Estuaries are transitional zones where salt water from the sea mixes with fresh water flowing off the land. Estuaries in the Mid-Atlantic Region provide habitats for many birds, mammals, fish, and other aquatic life. They also are important assets that humans use in a wide variety of ways. This report focuses on the current condition of the Mid-Atlantic estuaries (circa early to mid 1990s) and, where information is available, how the estuaries have changed over the years and why. Chesapeake Bay, Delaware Estuary, and Delmarva coastal estuaries are vital Mid-Atlantic resources. This report breaks new ground in employing the latest scientific tools and by drawing upon carefully designed sampling plans that provide broad coverage of all of these estuaries.

Cover title. "This report ... was prepared by staff from the Atlantic Ecology Division (AED), National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory, Office of Research and Development, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Narragansett, Rhode Island"--Page ii. "November 1998." Includes bibliographical references (pages 40-43). "EPA 600-R-98-147."