Water: Estuaries and Coastal Watersheds
NEP Habitat Plans
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NEP Communities Design Local Solutions for Restoring Habitat
Crew of five, installing filled rope 'sausage' for shore protection along boundary between mudflats and estuarine grasses.
At the 28 NEP Study Areas around the country, local stakeholders work together to identify and prioritize the problems in their estuaries. Each CCMP contains specific actions that address the whole range of environmental problems facing the estuary, including habitat loss and degradation.
These wide-ranging actions include: efforts to acquire or preserve open space; develop conservation easements for riparian buffer areas; restore or create habitats through revegetation programs; efforts to improve water quality through upgrades in wastewater treatment plants, improved stormwater and septic systems; monitoring and mapping of critical areas; and public outreach and education activities. All of these efforts are carried out through partnerships between federal, state, and local agencies with assistance from private and nonprofit sectors and citizens.
For hightlights of specific NEP efforts please see the National Estuary Program: Habitat Protection and Restoration book:
- Online Viewing Version (PDF) (100 pp, 56.4MB, About PDF)
- Print Version (PDF) (51 pp, 10.5MB, About PDF)
- To order free copies of this publication, simply call 800-490-9198 and request
the EPA document number provided.
Examples of NEP Habitat Plans
Visit Habitat Restoration Prioritization Framework 
to view an NEP Habitat Restoration Strategy from the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership.
View the The Land Conservation Plan for New Hampshire's Coastal Watersheds (PDF) (268 pp, 24.7MB, About PDF) to see an example of an NEP land conservation plan from the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership
View the Long Island Sound Habitat Restoration Initiative (PDF) (138 pp, 1.8MB, About PDF) to see an example of an NEP habitat restoration manual from the Long Island Sound Study
Target Ecosystem Characteristics (TECs) for the Hudson Raritan Estuary: Technical Guidance for Developing a Comprehensive Ecosystem Restoration Plan (2007) (PDF) (112 pp, 1.7MB, About PDF)
TECs are an important component of the overall habitat restoration planning effort in the harbor
To see information about each NEP's CCMP and their habitat goals, please visit their NEP home pages.
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