Publications:
ANEP Update
February
2002
LEGISLATIVE
AFFAIRS
On February
4, 2002, the Bush Administration transmitted the FY03 President's
Budget to Congress. The total FY03 budget request for the
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is $7.6 billion, which
is $300 million more than was requested by President Bush
last year, but about $300 million less than what Congress
appropriated in FY02. The FY03 request for the NEPs is $18.75
million, compared to the FY02 request of $17.1 million, and
the FY02 enacted level of $22.55 million.
The
President is also requesting $21 million for a new Targeted
Watersheds Project. This program will provide grants to "targeted
watersheds" to be chosen in consultation with all watershed
stakeholders, and will emphasize the resource's value, likelihood
of environmental success, strong state and local government
support, among other factors.
The
Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the House
Water Resources and Environment Subcommittee held hearings
on February 13th and 14th, respectively,
on the FY03 budget submission. The House and Senate Appropriations
Committees plan to begin hearings in mid-April. Then, each
Appropriations Committee will hold mark-ups before the bills
go to the House and Senate floors for action.
Finally,
Carrie Jelsma has joined Rich Innes of Conservation Strategies,
LLC to assist ANEP. Previously, Carrie worked on the NEP and
other Clean Water Act programs on the House Water Resources
and Environment Subcommittee, as well as on EPA budget issues
at the U.S. Office of Management and Budget. She can be reached
at 301-493-0003 or at CarrieJelsma@aol.com.
NEP
NEWS
1)
Barataria-Terrebonne NEP is taking advantage of its enhanced
relationship with it new administrative agent, LUMCON (Louisiana
University Marine Consortium) by partnering on several workshops
for educators. These include Project STEPS (Students and Teachers
as Educational Partners in Science) and WETMAAP (Wetlands
Education for Teachers using Maps and Aerial Photography).
The STEPS project will highlight the phytoplankton work of
LUMCON biologist Dr. Quay Dortch, and focus on teaching student/teacher
pairs about the issue of nutrient over enrichment in the estuary.
With the aid of maps and aerial photographs, WETMAAP will
utilize the LUMCON area as a study site for investigating
changes over time.
2) While
the Barataria-Terrebonne NEP office is slowly but surely
recovering from damage sustained in the summer flooding, the
staff has maintained its open door policy to visitors wanting
to learn more about program and the area. Recently, BTNEP
Program staff conducted a tour of Bayou Lafourche and its
environs for the American Conference of Environmental Law
Professors. Highlights of the trip included visits to the
USDA Plant Materials Center in Galliano and Port Fourchon.
Discussion topics centered on land rights issues related to
coastal restoration efforts, shoreline ownership issues, and
the need for additional fresh water and sediment into Bayou
Lafourche and the coast. In addition, BTNEP and CWPPRA staff
conducted a tour of Bayou Lafourche and area coastal restoration
projects for KNOE- TV of Monroe, LA. KNOE aired a series of
3-minute spots on Louisiana's coastal land loss crisis in
early February.
Thousands
of dollars will help communities preserve and restore the
health of Puget Sound. The Puget Sound Water Quality
Action Team recently awarded nearly $400,000 in 12 contracts
to environmental organizations, science centers, businesses,
local governments, universities and other organizations dedicated
to protecting water quality. The organizations will
use the money to raise public awareness of environmental issues
in Puget Sound and engage them in activities to preserve and
restore the Sound. The contracts are part of the Public
Involvement and Education (PIE) program that the Action Team
has administered for 14 years. During the next two years
the projects will address stormwater runoff, habitat loss,
and soil problems that cause erosion, as well as actions that
recreational marinas can take to better protect the Sound.
In January
2002, the Delaware Estuary Program (DELEP) hosted an
Indicators and Monitoring Workshop, in Philadelphia,
to assist the Program in developing a list of measurable goals
and indicators to track and measure the health of the Delaware
Estuary. Using the visions, goals, and objectives that were
already identified in the Delaware Estuary Program's Comprehensive
Conservation and Management Plan, the challenge during the
workshop was to: 1) Discuss and finalize an appropriate list
of measurable goals and indicators for the DELEP Monitoring
Program; and 2) Collect information on the appropriate level
of monitoring for each indicator. The results from the workshop
will help to focus DELEP's monitoring efforts and determine
funding levels for monitoring, including how and where they
will be allocated over the next several years. The process
also helped to identify critical knowledge gaps and offered
the opportunity to discuss potential partnerships to fill
these gaps.
1)
Lisa Beever, PhD will be the Charlotte Harbor
NEP's new director as of March 6, 2002. For the past six
years Ms. Beever has been the director of the Charlotte County-Punta
Gorda Metropolitan Planning Organization. During her tenure
the MPO won national awards in transportation planning and
the environment. Prior to that she worked for Lee County implementation
policies of the Comprehensive Plan Conservation and Coastal
Management Element. (Lee and Charlotte counties are two of
the eight counties in the Charlotte Harbor NEP study area.)
She received a Masters of Landscape Architecture with a natural
resource management concentration and a PhD in Urban and Regional
Planning.
2) The
Charlotte Harbor NEP held a successful three-day Charlotte
Harbor Watershed Summit on February 7-9, 2002. A
technical symposium was held Thursday and Friday with sessions
focused on water quality, hydrology/minimum flows and levels,
fish and wildlife research and restoration activities. A public
conference was held on Saturday. The program's 27-minute program
video was premiered in the morning, and overviews on land
uses, wildlife and water issues were provided by experts.
Approximately 350 people registered with about 180 in attendance
each day.
This
past year, the Sarasota Bay community completed six
artificial reefs and four wetland restoration projects - and
now has 51 projects in the pipeline to create habitat; this
combined with local efforts to reduce nitrogen pollution from
wastewater (increasing sea grass coverage) has dramatically
changed the environmental quality of Sarasota Bay. The SBNEP
is also involved in re-evaluating the current methodology
being used in Florida for calculating sea grass habitat recovery/decline.
Although Sarasota Bay has dramatically improved and sea grass
coverage has increased significantly, it is not indicated
in the sea grass data due to the methodology of calculating
change. In fact, the data shows a 10% decline since 1996;
an alternative methodology shows a 10% increase using the
same data-a 20% difference overall.
CONFERENCES
& MEETINGS
This
autumn, the New York/New Jersey Harbor Estuary Program
Habitat Workgroup will sponsor a two-day National Estuary
Program conference focusing on ecological sustainability,
research, restoration and habitat protection at the American
Museum of Natural History. This conference will include representatives
from other Estuary Programs to share program innovations that
focus on land acquisition, restoration and monitoring and
preservation around the country. It will provide a venue to
compare the successes and challenges of reaching ultimate
goals of ecological protection, restoration, and ecosystem
health. Many topics covered in the NY/NJ HEP HWG 2001 Status
Report will be part of the conference's agenda. They will
review: 1) habitat restoration, monitoring and research progress,
funding and practice; 2) parklands' acquisition methodologies
and cost-effective alternatives to land conservation; 3) zoning
mechanisms and creative programs for habitat protection; 4)
methods of quantifying the economic value of wetlands; 5)
different types of creative landscape buffers and their significance.
For more information or if you have ideas for the conference,
please contact Robert Nyman, HEP Director, US EPA Region II
at (212) 637-3809 or nyman.robert@epa.gov.
