Publications:
ANEP Update

May 2001

NEP NEWS 

NH Estuaries Project News 1) In April 2001, NHEP submitted its CCMP package to Washington for final approval. NHEP has also filled two new staff positions. Phil Trowbridge was hired as the Coastal Watershed Scientist in April.  He is overseeing the implementation of the NHEP monitoring program.  Phil will be producing a Baseline Conditions Report on NH's estuaries in September. Sally Soule was hired as the NHEP Program Assistant/Outreach Coordinator. She will start in July.

2) Smart Growth Grant Received - NHEP, in partnership with the NH Coastal Program, has received a $20,000 grant from the Coastal Services Center to pilot its NEMO-adapted program at a sub-watershed level. New Hampshire's program is implemented by a consortium of natural resource organizations, called the Natural Resource Outreach Coalition (NROC).  NROC coordinates natural resource education and
technical assistance for municipalities within the coastal watershed.  The education program, entitled "Dealing With Growth," illustrates the linkages between land use change, increasing impervious surfaces, water quality and quantity, and habitat degradation.  The goal is to help municipalities turn education into action by introducing a range of tools that will protect natural resources and quality of life, and minimize the impacts of growth. NROC assists communities develop and implement smart growth work plans. 

The Sarasota Bay National Estuary Program's first 5K run," A Clear View of the Bay 5K," was a huge success! There were 252 runners participating, the youngest being five years old and the oldest in his 80s.

The run, designed to raise public awareness about Sarasota Bay and related environmental issues, kicked off shortly after 7:30 a.m. Saturday, May 12, at Ken Thompson Park. The runners had a perfect spring day and a beautiful view of Sarasota Bay as they ran south to St. Armand's Circle, then around the Circle and back to Ken Thompson Park. Many of the runners bragged of making their personal best times, no doubt inspired by the beauty of the bay.  After the race, all gathered for the awards ceremony and enjoyed bagels, water and fresh fruit donated by Publix. City Commissioner Richard Martin and Executive Director Mark Alderson presented the awards, while WWSB Chief Meteorologist Bob Harrigan acted as celebrity host. Many people expressed interest in learning more about SBNEP and Sarasota Bay and took our State of the Bay and other educational materials home with them.   

The Maryland Coastal Bays Foundation offered a boat tour of the coastal bays to celebrate Earth Day on Saturday, April 21. The two-hour-long cruise aboard the Discovery allowed passengers to explore the coastal bays behind Assateague with naturalists who discussed bay ecology and showcase live critters that call the estuary home. Coastal Bays staff, Dave Blazer and Dave Wilson, also discussed program goals and identified new watershed protection strategies taking place in the bays behind Ocean City and Assateague in 2001. Bird, fish, crab, and seagrass protection work, fishery management, and forest and wetland preservation were among the topics.  The Discovery donated more than half of the proceeds from the $15 tickets to the Coastal Bays Foundation.  Trips on the Discovery are designed to impart causes and solutions to some of the problems facing Assawoman, Isle of Wight, Sinepuxent, and Chincoteague bays. The cruise took place in Isle of Wight, Sinepuxent and possibly Chincoteague bay.  For more information, please call Dave Wilson at (410) 213-BAYS. 

Upcoming Funding Opportunity: The Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team's 2001 Public Involvement and Education (PIE) Fund Request for Proposals (RFP) will be available in July 2001, pending legislative appropriation of 2001-2003 funds. The PIE Fund supports public involvement and education projects aimed at protecting and improving Puget Sound's water quality and marine resources. Any Washington State resident, business, organization, tribal or local government, school or educator may apply. Visit the Action Team web site http://www.wa.gov/puget_sound where you can click on the PIE logo for a direct link to more information about the PIE Fund or call 1-800-54-SOUND to request a printed copy of the RFP or to ask questions about the program.  

The Center for the Inland Bays (Delaware Inland Bays Estuary Program) reports the following highlights:

1)   The initial phase of the Oyster Demonstration Project has been completed.  More than 250 cubic yards of clamshell was deployed in the waters of Indian River Bay near the Center's James Farm Ecological Preserve.  The Center expects to transfer more than one-half million juvenile oysters to this artificial reef sometime in mid-June.

2)  An Open House event was held for the first time at the James Farm Ecological Preserve.  Activities included ocean kayaking demonstrations, guided nature walks, a birds of prey exhibit, nautical music, and food/drink for everyone.

3) Mr. Michael Scuse has been appointed Delaware's Secretary of Agriculture by Governor Ruth Ann Minner; Mr. Scuse became our newest member of the Board of Directors.

4)  Richard Shoemaker, M.D., recently tested Center for the Inland Bays staff and associates for low level exposure to the toxic dinoflagellate, Pfiesteria sp.  Dr. Shoemaker is a family physician practicing in Pocomoke, Maryland and is considered to be an authority on Pfiesteria-induced human health syndromes.

The Tillamook Estuaries Partnership, in partnership with local watershed councils, has recently acquired a life-sized Septic Tank Model for use in water quality education.  The Tillamook Bay region, known for it's large dairy industry and relatively high number of rural residential septic tanks, has a significant number of water bodies listed for high bacteria by the state Department of Environmental Quality.  Since results from the DNA genetic marker study - described in the January 2001 ANEP UPDATE - won't be final for at least a couple of years, TBNEP is doing everything it can to alert residents to the various sources of bacterial contamination in their own back yards.  The model was recently used at a local agricultural festival attended by over 2000 area children and adults. People of all sizes can walk through the model and read about how the entire system works, plus learn some actions they can take to better care for their own septic system.

CONFERENCES/ WORKSHOPS/ SYMPOSIUMS

The Puget Sound Water Quality Action Team is co-sponsoring the region's first major conference on innovative land use and stormwater management techniques known as low impact development practices. The Low Impact Development in Puget Sound Conference takes place June 5-6, 2001 at the Hilton Seattle Airport and Conference Center in SeaTac, Washington. At the conference, participants will explore new construction and stormwater management techniques that emphasize the preservation and use of vegetation and other natural features on development sites to reduce runoff and improve infiltration. For more information visit the Action Team's website at: http://www.wa.gov/puget_sound/

Mass. Bays NEP - This Spring, Salem Sound 2000 will host a half-day training for volunteers in the Adopt-a-Tidepool program.  Volunteers will visit several local tidepools and become familiar with the resident organisms.  Once they are trained, the volunteers will work with Salem Sound 2000 staff to survey a specified tidepool four times a year, once each season, to identify and count the animals and plants living in their tidepool.  Members will watch for "invasive species", species that have been introduced from a foreign environment, such as the Japanese shore crab and green fleece algae.  This type of "snapshot" survey methodology will allow the tracking of changes in the tidepools by season and over the next several years.