Publications:
ANEP Update

June 2002

NEP NEWS

A new assessment of the needs of coastal bays boaters reveals safety and environmental quality are key issues in the bays, especially from Bays Management Plan to better gauge the needs of on-the-water users.  Interviews of 1,096 boaters indicate that boaters and Jetskiers operating in an unsafe manner, intoxicated boaters, and overcrowding were high on the concern list of coastal bays skippers. Inexperienced boaters, strong currents, shoaling and docks in navigable waters also made the top priority list. The Ocean City Inlet and Route 50 bridge area were of particular concern. To combat the problems, the study recommends strengthening education efforts to nonresident boaters and assistance for Jetski rental operators to provide more and better training. It also calls for a comprehensive dredging plan for the bays and pinpoints the lower Isle of Wight Bay to the upper Sinepuxent. The study, conducted by Delaware Sea Grant Marine Advisory Service in cooperation with the Maryland Coastal Bays NEP and Maryland DNR, is part of initiatives called for in the Coastal need for additional access points to alleviate overcrowding at boat ramps. The study suggests additional law enforcement for "hot spots" is also needed.  In the environmental arena, two-thirds of boaters said they felt water quality was declining in the bays and only 8 percent felt it was improving. Fifty-five percent said they would support additional regulations to protect water quality, fish, crabs and shellfish. Fishing, crabbing, and cruising were three main reason boaters said they recreate in the coastal bays.  The Coastal Bays Program is producing a waterproof Boaters Guide to the Coastal Bays that will impart key safety and environmental information along with a comprehensive bay map. A dredging plan, more law enforcement, and 30-second commercials on safe boating are due out this summer.  

The Center for the Inland Bays (Delaware Inland Bays Estuary Program) hosted Delaware Gov. Ruth Ann Minner at the 2nd Annual Wade-In Event on Sunday, June 16, 2002 at Delaware Seashore State Park.  Wearing a pair of white sneakers, Gov. Minner and a host of dignitaries including Delaware Secretary of Agriculture Michael Scuse waded into Rehoboth Bay to establish this year's "Sneaker Index" at 39 inches.  The Sneaker Index is a low-tech method for determining water clarity or turbidity, similar to a Secchi disk measurement.  The CIB Board of Directors recently adopted the Sneaker Index as an official environmental indicator for Delaware's Inland Bays.  Measurements such as the Sneaker Index are essential to the CIB's efforts to involve, inform, and educate the public about environmental conditions.  

The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary is hosting our 6^th Annual Delaware Estuary Teachers Institute from July 8 to July 12, 2002.  This residential program provides K-12 teachers with the opportunity to explore and experience the geographic, scientific, economic, cultural, and historic resources of the Delaware Estuary.  Since its inception in 1996, approximately 140 teachers from across the Estuary region have participated in the Institute.  During the week, teachers will travel across the Estuary visiting various sites including, DeCou Orchards in South Jersey for a discussion on agricultural land preservation and the use of fertilizers and pesticides on farmland, and tour the Fairmount Water Works in Philadelphia - the heart of America's first major urban water supply system.  Graduate students from the University of Delaware's College of Marine Studies, in Lewes, Delaware, will also lead the teachers on a seining exercise in the Delaware Bay.  For more information, please call 1-800-445-4935.

More than 200 volunteers got "down and dirty" to help restore Tampa Bay at the Second Annual "Give A Day For The Bay" volunteer workday sponsored by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program on Saturday, May 11, 2002.  In just one morning, the volunteers:

Planted 2,500 sea oats at Fort DeSoto Park in Pinellas County;

Shoveled 14 tons of oyster shell into buckets to create oyster reefs at Green Key, and;

Planted 500 slash pines and saw palmettos at Terra Ceia State Aquatic Buffer Preserve.

Volunteers ranged in age from under 6 years to mid-60s. Several Boy Scout Troops participated, as did teenage girls attending a reunion weekend of the University of South Florida's Oceanography Camp for Girls. Boaters and landlubbers in Hillsborough installed an oyster reef at Green Key, the first Audubon bird nesting sanctuary in Tampa Bay. The reef will reduce erosion on the island, improve water quality and provide habitat for fish and shellfish.


Click on the above photo to see the larger scale versions.


Click on the above photo to see the larger scale versions.

The Barnegat Bay National Estuary Program, New Jersey, was notified by USEPA Headquarters, that the Final Barnegat Bay Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) was approved by Administrator Christie Whitman on May 15, 2002. Interestingly, in 1995 Christie Whitman, as Governor of New Jersey, nominated the Barnegat Bay for inclusion into the National Estuary Program. It is fitting that her initial support of the Barnegat Bay and its watershed has resulted in a long-term plan for its protection.  The BBEP Program Office, the USEPA, and the Governor's Office are jointly coordinating a signing ceremony in Ocean County. Both Christie Whitman and the current New Jersey Governor, James McGreevey are expected to attend. 

The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program (APNEP) is pleased to introduce its new director, Mr. Bill Crowell.  Bill Crowell, who began his new duties on June 3, 2002, comes to the APNEP from the NC Division of Coastal Management (DCM) where he served as a Senior Policy Analyst, formulating coastal and ocean policies and regulations.  Possessing undergraduate degrees in zoology and biological sciences from NC State University, (NCSU).  Bill also holds an MS degree in Resource Management and Administration from Antioch University (New Hampshire) where his major research focus was Southern Appalachian montane bogs.  Having worked with the New Hampshire Natural Heritage Inventory Program (he was involved with endangered species mapping), and the New Hampshire Nature Conservancy (he conducted conservation planning and wetland research), Bill also has been associated with the Nature Conservancy's Southeast Regional office and the National Park Service.   

In addition to hiring a new Director, the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program has undergone other changes as well.  At the beginning of June, the program transitioned from the Department of Environment and Natural Resources' (DENR) Division of Water Quality, to the Office of Conservation and Community Affairs within the Office of DENR's Secretary.   

New Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program (BTNEP) educational materials include the Tidal Graph Calendar, which runs from July 2002 through June 2003.  This calendar is a great asset for most of any fishing trip, and each month features a brief summary of a selected BTNEP project, priority problem, or action plan. Now in its final stages of production, the Oil Spill Prevention Manual: Invest Now or Pay Later, should be available for distribution by early September 2002.  A copy of the calendar will be sent to each NEP, as will the spill prevention manual when it is available.  BTNEP is also making plans for their annual fall festival, "La Fete d'Ecologie", which will be held on September 28, 2002. 

The Barataria-Terrebonne NEP and the Albemarle-Pamlico NEP, who is partnering with the Rachel Carson National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR-Beaufort, NC) and NOAA, will produce/broadcast in EstuaryLive! An interactive "real time" environmental education field experience, EstuaryLive! is transmitted via satellite over the Internet worldwide! Targeted at students in middle and high school classrooms, the technology involved allows environmental researchers and educators to interact with students who can literally sit at a computer and "take a field trip." Students e-mail questions and comments to the educators in the field that are simultaneously received and answered through the marvels of modern technology!  

MEETINGS & CONFERENCES

Coastal Zone '03 - Coastal Zone Management Through Time. The largest conference for the world's coastal resource management community will be held July 13 - 17, 2003 in Baltimore, Maryland.  Deadline for abstract submissions is September 16, 2002.   For more information, please visit www.csc.noaa.gov/cz2003