Mobile Bay NEP: New Alliances and Milestones

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                      March 1, 2002

 Who:     Mobile Bay National Estuary Program

What:     Memorandum of Agreement Signing Event between the Mobile Bay
               National Estuary Program, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, and Department of
               Conservation and Natural Resources

 When:   Friday, March 1, 2002 at 4 PM
 Where:  International Trade Club, 250 N. Water Street, Mobile, Alabama

 Contacts:   Lee Yokel, Mobile Bay National Estuary Program
                   (251) 431-6409

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The Mobile Bay National Estuary Program New Alliances:  Agreement is Announced

As the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) enters its 6th year of existence, it is reaching significant milestones in its mission to promote wise stewardship of the water quality and living resources of the Mobile Bay and Delta.

As part of the organization's evolution, the MBNEP has entered a new phase and developed  exciting new alliances through the actions of the MBNEP Management Conference.

Governor Siegelman today approved an agreement between the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program, the Dauphin Island Sea Lab, and the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (ADCNR) that will significantly improve the, management, protection and enhancement of Alabama’s coastal resources.

A Memorandum of Agreement between these three organizationswill be signed in a ceremony at 4:00 PM, Friday March 1, 2002 at the International Trade Center. The Trade Center is located at 250 N. Water Street, Mobile, Alabama.

Under this alliance the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources will partner with the MBNEP (and its federal and local partners) to implement a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for the Mobile Bay and Mobile -Tensaw River Delta. The Director of the ADCNR, currently Mr. Riley Boykin Smith, will also become the co-chair of the MBNEP Policy Committee. The Dauphin Island Sea Lab will now serve as the host institution and fiscal agent for the MBNEP.

A singular benefit will be better use of available dollars for actions to improve and maintain water quality and fish, wildlife and other native living resource populations.  But this action will also help eliminate duplication of effort and overlapping projects, expand public-private partnership opportunities, and provide better information for natural resource management.

“New alliances and organizational changes are really quite common among  NEP’s around the country as they shift from a planning to an implementation phase. The focus becomes more action-oriented.” comments David Yeager, Executive Director of the MBNEP.  "We're especially excited about this arrangement with ADCNR. For the first time since its inception, the MBNEP has a cabinet-level partner to bring state attention to this program. That this partner is the agency charged with conservation and natural resource stewardship is even more fortuitous and provides greatly improved opportunities for collaboration.”

The Sea Lab's involvement will endow the NEP with a high public profile and improved  public perception; opportunities for services, facilities and strong in-kind contributions; proven fiscal responsibility and business management; and research and educational resources which dovetail perfectly with the NEP's goals."

”We have been looking at bringing these three organizations into closer alignment for some time. The move of Alabama’s  Coastal Program from ADECA to ADCNR’s State Lands Division earlier this summer provided a needed catalyst for further actions to sharpen our focus on coastal issues and improve the way we do business. The Mobile Bay has an economic impact of over $3 billion annually on Alabama’s economy.  In  order to continue to realize this benefit, we must protect the important ecological values of this estuary along with our economic values. This agreement is a step in that direction. Governor Siegelman and I are both very pleased with this arrangement” stated Conservation Commissioner Riley Boykin Smith.

"The coming together of these three entities is really a natural evolution," states Dr. George Crozier, Executive Director of the Dauphin Island Sea Lab.  "The Sea Lab's Coastal Policy Center, which is our interdisciplinary management advisory group, has been working on these
same sustainability issues for many years.  Additionally, the integration of our goals into this strong alliance will give the MBNEP access to our already existing educational and research programs. The Sea Lab as the focus for the Alabama Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium is a natural host for the MBNEP.

For us, the Sea Lab will benefit from the NEP's considerable forward energy in formulating the CCMP, as well as the increased public and private support that we envision will be generated for actions to better protect and manage coastal resources. We like the fact that the MBNEP has chosen to work with a locally-rooted and supported institution”.

The Environmental Protection Agency's formal acceptance of the MBNEP's Comprehensive Coastal Management Plan, submitted by Governor Siegelman, is expected in early March 2002.  Details on this approval will  follow shortly.

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