CCMP
The Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan, or CCMP, serves as a blueprint for maintaining and improving the waters of the Mobile Bay estuary. This plan, created by the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program Management Conference (made up of a broad cross-section of community stakeholders), provides a background of the issues threatening the health of the estuary and outlines a series of Action Plans for addressing those threats. While finding consensus among individuals, organizations, businesses, or agencies with potentially conflicting interests in an estuary is challenging, the CCMP is based on developing consensus about how to effectively address environmental issues.
The CCMP is divided into five priority issue areas– Water Quality, Living Resources, Habitat Management, Human Uses, and Education & Public Involvement. It was written based on independent characterization studies undertaken to assess the status and trends of the different priority areas and to provide recommendations regarding issues to be addressed by the NEP. Based upon the characterization studies and community input, issue workgroups compiled specific actions for improving the Mobile Bay Estuary. These action items evolved to become the essence of the CCMP.
The CCMP is not a static document. Most characterization studies have indicated that existing data is incomplete or inadequate to fully assess the scope of environmental problems in the estuary, so the characterization process is necessarily on-going. As actions are implemented or completed, emerging issues are identified and addressed, and actions subsequently are modified or added to the CCMP Priorities.