To remove the federal incentive to develop coastal barriers, the Coastal Barrier Resources Act designated relatively undeveloped coastal barriers along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts as part of the John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System. These areas are ineligible for most new federal expenditures and financial assistance.

A marine national monument is a type of protected area that is designated by a presidential proclamation under the Antiquities Act. Marine national monuments are managed via a partnership between the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and local governments. Currently, there are four marine national monuments in the Pacific Ocean and one in the Atlantic Ocean.

The Submerged Lands Act (43 U.S.C. Section 1301 et seq.) grants coastal states title to natural resources located within their coastal submerged lands and navigable waters out to three nautical miles from their coastlines (three marine leagues for Texas and Florida's Gulf of Mexico coastlines). The Submerged Lands Act defines "natural resources" to include oil, gas, and all other minerals, and fish, shrimp, oysters, clams, crabs, lobsters, sponges, kelp, and other marine animal and plant life," yet expressly excludes "water power, or the use of water for the production of power" 43 U.S.C. Section 1301(e). The term "coast line" is "the line of ordinary low water along that portion of the coast which is in direct contact with the open sea and the line marking the seaward limit of inland waters" (43 U.S.C. Section 1301(c)). Some boundary delineations are approximated, including areas in Hawaii, Alaska, and Washington State. The official delineation of the Submerged Lands Act in these locations has not yet been established by BOEM. Please reference BOEM's official Submerged Lands Act Boundary in these locations to determine where this boundary is approximated and where it is official. Source: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/USCODE-2011-title43/pdf/USCODE-2011-title43-chap29.pdf Date enacted: May 22, 1953 Codification: 43 U.S.C. Sec. 1301 et seq. Authority: agencies of several U.S. coastal states

The National Estuarine Research Reserve System has developed a consistent protocol for monitoring vegetation across the nations estuaries. Eventually, the goal is to be monitoring vegetation regularly at every Reserve, allowing for robust spatial and temporal analyses of estuarine vegetation trends. To date, 18 Reserves have implemented this vegetation monitoring protocol. The vegetation community that is assessed varies by reserve. The protocol has been implemented for submerged aquatic vegetation such as eelgrass and algae, as well as for emergent vegetation such as salt marshes and mangroves. The vegetation monitoring protocol involves permanent sampling plots along fixed transects. Parameters monitored include percent cover of all plant species, as well as stem density and canopy height of the common species. Elevation is also assessed for each plot when feasible. The complete monitoring protocol provides more details. These data will be valuable for tracking changes in abundance of particular species of interest, or in species composition over time. For instance, the transects can be used to detect landward migration of vegetation communities in the face of projected sea level rise. The National Estuarine Research Reserves is a network of 30 reserves protected for long-term research, ecosystem monitoring, education, and coastal stewardship. Established by the Coastal Zone Management Act, the reserve system is a partnership program between NOAA and the coastal states. NOAA provides funding, national guidance, and technical assistance. Each reserve is managed on daily basis by a lead state agency or university with input from local partners. These data are collected as part of the NERRS System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP), which includes (1) abiotic indicators of water quality and weather; (2) biological monitoring; and (3) watershed, habitat, and land use mapping. Data were collected under individual Reserve NOAA grant/cooperative agreements and managed by the CDMO under NOAA grant/cooperative agreement #NA23NOS4200321 (2023) and prior grants. For more information on Reserve locations and programs, please visit www.nerrsdata.org or https://coast.noaa.gov/nerrs/.

This project will provide research staff members from the mid-Atlantic reserves with targeted tools, graphical support, and training to facilitate the use of reserve monitoring data. The project team will focus on deciphering trends in water quality parameters, which are related to management issues such as storm surge mitigation. Through workshops and the development of statistical applications, this project will increase capacity to distill monitoring data into a format that resource managers can use. The project team will share their approach and project outputs with the larger reserve system, and collectively, these efforts will demonstrate the value of the reserve monitoring program. This science transfer project was funded by NOAA through the National Estuarine Research Reserve System Science Collaborative to promote the use of science. It did not produce any new data.

Regulated Navigation Areas (RNA) as outlined in 33 CFR Part 165 are established to regulate vessels and their movement within a specific area. The District Commander can issue an RNA to control vessel traffic in a place determined to have hazardous conditions. RNAs usually prescribe what type or size of vessels may enter an area or in what manner they must navigate. RNAs differ from Safety and Security Zones in two respects. First, only District Commanders are authorized to establish RNAs while Coast Guard Captains of the Port may not. Second, Safety and Security Zones are typically transitory in nature, responsive to a temporary safety or security concern on the water. They are meant to control access to an area, but they could also be used to control access based on compliance with specified temporary operating conditions within the Safety or Security Zone necessary for the purpose of the zones creation. RNAs are usually created where a more permanent solution to a safety or environmental concern is required. They principally regulate the operation of vessels permitted inside the area, but may also establish control of access to an area if necessary.

Offshore state lateral boundaries define part of the geographic extent of the submerged lands that a state holds and manages in the public trust. Well-defined boundaries help a state manage its natural resources and statutory obligations with a measured amount of certainty. However, state lateral boundaries, both on land and at sea, have not always been stable and well defined. The historic record often shows conflicting borders that have led to interstate disagreements, court cases, and in some instances lingering stalemates. These data show the approximate position of a states offshore lateral boundary based on official and unofficial sources. Some boundaries have been omitted when a sufficient data source could not be found.

These data represent the geographic boundaries of marine and terrestrial protected areas in the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. Marine features are shown for U.S. state and federal waters as well as those located within 20 miles of coastal submerged lands including hydrologically related rivers and bays.

Water quality observations made over long time periods can provide important feedback to scientists and to local, state, and national resource managers about actions taken to manage, protect, and restore estuaries. They also provide valuable information for evaluating the impacts of environmental change on coastal habitats and species. There are at least four water quality stations at each National Estuarine Research Reserve. Each station is designed to characterize long-term variability and short term changes in environmental conditions. Data are collected with data loggers at fifteen minute intervals and instruments are deployed continuously and year round where possible. Water quality parameters collected include: water temperature, specific conductivity, salinity, percent saturation of dissolved oxygen, dissolved oxygen concentration, pH, depth, and turbidity. Chlorohpyll fluorescence is an optional parameter and pressure corrected water depth is a calculated value. The National Estuarine Research Reserves is a network of 30 reserves protected for long-term research, ecosystem monitoring, education, and coastal stewardship. Established by the Coastal Zone Management Act, the reserve system is a partnership program between NOAA and the coastal states. NOAA provides funding, national guidance, and technical assistance. Each reserve is managed on daily basis by a lead state agency or university with input from local partners. These data are collected as part of the NERRS System-Wide Monitoring Program - SWMP, which includes: 1. abiotic indicators of water quality and weather; 2. biological monitoring; and 3. watershed, habitat, and land use mapping. Data were collected under individual Reserve NOAA grant/cooperative agreements and managed by the CDMO under NOAA grant/cooperative agreement #NA23NOS4200321 (2023) and prior grants. For more information on Reserve locations and programs, please visit www.nerrsdata.org or https://coast.noaa.gov/nerrs/.

Water quality observations made over long time periods can provide important feedback to scientists and to local, state, and national resource managers about actions taken to manage, protect, and restore estuaries. They also provide valuable information for evaluating the impacts of environmental change on coastal habitats and species. There are at least four water quality stations at each National Estuarine Research Reserve. Each station is designed to characterize long-term variability and short term changes in environmental conditions. Discrete samples for nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations are collected at each long-term monitoring station at least once monthly. More intensive (24-hours over a complete tidal cycle) sampling is conducted each month at one water quality monitoring station to better understand impacts of tide and irradiance on nutrient cycling. Nutrient parameters collected include: nitrate, nitrite, ammonium, orthophosphate, and chlorophyll a. Numerous optional parameters include dissolved organic carbon, total dissolved nitrogen, and total dissolved phosphorous. The National Estuarine Research Reserves is a network of 30 reserves protected for long-term research, ecosystem monitoring, education, and coastal stewardship. Established by the Coastal Zone Management Act, the reserve system is a partnership program between NOAA and the coastal states. NOAA provides funding, national guidance, and technical assistance. Each reserve is managed on daily basis by a lead state agency or university with input from local partners. These data are collected as part of the NERRS System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP), which includes (1) abiotic indicators of water quality and weather; (2) biological monitoring; and (3) watershed, habitat, and land use mapping. Data were collected under individual Reserve NOAA grant/cooperative agreements and managed by the CDMO under NOAA grant/cooperative agreement #NA23NOS4200321 (2023) and prior grants. For more information on Reserve locations and programs, please visit www.nerrsdata.org or https://coast.noaa.gov/nerrs/.