Protecting and Restoring the Bays & Estuaries of the Texas Coastal ...
Protecting and Restoring the Bays & Estuaries of the Texas Coastal Bend
Ray Allen Executive Director [email protected]
Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program Local non-profit 501(c)(3) Established in 1999 Non-regulatory, voluntary
partnership effort
Mission: implement Coastal
Bend Bays Plan
Coastal Bend Habitats • • • • • •
Open Water 275,000 acres Seagrass Beds 92,000 acres Coastal Marshes 113,000 acres Wind-Tidal Flats 21,400 acres Hard Substrate Reefs 4,000 acres Shoreline 13,000 miles
Coastal Bend Bays Plan Hundreds of volunteers, 4 years of work to put together a comprehensive plan that identifies priorities for the Coastal Bend. Priorities Public Access and Recreation Environmental Education Water Quality and Freshwater Inflow Habitat Protection and Restoration Fish and Wildlife Conservation Maritime Commerce and Dredging Monitoring & Research
CBBEP Efforts Invasive plant removal
Shoreline Protection
Environmental Education
Water quality research
Marsh Restoration
Study health of biological communities
Land acquisition and conservation
Freshwater inflows
Rookery Island Restoration
Serving the Community and the Environment Protect and restore 5oo,000+ acres of
critical habitat
Provide scientific and technical expertise
for decision makers
Conduct environmental research,
restoration, and protection projects based on current needs (Implementation Teams)
Partnership opportunities for local
governments, conservation groups, business and industry
Three key programs – Environmental
Education, Land Conservation, Coastal Bird Program
Education and Outreach Delta Discovery – K-12 Education Program 8,000 – 10,000 students a year to Nueces Delta Preserve Scheduled site visits and teacher workshops
Land Conservation and Stewardship Permanent protection of Native vegetation
valuable habitats Manage approximately 12,000 acres 10,500 acre Nueces Delta Preserve Brush management Prescribed burns
plantings Habitat restoration and creation Infrastructure planning Right of Way negotiation Mitigation projects
Coastal Bird Program Colonial Waterbird Management: increase nesting success
through predator control, planting vegetation, install nesting platforms, install informational signage. Migratory Bird Research: better understand the importance of the Coastal Bend in the Central Flyway by trapping and tagging species of concern.
Federal Funding Facts CBBEP is a part of the National Estuary Program, a program of the
U.S. EPA. There are 28 NEPs nationally.
Authorized by Section 320 of the Clean Water Act, reauthorized
on May 20, 2016.
National Estuary Programs are currently not on the ‘zero-out’ list
BUT EPA’s budget is recommended to be cut by 25%
FY17 Budget • At the CBBEP, U.S. EPA funding currently supports:
Court 1%
Local Partners 12%
• Salaries for 12 of 15 staff • Coastal Bird Program • Environmental Education Program • Habitat restoration projects
TCEQ 19%
Comp Grants 48%
EPA 20%
Leveraging The CBBEP is a national bargain
with a great local return on investment.
Our federal grant helps us attract
additional funding for projects that will benefit the bays and estuaries of the Coastal Bend.
For every federal dollar we received
from the EPA in FY2016, we were able to obtain an additional $6.7 dollars ($665K EPA leveraged $4,487,984)
Why now? It is early in the budget process, but
our friends and supporters need to understand the risk these proposed cuts to EPA would represent to the CBBEP.
Our ability to support the Coastal
Bend would be significantly impacted if NEP’s budget is reduced.
It is vital that our friends and
supporters express support for the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, and the National Estuary Program (NEP) to members of congress.
Contact Information (361) 336-0304 [email protected] [email protected]
Stay Connected www.cbbep.org
Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program CBBEP Coastal Bird Program Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program – Nueces Delta Preserve
Ray Allen Executive Director [email protected]
Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program Local non-profit 501(c)(3) Established in 1999 Non-regulatory, voluntary
partnership effort
Mission: implement Coastal
Bend Bays Plan
Coastal Bend Habitats • • • • • •
Open Water 275,000 acres Seagrass Beds 92,000 acres Coastal Marshes 113,000 acres Wind-Tidal Flats 21,400 acres Hard Substrate Reefs 4,000 acres Shoreline 13,000 miles
Coastal Bend Bays Plan Hundreds of volunteers, 4 years of work to put together a comprehensive plan that identifies priorities for the Coastal Bend. Priorities Public Access and Recreation Environmental Education Water Quality and Freshwater Inflow Habitat Protection and Restoration Fish and Wildlife Conservation Maritime Commerce and Dredging Monitoring & Research
CBBEP Efforts Invasive plant removal
Shoreline Protection
Environmental Education
Water quality research
Marsh Restoration
Study health of biological communities
Land acquisition and conservation
Freshwater inflows
Rookery Island Restoration
Serving the Community and the Environment Protect and restore 5oo,000+ acres of
critical habitat
Provide scientific and technical expertise
for decision makers
Conduct environmental research,
restoration, and protection projects based on current needs (Implementation Teams)
Partnership opportunities for local
governments, conservation groups, business and industry
Three key programs – Environmental
Education, Land Conservation, Coastal Bird Program
Education and Outreach Delta Discovery – K-12 Education Program 8,000 – 10,000 students a year to Nueces Delta Preserve Scheduled site visits and teacher workshops
Land Conservation and Stewardship Permanent protection of Native vegetation
valuable habitats Manage approximately 12,000 acres 10,500 acre Nueces Delta Preserve Brush management Prescribed burns
plantings Habitat restoration and creation Infrastructure planning Right of Way negotiation Mitigation projects
Coastal Bird Program Colonial Waterbird Management: increase nesting success
through predator control, planting vegetation, install nesting platforms, install informational signage. Migratory Bird Research: better understand the importance of the Coastal Bend in the Central Flyway by trapping and tagging species of concern.
Federal Funding Facts CBBEP is a part of the National Estuary Program, a program of the
U.S. EPA. There are 28 NEPs nationally.
Authorized by Section 320 of the Clean Water Act, reauthorized
on May 20, 2016.
National Estuary Programs are currently not on the ‘zero-out’ list
BUT EPA’s budget is recommended to be cut by 25%
FY17 Budget • At the CBBEP, U.S. EPA funding currently supports:
Court 1%
Local Partners 12%
• Salaries for 12 of 15 staff • Coastal Bird Program • Environmental Education Program • Habitat restoration projects
TCEQ 19%
Comp Grants 48%
EPA 20%
Leveraging The CBBEP is a national bargain
with a great local return on investment.
Our federal grant helps us attract
additional funding for projects that will benefit the bays and estuaries of the Coastal Bend.
For every federal dollar we received
from the EPA in FY2016, we were able to obtain an additional $6.7 dollars ($665K EPA leveraged $4,487,984)
Why now? It is early in the budget process, but
our friends and supporters need to understand the risk these proposed cuts to EPA would represent to the CBBEP.
Our ability to support the Coastal
Bend would be significantly impacted if NEP’s budget is reduced.
It is vital that our friends and
supporters express support for the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program, and the National Estuary Program (NEP) to members of congress.
Contact Information (361) 336-0304 [email protected] [email protected]
Stay Connected www.cbbep.org
Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program CBBEP Coastal Bird Program Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program – Nueces Delta Preserve
