FOREWORD 



A Primer for Establishing and Managing Estuary Projects is 

 designed to help guide estuary and other coastal area programs 

 as they grapple with the management of estuarine and coastal 

 resources. As more and more of our nation's people move toward 

 our coastlines, these areas experience increasing stress. Bur- 

 dened with the demands of various interests — agriculture, recrea- 

 tion, conservation, fishing, manufacturing, mining — state and local 

 decision makers have sought new ways to better manage coastal 

 area resources. The National Estuary Program is attempting, 

 through this document and other management tools, to support 

 these state and local efforts. 



This Primer is based on water management achievements in the 

 Great Lakes, Chesapeake Bay, and Puget Sound, as well as on 

 the cumulative experiences of water quality management efforts 

 over two decades. Estuary program managers are encouraged to 

 examine these earlier endeavors and review the water manage- 

 ment plans developed by them. While this Primer can be used as 

 a blueprint for estuary program management, it is not the only 

 acceptable approach to estuarine management. The bottom line is 

 that we restore our estuaries as we comply with the requirements 

 of the laws governing them. 



The Primer is a guidance tool which has evolved over several 

 years. It represents the thoughts and ideas of many federal and 

 state water quality program managers and others engaged in 

 environmental management. But it is not the last word. It is our good 

 fortune that we continue to learn. 



The process described in this book is still evolving. Moreover, the 

 steps in this process do not always follow one after another. Steps 

 are often retraced, inverted, or overlapped. 



There are two certainties, however. One is that the affected 

 governments, institutions, and people need to be integral to each 

 step in the estuary management process and lend support. The 

 other is that funding must be secured for each management action. 

 Funding options for both short- and long-term activities will need to 

 be considered; firm commitments will have to be made if our 

 estuaries are to be restored. 



Tudor T. Davies, Director 



Office of (Marine and Estuarine Protection 



United States Environmental Protection Agency 



July 30, 1989 



