All News Releases By Date

SATURDAY, OCTOBER 3 IS NATIONAL ESTUARIES DAY

Release Date: 10/2/1998
Contact Information: Bonnie Lomax (215) 814-5542 October 2, 1998

PHILADELPHIA - The mid-Atlantic Office of the Environmental Protection Agency urges the public to appreciate our national estuaries this weekend.  EPA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have jointly designated Saturday, October 3 as National Estuaries Day, with the theme "Estuaries -- Gateways to the Ocean."

The Maryland Coastal Bays Program and the Assateague Coastal Trust are sponsoring a trip aboard the pontoon boat Discovery.  The trip leaving at 12:30 p.m. from Ocean City will feature Dr. Thomas W. Jones, Dean of the Henson School of Science and Technology, and Marc Koenings, Superintendent of the Assateague Island National Seashore.  The speakers will share their expertise on the ecology of the area and relevant issues concerning Assateague Island and Maryland’s coastal bays.  For more information, contact the Assateague Coastal Trust at (410) 629-1538 or Maryland Coastal Bays Program at (410) -213-2297.  

Estuaries are transitional coastal areas where freshwater from upland streams and rivers mixes with the sea water from the ocean.  They are among the most productive ecosystems in the world.  More than 50 percent, 110 million Americans live in coastal areas and an estimated 180 million tourists travel to  these communities each year.  These environmentally critical areas serve as nursery grounds for two-thirds of the nation’s fish and shellfish; provide habitat, resting and feeding sites for thousands of birds and other wildlife; buffer against storms; and filter pollutants.

Under its National Estuary Program, EPA is working with state and local government, environmental and business groups, and citizens to protect and restore living resources and improve water quality of 28 nationally significant estuaries around the country. For more information on National Estuaries Day, the National Estuary Program and on estuaries in general, call EPA’s Coastal Management Branch at 202-260-6502 or visit our web site at https://www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries/nep.html.  

#


99-02