You are here:
COASTAL BEND BAYS PLAN TO CONSERVE AND MANAGE THE COASTAL BEND BAYS OF SOUTH TEXAS
Citation:
COASTAL BEND BAYS PLAN TO CONSERVE AND MANAGE THE COASTAL BEND BAYS OF SOUTH TEXAS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., 1998.
Description:
The enormous physical and geological forces that sculpt their shores define coastal regions. Wind and waves, the flow of freshwater from the land, evaporation, and the ebb and flow of tides place these areas at the center of a huge energy transfer. The result is tremendous biological productivity. Estuaries are the cylinders of this massive engine and the transition zone between fresh and salt water. They are among the most dynamic and robust of nature's ecosystems. With a continual supply of sediments and nutrients, and a salinity gradient to which only certain organisms have adapted, estuaries provide both sustenance and refuge from predators. Along the Texas coast are seven major estuaries. Together, these 2,100 square miles of sheltered water exhibit a remarkable diversity in geography, resources, climate, and industry. Waters and lands adjacent to this coast are richly endowed with petroleum reserves, agricultural land, wildlife, fisheries resources, recreational opportunity, and expansive, open lands in proximity to major population centers. One-third of the state's population and one-third of its economic resources are concentrated along this narrow width of land, which comprises only six percent of the total area of the state (Brown, et al., 1976). The Coastal Bend is blessed with three of the seven Texas estuaries the Aransas, Corpus Christi, and upper Laguna Madre estuaries. Broad belts of mostly flat coastal prairies, chaparral pastureland, and farmlands adjacent to expansive bays characterize this transition zone between the mid- and lower-coast. A nearly unbroken string of barrier islands provides definition to the bays, estuaries, and one of only three hypersaline lagoons in the world. The Bays Plan focuses on the CBEP 'project area', which includes all of the open water, submerged habitat, emergent wetland, and upland environments of the 12-county area known as the Coastal Bend (see page 7). The 12 counties Refugio, Aransas, San Patricio, Nueces, Kleberg, Kenedy, Bee, Live Oak, McMullen, Jim Wells, Duval, and Brooks comprise more than 11,500 square miles and are home to over 550,000 residents. The term 'bay system' refers specifically to all marine and estuarine waters (saline and brackish waters) behind the Gulf surf line from the eastern edge of Mesquite Bay (in San Antonio Bay) to the 'land cut' south of Baffin Bay in the upper Laguna Madre. This delineation of the bay system's boundaries is based on the knowledge that these areas: are physically linked, share a common connection with the Gulf of Mexico, and support living resources that are affected by human activities in all 12 counties.