The area that drains the lower Delaware River and Estuary is comprised of a wide variety of habitats. Habitat can be thought of as the life requirements of a species in terms of food, shelter, water and space. Also, Webster’s Dictionary defines habitat as "The place or environment where a plant or animal naturally occurs." Habitats may be small, well-defined areas, such as a nesting and feeding ground for a pair of ospreys, or they could encompass large regions if a species is migratory. There are thousands of plants and animals that depend upon the many habitats in the Estuary for their survival. Some species like oysters, songbirds and horseshoe crabs have even been profiled as indicators of the Delaware Estuary’s overall health. Others live out their lives in relative obscurity. All are important.
The Partnership’s habitat strategy takes its cue from the overarching goal that is stipulated in the Estuary’s Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan, which is “To provide for the restoration of living resources of the Delaware Estuary and to protect their habitats and ecological relationships for future generations.” Rather than take a single-species approach, however, the strategy instead considers the broad mosaic of natural communities that together comprise the Estuary's study area, and the ecological functions that contribute to the overall health of the region. It is a comprehensive way of looking at habitats and the environment, and one that strives to integrate biological management, physical processes and ecological relationships. To this end, the Partnership works with agencies and organizations in the tri-state area to focus its efforts on protecting habitat through growth management, land acquisition and ecological restoration.
To see examples of the habitat the Partnership is working to protect and enhance, please visit the regional Webcams below:
