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NEP-ORD Collaborations on Quantifying the Ecosystem Goods and Services of Estuaries
Citation:
Greening, H., M. Russell, L. Phipps, AND Ted DeWitt. NEP-ORD Collaborations on Quantifying the Ecosystem Goods and Services of Estuaries. NEP-ORD collaboration webinar series, Newport, OR, August 03, 2017.
Impact/Purpose:
A webinar for EPA's National Estuary Program (NEP) will discuss how ORD's research on ecosystem goods and services (EGS) is being used to inform decision making by NEP's in Tampa Bay (FL) and Tillamook Bay (OR). The presentation will discuss how EGS endpoints align with management goals for each NEP, and how tools and knowledge developed by ORD research teams provides insight on how environmental stressors (such as nutrient loading, sea level rise, changes in precipitation and air temperature, and land cover change) affect the EGS upon which coastal communities depend.
Description:
Nature’s goods and services provided by estuarine ecosystems are integral to the economies and well-being of coastal communities. However, many valuable ecosystem goods and services (EGS), including their benefits to surrounding communities, are not explicitly considered in decisions concerning the management or uses of estuarine habitats and associated watersheds. Projects in ORD’s Sustainable and Health Communities National Research Program (SHC) are focused on developing and testing methods to quantify EGS, predict their sensitivities to natural and human stressors, and link them to human well-being, ultimately facilitating their inclusion in decision-making. This presentation will summarize research conducted under SHC projects, in collaboration with National Estuary Program (NEP) partners in Tampa Bay (FL) and Tillamook Bay (OR), to measure and model estuarine and watershed EGS and related benefits. While each collaboration was developed independently, they share a common goal of providing the NEPs with data and tools conveying the benefits of EGS. These resources can then help inform discussions with stakeholders about achieving (or maintaining) desired future conditions and functions of coastal ecosystems within the boundaries of each NEP. ORD research leaders (Russell, DeWitt) will present overviews of the EGS research conducted in Tampa Bay and Tillamook Bay (respectively), complimented by presentations by Executive Directors (Greening and Phipps, respectively) on how the resulting information and tools are being used by each NEP. Webinar attendees will be encouraged to participate in a discussion exploring how EGS assessments can be useful in helping to implement CCMP objectives.