Designation of essential fish habitat requires a detailed understanding of how species-specific vital rates vary across habitats and biogeographical regions.

Seventeen projects involving 27 reserves across the nation and totaling more than $2 million have been recommended for support by NOAA’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Science Collaborative.

This 2021 paper from the University of South Florida discusses how machine learning was used to map aquifers throughout the Kenai Lowlands to locate groundwater discharge, providing a framework to extend this method of modeling groundwater to other reserves.

This 2021 article which appeared in Ecology and Society describes a research project exploring how alders, peatlands, and groundwater flows were incorporated into a spatial tool that was used in case studies with user groups and in outreach efforts. The paper includes evidence that these efforts to engage with stakeholders are resulting in attitudinal shifts as well as on-the-ground changes in peoples ’ decision-making.

A project team in South Carolina received a Notable State Documents Award for their 2019 report titled Summary of Living Shoreline Research to Inform Regulatory Decision-Making in South Carolina.

This paper, published in Biological Conservation, describes an innovative approach developed by the NERRS to evaluate the ability of tidal marshes to thrive as sea levels rise.

Eleven projects have been recommended for funding by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ’s National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Science Collaborative.