The Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Program - formerly known as the Albemarle-Pamlico Estuarine Study (APES) - was among the first National Estuary Programs established by the US Environmental Protection Agency in 1987. The mission of the APNEP is to identify, restore and protect the significant resources of the Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine system.
Unlike traditional regulatory approaches to environmental protection, the APNEP is a cooperative effort jointly sponsored by the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) and the U.S. EPA in cooperation with the Virginia Department on Conservation and Recreation (DCR). This unique program targets a broad range of issues and engages local communities in the process.
The program focuses on improving water quality in the region's estuaries, and on maintaining the integrity of the whole system -- its chemical, physical and biological properties, as well as its economic, recreational, and aesthetic values. Important components of the APNEP are the consideration of water quality, fisheries resources, land and water habitats, and the interaction of humans with the natural resources of the estuarine system.
The APNEP is designed to encourage local communities to take responsibility for managing the resources in their respective jurisdictions. The APNEP is made up of representatives from federal, state and local government agencies responsible for managing the region's resources, as well as members of the community -- citizens, business leaders, educators and researchers.
These stakeholders have worked together to identify problems in the region, develop specific actions to address those problems, and create and implement a formal management plan to restore and protect the estuary.
Focus of the APNEP
During its early years, the objective of the APNEP was to look at the Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine system as a whole, and to consider all aspects of its ecological integrity, in order to gain a better understanding of the complex relationship among all resources in the Albemarle-Pamlico region.
The APNEP has funded demonstration projects which illustrate new methods of protecting marshes, aquatic habitats, and private property from erosion; control systems that protect rivers and streams from stormwater runoff; composting techniques that turn waste from agriculture and crab processing into fertile soil; and new fishing gear that reduces the unintended capture of non-targeted species.
Other projects include opening historic spawning areas for shad and herring that had been blocked by dams and roads, and replenishing scallop beds that were decimated by the 1987 Red Tide.
Mission of the APNEP
Since 1987, research generated by the APNEP has been instrumental to the development of a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP). This plan is composed of recommendations for management strategies that address concerns in the Albemarle-Pamlico Sounds region and protect the system's estuarine resources.
The CCMP is the product of a collaborative, consensus-building effort involving numerous federal, state, and local agencies, interest groups, organizations and individuals. During the development of the CCMP, the APNEP was guided by a 95-member Management Conference that was divided into a policy committee, a technical committee, and citizen's advisory committees from the Albemarle-Pamlico sounds region.
The members of these committees represented government agencies, university researchers and the public. Public members represented a variety of interests: environmental groups, agriculture, forestry, developers, industry, fishermen and local elected officials, including representatives from Virginia.
The committees were responsible for identifying problems in the estuarine system, generating research where gaps in knowledge existed, increasing public awareness of environmental issues, and finding solutions to address those issues. As a result of these efforts, more is known about the Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine system than ever before.
The mission of the Management Conference was to identify the most pressing resource protection issues in the Albemarle-Pamlico estuary system and incorporate strategies funded with those issues into the CCMP. While some recommended management actions in the CCMP reflect the consensus of the numerous interests involved in the development process, other management actions reflect compromises. The recommended actions contained in the CCMP are believed to be the most effective, and the urgent actions necessary to protect the health of the Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine system.
APNEP Today
The APNEP is administered in the Office of Conservation and Community Affairs in the N.C. Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). Program staff are located in Raleigh, Washington and Greenville, and Suffolk, Va. Program staff work closely with the EPA's Office of Water to implement the many objective and key management actions contained in the APENP's Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan.