National Estuarine Research Reserves Protect People & Places
36,000 Heroes
42 Million Data Points
Tracking water quality, habitat health, storm damage, and more every year
1.3+ Million Acres
protected, natural lands along the coast
Find Your Reserve
Somewhere in the 1.4+ million acres of mangroves, marshes, beaches, fields, and forests protected by the National Estuarine Research Reserve System there is a place for you. Visit your Reserve, enjoy the natural beauty it protects, and learn how it supports you, your community, and our coasts.
What’s Happening at Our Reserves?
Eel Monitoring Slips Over NJ Border
Young American eels travel more than 1,000 miles from the Sargasso Sea to coastal estuaries along the United States. When they reach the Hudson River, community members are waiting to count them.
Stay Current With NERRS News
At 30 sites in 25 coastal states and territories, National Estuarine Research Reserves work with partners like you to protect people and places of our nation’s coasts.
Together again, at last!
NERRds from 25 states and territories gathered in Seattle, Washington for our first in person annual meeting in three years! Although we persevered (and sometimes thrived) in the Zoom world, there’s nothing like the real thing.
Talk NERRdy to Me: Dr. Sylvia Yang
This month, NERRA’s correspondent-on-the-loose Nik Charov chatted with Dr. Sylvia Yang, research coordinator at the Padilla Bay Reserve. They talked about the complexities of science, why estuaries are more cheese than crab, and what mysteries await NERRds traveling to the Annual Meeting…
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NERRA’S MISSION
Reserves and their friends groups rely on NERRA to help enhance successful programs, strengthen the network, and enable reserves to better address challenges to our nation’s estuaries, coasts, and communities. NERRA communicates the funding needs and priorities of Reserves to Congress and federal agencies and educates the general public about the importance of estuaries and coasts.