In 2009, PREP published its fourth State of the Estuaries Report, showing that the environmental quality of the Piscataqua Region estuaries is declining (Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership, 2009). Eleven of the twelve environmental indicators established by PREP show negative or cautionary trends. In the previous State of the Estuaries Report released in 2006, only seven of the twelve indicators were classified this way. There have been many successful land conservation and restoration projects, but these projects have not been able to keep pace with development and habitat loss. The most pressing problems for the estuaries relate to population growth and associated increases in nutrient loads and nonpoint source pollution.