Publications:
ANEP Update

January 2001

Happy New Year to Everyone!

May you enjoy a healthy, happy, and harmonious 2001.

LEGISLATIVE UPDATE

NEP NEWS

Since 1991, the Delaware Estuary's Minigrant Program has awarded more than 80 grants, totaling more than $255,000 and averaging $3,100 per grant. The projects funded through the minigrant program are designed to multiply the number of people that are aware of the importance of the Delaware Estuary. This year, 27 impressive proposals requesting more than $99,000 were submitted by organizations from throughout the Estuary. Typically, the total amount of money available for distribution is $20,000. This year, thanks to a grant from the William Penn Foundation, a total of $35,000 was approved for distribution. For more information about the Delaware Estuary Program Minigrant Program, please call the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary at 1-800-445-4935.

The Citizens Advisory Committee and the Science and Technical Advisory Committee of the New York-New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program are sponsoring a series of 12 public meetings around the estuary in February and March. The meetings, known as Help the Harbor, are intended to update the public
on some of the successes that HEP has achieved in the five years since the CCMP was completed.  In addition, input will be solicited as to what the public perceives as the priority issues that need be addressed.  Further information can be obtained by contacting Laura Bartovics, HEPs Outreach
Coordinator, at 212-637-3816.

BARNEGAT BAY COMPREHENSIVE CONSERVATION MANAGEMENT PLAN APPROVED BY POLICY COMMITTEE: The Barnegat Bay was designated a National Estuary in 1996.  Since 1996, the local residents and officials have been working on preparing a plan which has undergone public review and comment and is being finalized for approval by the Governor and EPA. 1) Ocean County government (Planning Department) was approved to administer implementation of the plan and the Board of Chosen Freeholders have employed the three permanent staff that worked on developing the Plan; 2) The EPA has recently announced the award of a $330,000 grant to assist the County in administering the plan for next year. Ocean County has obligated $250,000 to support the Barnegat Bay Estuary Program Office; 3) One of the partners is a nonprofit foundation which the County is supporting (Barnegat Bay Watershed and Estuary Foundation); 4) The Plan contains more than 70 Action Items to protect the Barnegat Bay watershed.

There is reason to celebrate in Morro Bay! At the eleventh hour, the Morro Bay National Estuary Program's CCMP was signed by Carol Browner. Given the final approval of our CCMP, we have begun two grant programs that will assist local agencies, organizations, non-profits and individuals with implementing over 60 Action Plans. The Mini-Grant Program will award up to $5,000 for smaller projects, including in-ground, public education and college level research projects. A second grant program, the Morro Bay Restoration Fund, distributes settlement monies received from a local power plant that can be used for in-ground projects such as habitat acquisitions, restoration work, and monitoring, etc., but can not be used for public education projects. Please call: (805) 772-3834 for more information.

Access www.inlandbays.org to see the new program logo designed for the Center for the Inland Bays, Inc. (Delaware Inland Bays Estuary Program). The staff selected the "line-drawing" of a Horseshoe Crab (Limulus polyphemus) to represent the Center because Delaware's Inland Bays provide vital breeding habitat for Mid-Atlantic horseshoe crabs. The logo was designed by Karin Grosz, an employee of the Sussex Conservation District, and was introduced to the Center's Board of Directors at their December meeting.

New Long Term Strategies Adopted for Puget Sound's Health: The Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team and Puget Sound Council adopted its 2000 Puget Sound Water Quality Management Plan which sets new state strategies for protecting, restoring and enhancing Puget Sound. The management plan is considered the state's framework for managing and protecting the Sound and for coordinating the roles and responsibilities of federal, state, tribal and local governments. The management plan was last updated in 1996. The 2000 Puget Sound Water Quality Management Plan is available on the Action Team's website http://www.wa.gov/puget_sound.

To distinguish the source of fecal pollution in fresh and marine waters of the Tillamook Bay Watershed, TBNEP is partnering with Oregon State University on a study that utilizes molecular markers from the
Bacteroides/Prevotella group of fecal anaerobic bacteria.  The method differs from existing methods of detecting fecal pollution in that it detects genetic marker sequences that are not only specific to fecal
bacteria, but are also specific to the host species that produced the feces, allowing discrimination among different potential sources. Furthermore, the method does not require isolating and growing the
indicator bacteria, and it is rapid and accurate. This study represents an exciting collaboration among research and education/extension programs to diagnose the sources of fecal pollution in the Tillamook Watershed and communicate the results to farmers, concerned citizens, and regulators. Contact Suzan Greenwood at info@tbnep.org for more information.

CONFERENCES/ WORKSHOPS/ SYMPOSIUMS

The Association of National Estuary Programs (ANEP) and the EPA are coordinating partners for the National NEP Meeting to be held in Washington D.C. in early March. If you would like information on this meeting, please contact Dawn Volk at drvolk@erols.com.

Mark your calendars -- this conference is one you won't want to miss. The Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team and co-sponsors will host the fifth Puget Sound Research Conference: The Puget Sound / Georgia Basin Ecosystem: Status, Stressors and the Road to Recovery on February 12 to 14, 2001 in Bellevue, Washington. The conference is packed with sessions reporting on environmental research important to the health of Puget Sound and the Georgia Basin. It's an excellent way to get to the bottom of the story and learn the latest science information available on Puget Sound, the Georgia Basin and its marine life. You can find more information about the conference on our website:
http://www.wa.gov/puget_sound/Publications/2001research/2001research.htm

San Francisco Estuary Project: Beyond The Drain - Sustaining Agriculture and Improving Water Quality in California's San Joaquin Valley: Tuesday, March 27, 2001; 8:30 am - 4:30 pm; Sacramento Convention Center, 1400 J Street, Sacramento, CA. In 1983, massive biological damage was discovered at Kesterson Wildlife Refuge as a result of selenium in subsurface drainage water. The discovery increased public awareness of the reality of San Joaquin Valley's salty soils and agriculture's urgent need to solve its drainage problems. Decades of studies and action programs followed. Now, nearly twenty years later, we take a fresh look at the efforts to improve the management of agricultural drainage, with a special emphasis on in-valley solutions. Contact Debbi Nichols at dln@rb2.swrcb.ca.gov for information.