About the Project

In collaboration with local reserve staff, technical advisors, and local and national partners, this project brought together local and historical knowledge to comprehensively map past and present estuarine habitat across all 30 NERRs. Project findings revealed regional differences in how estuaries have changed over time and suggest that multiple mapping methods complement each other and should be integrated to provide a more accurate understanding of estuaries—past, present and future. This project has strengthened strategic planning for estuarine habitat conservation and restoration at both national and local scales in the face of sea level rise and lake-level change.

About this Resource

Estuaries change over time. Use this interactive StoryMap to explore how our estuaries and the way they are mapped have changed. The StoryMap features a synthesis of national findings as well as 30 unique narratives – one for each reserve – that highlight reserve-specific findings from historical analyses and elevation-based mapping.