Jan. 25, 2001—The final Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) for the Morro Bay National Estuary Program has been signed by EPA.
The Morro Bay Estuary is located in the central coastal region of California and covers more than 2,000 acres of mudflats, tidal wetlands, and open water habitat. The estuary contains rich eelgrass beds providing habitat for a number of threatened or endangered species.
Growing public concern for the health of Morro Bay prompted the state to nominate it for inclusion in EPA's National Estuary Program. The final plan outlines 61 actions to address the environmental problems facing the estuary including sedimentation, bacterial contamination resulting in closed shellfish beds, nutrient runoff causing algal blooms, loss of habitat, and declines in steelhead trout.
The CCMP was developed by representatives from local and state governments, industry, and environmental interest groups. This is the 23rd CCMP approved by EPA. There are 28 estuaries nation-wide covered under the National Estuary Program. For more information about the Morro Bay Estuary CCMP, contact Lisa Fasano at (415) 744-1587 or see: http://www.mbnep.org.
For information about EPA's National Estuary Program, see: http://www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries.
