Through a 2020 catalyst project, the Heʻeia and Kachemak Bay Reserves worked to advance the equitable representation of cultural ecosystem services in estuary stewardship by providing practical information and opportunities for facilitated exchange.

Cultural ecosystem services (CES), one of four main categories of ecosystem services, are often described as the non-material benefits that humans receive from their interactions with the environment.

Many estuaries have been degraded by nitrogen pollution coming from urban and agricultural run-off, which can lead to algal blooms and eutrophication.

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 presentation was developed for a public lecture series sponsored by the University of Texas at Austin Marine Science Institute and the Mission-Aransas NERR a part of the 2020 catalyst project to integrate acoustic monitoring into multiple reserve programs in the southeast region.This presentation describes the acoustic monitoring framework with applications to research, stewardship, and education, co-produced with the North Inlet-Winyah Bay, Rookery Bay, and Mission-Aransas NERRs, along with other regional management users.