II. SCOPE OF PROJECT

The study area includes three priority estuaries under the EPA's National Estuary Program: Narragansett Bay, Buzzards Bay and Long Island Sound. Each of these Estuaries of National Significance is currently being assessed by a cooperative effort involving Federal, State, interstate and local agencies, as well as research institutions, educational organizations and citizens' groups. Peconic Bay, at the eastern end of Long Island (NY) in the study area, is in the process of being added to this list of priority estuaries by the EPA. This area is also of considerable interest to the State of New York and The Nature Conservancy as a potential bioreserve. (Briefly, The Nature Conservancy defines a bioreserve as an area having an integrated landscape with naturally functioning ecological processes, and containing outstanding examples of ecosystems, natural communities, and species which are endangered or inadequately protected.)

The Fish and Wildlife Service temporarily established the Northeast Estuary Office in Charlestown, Rhode Island, in January 1990, to conduct and direct the study. Collocated with the Ninigret National Wildlife Refuge, this office is part of the Service's Northeast Coastal and Estuary Program in Region 5. The Service is proposing to establish the office as a permanent station in FY 1992 to implement the study and to participate in the ongoing EPA National Estuary Programs.

The project has worked closely with The Nature Conservancy's Northeast Regional Office and State chapters, and Natural Heritage Programs for the States of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York. Other essential cooperators have included the various State natural resource agencies and universities in the four-state area and the following Federal agencies: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Marine Fisheries Service, National Ocean Service, National Park Service and various divisions, research centers and programs within the Fish and Wildlife Service. The National Audubon Society provided substantial technical assistance regarding certain geographical areas.

The FY 90 House Appropriations Committee language originally directed the Service to complete the present study and submit a final report by March 1990. At the request of the Service the Committee agreed to extend the due date for the final report to March 1991. An interim report was prepared and submitted to the Congress on July 25, 1990, that provided summary information on the status of the project to date as well as a preliminary identification and description of regionally significant fish, wildlife and plant habitats in need of protection. Subsequent to that, the Service requested and received from Congress an additional three-month extension of the report's due date.

Return to table of contents