The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program (APNEP) in North Carolina was initiated in 1987 as part of the first round of estuaries to be recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program.
The program is characterized by a cooperative federal-state approach. The EPA Office of Water and the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources serve as the primary program collaborators. The program is comprised of a Policy Board, Citizens Advisory Committee, Science and Technical Advisory Committee, Management Advisory Committee, and program staff.
APNEP accomplishes its conservation goals by partnering with other entities, coordinating regional initiatives, conducting demonstration and ecological restoration projects, assessing and monitoring the habitat, and conducting outreach to stakeholder groups.
Without legal authority over the resource, APNEP experiences difficulties influencing partner agencies that have their own mandates and responsibilities.
Variable participant engagement, differences between social and biologic time scales, and organizational shuffling also have complicated the management effort. Still, APNEP has created synergies in activity that would not exist without the program.
Mission
The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program defines its mission as “to identify, restore and protect the significant resources of the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine System.”
In 1994, the Albemarle-Pamlico Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) was published as a blueprint to guide future decisions and actions while addressing a wide range of environmental protection issues.
Objectives
The CCMP includes five management plans that address key regional goals:
Lead Organizations
Federal
State
Key Parties
Many units of the North Carolina Department of Natural Resources support the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program, along with other state offices, federal agencies, academic partners and non-governmental organizations, including:
North Carolina Department of Natural Resources
Additional State of North Carolina Entities
Virginia
Federal
Academic
NGO
The following committees guide the implementation of the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan:
These bodies include representatives from federal, state and local government agencies that are responsible for managing the area’s resources. They also include business leaders, educators, researchers and other community members.
Congress established the National Estuary Program in 1987 to improve the quality of estuaries of national significance. That same year the Albemarle-Pamlico system was designated as an estuary of national significance, recognizing its role in supporting commercial and recreational fisheries along the Atlantic coast.
The Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine system is economically important to the region. Commercial fishing, tourism, recreation, and resort development support the local and regional economy. The sound provides food, jobs, and a medium for transportation for the people who live in the area.
By the late 1980s, the declining health of the ecosystem was apparent in measures of key indicators.
The Ecosystem
The Albemarle-Pamlico Sound is the second largest estuarine system in the continental United States. The Chowan, Roanoke, Pasquotank, Tar-Pamlico, and Neuse Rivers flow into the Albemarle-Pamlico Sound.
The region features a variety of habitat types, including pocosin wetlands, pine savannahs, hardwood swamp forests, bald cypress swamps, salt marshes, brackish marshes, freshwater marshes, and beds of submerged aquatic vegetation.
The varied conditions promote biodiversity. More than 200 animal species and 300 plant species have been recorded in the watershed. The National Audubon Society has designated approximately one million acres in the region as an Important Bird Area.
The estuarine system provides nursery areas for aquatic species that are important to more than 75 species of fish and shellfish. Remarkably, more than 70 percent of the commercially or recreationally valuable fish species of the Atlantic seaboard rely on the Albemarle-Pamlico system for some portion of their life cycle.
Threats
Mounting stresses endanger the social and ecological vitality of the system, including:
The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program uses a variety of strategies to maintain and protect the natural resources of the ecosystem, including:
Scientific and technological issues have played major roles in the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program (APNEP). A Science and Technology Initiative serves “to facilitate the establishment of an environmental information and decision support system relevant to those who influence local, state, and federal government actions within the Albemarle-Pamlico Region and who assess their implications.”
Assessment Objectives
The assessment process has the following objectives:
As part of its assessment process, APNEP has developed a Status and Trends Report; Biological and Chemical Assessments of Sediment Collected from Eleven Locations in Pamlico Sound; Evaluation of the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine Study Area Utilizing Population, Land Use and Water Quality Information; and the Chowan River Assessment, North Carolina: Riparian Shoreline Assessment Report.
Monitoring and Evaluation
The Albermarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program (APNEP) provides a “Directory of Monitoring Information Sources,” which is characterized by a user-friendly interface that allows navigation of monitoring data sets that are organized by river basin and sound. After selecting a location, a page loads that includes a narrative of existing monitoring efforts. This allows viewers to see the work that has been done in each region.
APNEP is currently developing an Indicator and Monitoring Plan to promote adaptive and informed management within the Albemarle-Pamlico region. Indicators were identified for six thematic areas:
Input to Management Decisions
The Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee produces one- to two-page Science and Technical Papers to promote scientific communication and outreach.
Ecosystem Changes
A 2007 review by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s National Coastal Assessment showed encouraging trends for the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuary.
The report concluded, “The overall condition of the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine Complex is rated good to fair. Data collected by the National Coastal Assessment and APNEP partners indicate that the complex is in good condition with respect to most indicators of estuarine health; however, factors such as chlorophyll a, dissolved oxygen, and sediment quality may signal declining health, especially in some tributary river areas.”
The upcoming revision of the Status and Trends Report is anticipated to provide greater insight into ecological impacts. Anecdotally, the number of fish kills has declined and nutrient inputs have been reduced. A statewide moratorium was imposed on the river herring fishery. It is unclear how much influence APNEP had on these outcomes.
Monitoring and Assessment
Following the extensive research of the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuary Study in the late 1980s, researchers produced a substantial body of knowledge.
Through the process to draft the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan, scientists reported an increased understanding of how to influence decision-making in the future.
APNEP’s early investment in geographic information systems facilitated ecosystem monitoring. The current investment in developing ecosystem indicators and a Monitoring Plan will further enable informed program review.
Restoration Activities & Changes in BMPs
By 2007, APNEP contributed to the restoration of more than 1,100 miles of fish habitat through the removal of three dams. Another two miles of riparian habitat along the Roanoke River was restored through livestock fencing and river- bank-stabilization practices.
Prior to 2001, APNEP was heavily involved in the promotion of gear to reduce bycatch from the fishery and reduce fisheries impacts.
Community Engagement and Education
Community engagement and education efforts are difficult to measure. Before the program was developed, public participation in coastal policy in North Carolina was limited to hearings on specific proposals and periodic land use planning efforts. The development of the Citizen Advisory Committees provided a new way for members of the public to communicate concerns directly to the managers of the resource. The committees also increased the desire of resource managers to involve citizens.
APNEP has continued to raise community awareness and education levels by using listening sessions, building partnerships, and conducting demonstration projects.
Coordination and Networking
APNEP enables partners to work towards common goals. In the past, each division might work on a small aspect of a larger project. Though it is not clear what level of coordination would be occurring without the APNEP, the program enables stakeholders to reduce overlap and redundancy. These conversations allow agencies to articulate their needs and work from a common set of information.
The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program (APNEP) in North Carolina has been facilitated by the following factors:
The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program (APNEP) in North Carolina has encountered the following challenges:
People involved in the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program (APNEP) have learned:
Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program: http://www.apnep.org/