State of the Estuary

 

To get your free copy of the 2008 “State of the Estuary Report,” please call (800) 445-4935 or click here (PDF file).
The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary released its “State of the Estuary Report” (PDF file) in July of 2008 following two years of collaboration among environmental scientists in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.  The purpose of this 36-page assessment is to provide readers with insight into the status and trends of select natural resources in the Delaware Estuary’s watershed, home to approximately 6.4 million people.

According to the report, the state of the Delaware Estuary is mixed.  Some environmental conditions have seen dramatic improvements during recent decades, while others are becoming increasingly degraded.

To prepare this report, the Partnership worked closely with the Delaware River Basin Commission, state and federal agencies, universities, and its 21-member Science and Technical Advisory Committee to share data and select 26 key “indicators.”  An indicator is a measure used to gauge environmental conditions, examples of which range from land use and wetlands to bald eagles and horseshoe crabs.  Each indicator was carefully chosen based on the data available and its ability to help readers understand current conditions and future needs.

The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary first issued a “State of the Estuary Report” in 2002.  This information, together with its most recent report, is being used to track the progress being made toward the implementation of the nonprofit’s long-term “Delaware Estuary Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan,” created in 1996.

Tentatively, the next “State of the Estuary Report” is planned to be completed in 2011.  For more information on the “State of the Estuary Report”, and ongoing support activities, please contact Dr. Danielle Kreeger at (800) 445-4935, extension 104, or DKreeger@DelawareEstuary.org.