Publications:
ANEP Update
September
2001
NEP
NEWS
In
recognition of National Estuaries Day, the Mass. Bays NEP
prepared and distributed a "Celebrate the Bays"
calendar of events happening throughout the 49-town/city coastal
region. Highlighted events included whale watches, river
cruises, birding trips, lighthouse tours and musical events
that encourage the public to "Get down to where the rivers
meet the Bays", and have some fun in their coastal area!
In conjunction with this, the MBP contributed to various regional
"volunteer appreciation" events and local governance
committee meetings to thank our volunteers for their invaluable
work in supporting the
Program's goals and initiatives.
The
Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program (APNEP)
is partnering with the National Estuarine Research Reserve
(NERR) in conducting a boat tour of the Rachel Carson component
of the NERR site in Beaufort, North Carolina on October 30th,
2001. Participants include APNEP Regional Councils and the
Coordinating Council members as well as media representatives.
The tour entitled: "Living Intertidally" focuses
on learning about intertial life and features hands-on opportunities.
Following the boat tour, a private archaeological update pertaining
to the artifacts recovered from Blackbeard's ship, the "Queen
Anne's Revenge" (sunk in Beaufort Inlet) will occur at
the NC Maritime Museum in Beaufort, NC.
The
San Juan Bay Estuary Program would like to introduce
its new website. The address is: http://www.estuario.org. Please visit their site to learn more
about the San Juan Bay NEP.
The
National Geographic film crew visited the Barataria-Terrebonne
National Estuary and other wetlands adjacent to the Mississippi
River to learn more about the problem of land loss and the
grass roots and regional efforts to address their critical
problem of coastal wetland loss. "This is the worst problem
we've seen and we have been around the world twice."
That was the sentiment in April when the National Geographic
film crew from England and Australia came to Louisiana to
film a segment focusing on Louisiana's coastal wetland loss
problem. The magnitude and complexity of the problem astounded
the crew. The program, "Earth Pulse", was aired on the National
Geographic Channel (Direct TV Channel 276) on September 29,
2001. It focused on how communities battle environmental problems
in their own backyards. For
more information please contact Sandra Helmuth at (504) 447-0868
or (800) 259-0869.
The Tampa
Bay Estuary Program and a host of partner organizations
have received a major grant of nearly $150,000 to assess why
seagrasses in some parts of Tampa Bay are not recovering despite
improvements in water quality in areas such as the western
shoreline of Old Tampa Bay, where some 1,368 acres of seagrasses disappeared
between 1996-1999. Specific
components of the research project include:
1) intensive water quality monitoring to determine
whether water clarity is significantly different in problem
areas; 2) intensive seagrass monitoring of reference and problem
sites to assess whether the type, density and abundance of
seagrasses differs from among those areas, and if the differences
are related to water quality; 3) analysis of historical maps
and photographs to determine whether gains and losses are
related to land use changes in problem areas; 4) use of a
sophisticated computer model to determine whether wave energy
is impairing seagrass growth, and whether creation of offshore
sandbars to blunt the impacts of those waves is a potential
solution; and 5) experimental seagrass plantings to assess
which transplant methods are most successful, and what specific
physical, chemical or biological factors limit the success
of those transplants.
The
2nd Annual Osprey Sprint Triathlon will be held October 6,
2001 to benefit the Maryland Coastal Bays Foundation. The sprint distance triathlon includes
a half-mile swim in Chincoteague Bay, a 15.2-mile bike course
and a 3.4-mile run on the roads surrounding the area. The
course meanders through the rural countryside of southern
Worcester County across from Assateague Island. Proceeds from
entrance fees and a matching fund contribution of up to $30,000
from the Bacardi Family Foundation will help raise money for
the Coastal Bays Foundation.
The foundation needs at least 50 volunteers to help
direct traffic, paint numbers on runners and give out water
and direct racers. Examples of Corporate donors for the fundraiser
are: Bacardi, Macky's Bayside Bar and Grill, The Mansion House,
Peninsula Bank, KCoast Surf Shop, WalMart, OC Fishing Center,
Captains Galley Restaurant, Coaches Diner and South Moon Under.
Last year the 187 registered participants helped make
this event the Foundation's most successful fundraiser, raising
some $24,000. This year the program expects around 400 competitors.
Money raised from the event pays for education programs and
water quality monitoring in the coastal bays.
The
Center for the Inland Bays (Delaware Inland Bays Estuary
Program) reports: 1) the Inland Bays Citizen Volunteer
Monitoring Program has expanded its efforts and now includes
a phytoplankton-monitoring component.
Volunteer monitors have sampled and identified a number
of Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) in Inland Bays waters including
Chattonella; and 2) the Inland Bays Tributary Action
Teams (TATs) have made a number of recommendations to the
Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental
Control (DNREC) concerning revised on-site sewage systems
regulations.
Indian
River Lagoon Program: In August 2001, the Smithsonian
Marine Station unveiled its Smithsonian Marine Ecosystems
Exhibit. Nestled on the shores of the Ft. Pierce Inlet, the
facility features a 3,000-gallon live display of a coral reef
ecosystem and several smaller displays depicting the remarkable
biodiversity of the lagoon, as well as offshore and near-shore
habitats. The hope
is that people will leave with a better understanding of how
these plants and animals live together and interact with one
another. This unique marine ecosystem exhibit will help the
Smithsonian Marine Station to fulfill its primary goal 'to
the increase and diffusion of knowledge of marine sciences
in Florida'," says Troy Rice, Director of the Indian River
Lagoon National Estuary Program. For more information call
(561) 462-FISH.
Santa
Monica Bay Restoration Project will provide nearly $4 Million
for Santa Monica Bay Cleanup and Education. What do an invasive non-native plant, tons
of garbage, and an educational center have in common? They
are the focus of 3 projects - out of a total of 16 - geared
toward cleaning up Santa Monica Bay that have received funding
from the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project (SMBRP). In March 2000, California voters
resoundingly approved Proposition 12, the "Safe Neighborhood
Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air and Coastal Protection Bond
Act of 2000" which earmarked $25 million for restoration of
Santa Monica Bay as outlined in the Santa Monica Bay Restoration
Plan. Approved by the California Coastal Conservancy, the
funds are awarded by the SMBRP, which reviewed 63 proposals
for the first round of projects. First-round funding totaled
$4 million. The second round of projects, which will get
underway shortly, will award another estimated $6 million
to support worthy projects. "These funds will usher in a new
era for Santa Monica Bay," said SMBRP Director Marianne Yamaguchi.
She added that monies from Proposition 12 will complement
additional new funding that is now available to California
coastal areas through the Clean Beaches Initiative (CBI).
The $34 million plan signed recently by Governor Gray
Davis will fund projects at heavily used beaches throughout
the state with the poorest water quality. Thanks to both Proposition 12 and the CBI,
Santa Monica Bay will soon be the recipient of $20 million
in projects that will help keep local beaches clean and improve
coastal water quality. "Ten million dollars in Prop. 12 funds
and another $10 million from the CBI will ensure that our
beautiful bay will continue to be a prized natural resource
and a dependable cornerstone of our regional economy for years
to come," said Yamaguchi.
MEETINGS
The ANEP/NEP/EPA Fall Meeting will be held November
7 - 10, 2001 in St. Pete Beach, Florida.
For a Registration form and other information please
e-mail drvolk@erols.com
or visit www.anep-usa.org
