The New Hampshire Estuaries Project (NHEP) was initiated in 1995 as part of the U.S. EPA's National Estuary Program. From its inception, the NHEP was committed to implementing a watershed-based plan to protect and restore the region's estuaries. However, with administration of the NHEP through New Hampshire state agencies, the programs work was limited to New Hampshire only. Following the NHEP's move to the University of New Hampshire in 2005, the Management Committee expanded the programs focus area beginning in 2008 to Maine, thereby covering the entire watershed of the Great Bay Estuary. On January 1, 2009, the name of the New Hampshire Estuaries Project changed to the Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership (PREP). The name change reflects the organizations commitment to watershed management and collaborative stakeholder-driven approaches to natural resource management. Piscataqua Region encompasses the Hampton-Seabrook Estuary, smaller Atlantic Coast estuaries, and the Great Bay Estuary, of which 24% lies within Maine. Partnership best describes the collaborative approach to determining management priorities and implementing the PREP Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. More than 20 organizations are represented on the PREP Management Committee.