Estuaries, the coastal areas where rivers meet the ocean, are critically important for shorebirds and seabirds. Many of these special places along America's coasts are supported by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's National Estuary Program, which strengthens local community-led restoration of vital coastal habitat.
This successful bipartisan program is nearing its expiration date—but steps are being taken by Congress to reauthorize and expand it with the ESTUARIES (Enhancing Science, Treatment, and Upkeep of America's Resilient and Important Estuarine Systems) Act.
Take action and urge your U.S. Senators to support the National Estuary Program.
As a constituent who cares deeply about our natural heritage, I'm writing to express my strong support for S. 2063, the Enhancing Science, Treatment, and Upkeep of America's Resilient and Important Estuarine Systems Act (ESTUARIES) Act. The ESTUARIES Act will reauthorize the National Estuary Program (NEP), which strengthens local community-led resilience and restoration of vital coastal habitat for birds.
NEPs across the country provide critical nesting and sheltering habitat for sea and shorebirds, as well as habitat for fish nurseries and other species that depend on the special habitats found within estuaries. This program is a bipartisan decades-long success story, and should be reauthorized, funded at greater levels, and expanded to ensure enhanced protections for vulnerable birds into the future.
In addition to my support of the NEP program generally, I also support the House version that includes state estuary programs not yet recognized in the federal program, like the Mississippi Sound Estuary Program. The Mississippi Sound is a particularly vulnerable estuary, and one that provides both crucial habitat and positive economic impact to the nation, through fisheries and outdoor recreation. The Mississippi Sound and birds that rely on it will benefit greatly from being added to the federal NEP system.
I urge you to pass the ESTUARIES Act with higher funding levels and the House amendment. Thank you for your time and consideration.
