Bringing Science Downtown
“Why is the ocean salty?” “Why do pigeons bob their heads when they walk?” “Can crows remember faces?” These are just a few of the questions that have popped up on the San Francisco Bay Reserve’s nature walks with Downtown Streets Team.
Updates on Hurricane Ian
Our hearts are with the communities in Florida currently impacted by Hurricane Ian.
DC Download: September 2022
Thank you to everyone who made National Estuaries Week such a success! Your enthusiasm was reflected in the House and the Senate, which passed National Estuaries Week resolutions this month.
Aquatic Invasive Species Task Force
The round goby, an invasive fish originally from Central Eurasia, has been found not too far from the Hudson River Reserve—after making its way from the Great Lakes, across the Erie Canal, and down the Mohawk River.
Spreading the Word on Seagrass
Most people don’t know anything about these ecosystem superstars that grow on the bottoms of coastal waters, even though they support food security, mitigate climate change, promote biodiversity, and own the title of world’s largest plant.
Preparing for the Worst and Hoping for the Best in Oregon
Although the recent West Coast fires haven’t touched the South Slough Reserve in Oregon, they and their community partners are preparing for a future that includes living with fire just in case—and making their forests more resilient, beautiful, and biodiverse in the process.
What did you do last summer?
While summer here at the NERRA “office” was great, we’re more than a little jealous of the Rookery Bay Research Reserve’s education team, who logged a six day road trip to three other Reserves along the Gulf of Mexico.
DC Download: August 2022
On August 16th, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (formally known as Build Back Better). It includes $2.6 billion for NOAA to invest in coastal communities and climate resilience through 2026.
Talk NERRdy to Me: Anita Grove
Talk NERRdy to Me is a monthly column about leaders and luminaries from across our Reserves. This month, NERRA’s correspondent-on-the-loose Nik Charov Zoomed to the Florida Panhandle to chat with Anita Grove, the coastal training coordinator at the Apalachicola Reserve. They talked about sense of place, bears surviving heat waves, and curious things lurking in the Gulf of Mexico (we’re looking at you, Rookery Bay).
Meet the ACE Basin Reserve Interns
We asked five of the current interns at the ACE Basin Reserve about the coolest and weirdest experiences they had this summer.
Catching up with Storm Stories
Reserves are always monitoring their estuaries and now, they’re using this data to tell a visual story about the impact of major storms to help communities plan for the future.
Summer Science for Everybody
We don’t know about you, but the next generation getting involved in the sciences gives us so much hope. And that’s exactly what’s been happening at the Hudson River Research Reserve as part of the TIDES program.
Can they have it all?
Around Chesapeake Bay, just about everyone agrees: oysters are tasty and seagrass is important. But there’s a hitch—these equally beloved resources thrive in the same places. But what if the same spot could support both?
DC Download: July 2022
FY 2023 budgets are working their way through Congress. The House Appropriations Subcommittee marked the NERRS Operations Research, and Facilities (ORF) budget at a $1.5M increase over FY 2022 and the NERRS Procurement, Acquisition, and Construction at a $1M increase over FY 2022.
Talk NERRdy to Me: Andrea Woolfolk
This month, NERRA’s correspondent-at-large Nik Charov interviewed Andrea Woolfolk, long-time Stewardship Coordinator at the Elkhorn Slough Reserve in California. They spoke of restorations large and small, primal knowledge, and what it takes to be a steward. (Spoiler alert: bug spray.)
Enter today!
This year’s NERRS annual FilmFest will be in honor of our first in-person annual meeting after three long years! There will be prizes, a viewing party, and NERRS/NERRA microfame on NERRA’s Youtube channel!
Protecting the Weeks Bay Watershed
Protecting an estuary in a rapidly developing coastal area is like putting together a jigsaw puzzle when the pieces are changing shape. Sound impossible? When you live in Alabama’s fastest growing county, it’s a challenge you get used to.
Guide Helps Communities Plan for Rising Seas
Sea levels are projected to rise a foot along our nation’s coasts by 2050; on par with what the country experienced in the previous century. Every community will experience this differently, and thanks to a new Application Guide, they have the tools they need.
Mangrove Coast Collaborative
Zoë Shribman is mad about mangroves, so when she heard about an opportunity to work with the Rookery Bay Reserve on the Mangrove Coast Collaborative, she jumped at the opportunity.
Living As the World
Can you put a price tag on the feeling you get when you spot a rare bird at the water’s edge? Or the weightlessness you experience when launching a canoe? How about the glow of feeding your community with fish you’ve caught with your family?
DC Download: June 22
Congress is hard at work on updates to our 50-year-old Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). With an eye to educating members of Congress about what your Reserve and the System do for your community, please consider how you can promote your work.
New Guide to Collaborative Science
A new tool from the National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) will help scientists, communities, natural resource professionals, and others work together to find science-based solutions to the most urgent problems facing our nation’s coasts.
Saving the World, One Baby Manatee at a Time
After a long day of work, Aitza Pabón received a phone call about a baby manatee stranded on the shore, not so far from the Jobos Bay Reserve.
Gray and Green Working Together in Ohio
The ability to integrate natural and built infrastructure is key to helping keep water clean and reducing erosion in Lake Erie, but promoting it is complicated by the fact that most of the shoreline is privately held or agricultural.
WADE-ing in Waquoit Bay
The need for words that convey complex concepts can be a challenge for deaf and hard of hearing students who rely on American Sign Language (ASL).