Estuary Live 2006 September 29th

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Estuary Live 2006September 29th
Estuaries-Where Rivers Meet the Sea
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Whats the Main Thing?

• Estuaries are important and we need to protect
  them!

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What is This??

• Estuaries Live is the featured event of National
  Estuaries Day-a campaign to educate the public
  about estuaries and the need to protect them.
• Brought to you by NOAA (National oceanic and
  Atmospheric Administration), NERRS (National
  Estuarine Research Reserve System) EPA (US
  Environmental Protection Agency) and NEP
  (National Estuary Program)

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Who Are These Groups??

• NERRs-National Estuarine Research Reserve System
  is a network of 27 protected areas established
  for
• Research
• Water quality monitoring
• Education
• Stewardship (taking care of the land)
• They work with other groups to manage natural
  resources issues like
• Pollution
• Restoring animal habitats
• Invasive species

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Who Are These Groups??

• NEPs-National Estuary Program was established to
  improve the qulity of estuaries.
• They..
• Protect water supplies
• Protect shellfish, fish and wildlife
• Allow recreation activities
• Control pollution

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What Will We Do??

• Real-time field trip to the habitat of an estuary
• You will compare different estuaries around the
  country
• Have the opportunity to interact with research
  scientists, natural resource management
  professionals and education professors
• Understand estuarine ecology, social and economic
  principals

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Heres What Will Happen

• Naturalists from the program will take you on a
  journey through each unique ecosystem.
• Students can interact with the tour guides by
  emailing questions during the field trips.
• Most questions will be answered live during the
  broadcast.

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What Else Will We See?

• Plants and animals found in the local ecosystem
• Invasive species!
• Habitats and ecosystems in different areas
• Why the esturaries are important and how to
  protect them.

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What Will You Learn??

• Heres what you should learn
• Define estuary and basic estuary ecology
• Important functions of estuatries including
  benefits to people
• Factors that influence the health of estuaries
• Actions that you can take to improve health of
  estuaries
• Main differences between estuaries

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Did You Know??

• Estuaries are spawning grounds for at least 2/3
  of the nations fish and shellfish, they provide
  shelters for them.
• Estuaries act as buffers from coastal storms and
  flooding
• Estuaries help reduce pollution entering the
  ocean from the land.
• Estuaries produce more food than any other kind
  of land. It produces more food per acre than the
  richest farmland!