ANEP: About Estuaries - Charlotte Harbor

About Estuaries:
Insights on the NEPs - Charlotte Harbor

The Charlotte Harbor National Estuary Program is a partnership of citizens, elected officials, resource managers, and commercial and recreational resource users working to improve the water quality and ecological integrity of the greater Charlotte Harbor watershed. A cooperative decision-making process is used within the program to address diverse resource management concerns in the 4,400 square mile study area.
The Charlotte Harbor Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan was approved by the program's Management Conference on February 11, 2000. The development of the Management Plan began in 1995 when Charlotte Harbor was accepted into the National Estuary Program.

Four committees comprise the Management Conference: Policy, Management, Technical Advisory, and Citizens Advisory. Each serves a specialized role to support the program goals and objectives. Almost 200 people participated, dedicating thousands of volunteer hours to build consensus for the actions in the program's management plan

The Management Conference identified three problems as the region's priority problems. While they vary geographically in extent and severity, they are common regional issues

Hydrologic Alterations: Adverse changes to amounts, locations, and timing of freshwater flows, the hydrologic function of floodplain systems, and natural river flows.

Water Quality Degradation: Including but not limited to pollution from agricultural and urban runoff, point source discharges, septic tank system loadings, atmospheric deposition, and groundwater.

Fish and Wildlife Habitat Loss: Degradation and elimination of headwater streams and other habitats caused by development, conversion of natural shorelines, cumulative impacts of docks and boats, invasion of exotic species, and cumulative and future impacts

These problems can also be viewed as symptoms or consequences of more basic processes, such as land uses and land use management.

The Management Conference also developed a total of 15 quantifiable objectives for the three priority problems. As a first step for action to achieve these objectives, 270 projects will be conducted by more than 40 organizations to initiate implementation of this management plan.

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