2013-2018 Coastal Conservation Plan Released
The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (NEP) has revised the 2002 Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CCMP) and is releasing the draft plan for public input and comment. Comments will be received through February 28, 2013.
The 2013 CCMP is a community road map for coastal environmental management and restoration, and a plan to arm citizens with the latest scientific knowledge related to our estuary to heighten their sense of ownership and ability to make a personal difference.
The original CCMP was completed and approved in April 2002. It included objectives of improving water quality, living resources, human uses, habitat management and education and citizen involvement. In total, the 2002 CCMP contained 29 specific objectives with 101 implementable steps on the “path to success.” As of September 30, 2012, of the 101 actions identified in the plan, 11 have been completed, 88 have been implemented on some level, and three are being reconsidered.
The new plan is based on scientific assessments of where the greatest stresses are on the services provided by our coast’s critical habitats and on what the community values most about coastal Alabama.
The NEP was created in 1995 with a mission to promote the wise stewardship of the water quality and living resources of the nationally significant Mobile Bay estuary. It is one of 28 federally authorized programs coordinated by the EPA.
