004 September 2008). For each environmental indicator, a quantitative or qualitative measure is developed based on the goals and objectives of a CCMP, which in turn reflect the priorities of local stakeholders. These indicators can include water and sediment quality, land use, living resources, and habitat among many others.
Volunteer Monitoring
Citizen volunteers play an important role when it comes to monitoring conditions in our estuaries, particularly water quality conditions. See the Volunteer Estuary Monitoring Manual to learn how to establish and maintain a volunteer monitoring program, as well as how to work effectively with volunteers and ensur their safety.
Accomplishments and Environmental Results
Leveraging
View NEP financing strategies and total primary leveraged dollars. Leveraged dollars are defined as the dollar value (cash or in-kind equivalent) of resources dedicated to implementing an NEP CCMP above and beyond the funding provided to the NEP under Section 320, including earmark funding.
View successful financing mechanisms being used by NEPs.
Habitat
Learn more about habitat loss and degradation and contributing factors. View national habitat goals and total NEP annual results, see examples of individual NEP habitat plans, and learn about reporting environmental results.
Get information about each local NEP protection and restoration projects and Regional summaries by visiting NEPmap.
Lessons from the NEP
EPA's place–based National Estuary Program provides important lessons for other coastal communities working to restore and protect their watersheds. The following lessons learned are drawn from the 28 individual NEPs and documented in the documents shown below.
NEP Lessons Learned
- Effective governance (PDF) (15 pp, 1.1MB, About PDF) structures and by-laws promote open discussion, cooperation, and information sharing that leads to consensus and the efficient use of resources.
- Science and local knowledge helps identify the causes and approaches (PDF) (19 pp, 1.1MB, About PDF) to remedy environmental challenges facing coastal areas.
- Comprehensive plans (PDF) (13 pp, 1.4MB, About PDF) include long-term goals for the estuary, major challenges, and action developed with broad wide stakeholder input and updated regularly.
- Effective implementation (PDF) (25 pp, 927K, About PDF) requires clear, realistic, and measurable definitions of success; a diversity of funding sources; and broad public support.
Evaluating NEP Progress
In order to assess NEP progress made toward achieving their long-term goals, EPA conducts a Program Evaluation for each NEP. EPA developed NEP Program Evaluation Guidance that provides EPA and the NEPs with direction on how to assess the effectiveness of NEP actions. The Guidance presented below includes performance measures, describes a process for conducting site visits, and provides a feedback loop which helps ensure that recommendations for improvement are implemented.
NEP Program Evaluation Results
The document below summarizes NEP strengths and challenges and how the NEP helps implement specific Clean Water Act programs.
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