Loss of wetlands and estuarine habitats - Aquatic and wildlife populations can survive and remain productive only to the extent that sufficient healthy habitats remain. Although habitats can change as a result of natural factors, poorly planned and executed human developments may also cause profound effects. Contributing to habitat losses are dredging and the placement of dredge material, disturbance of bay bottom habitats from shrimp trawling and recreational boating, and the degradation of water quality from a combination of point and nonpoint sources of pollutants, and other factors. The Program's goal is to assess which habitats have suffered significant decline or which may be impacted by future human use of bay resources, and provide for successful habitat management so that important ecological functions and the communities they support are maintained in the future. Degradation of water quality - Water quality is fundamental to overall human and ecological health.
Water is the medium by which pollutants are transported and taken up by estuarine species.
Sediments, chemicals, and nutrients, when provided to receiving waters in excess, can have deleterious effects on habitats and the communities they support. Such pollutants enter bay waters from both point and nonpoint source discharges, including those from surface water, ground water, and aerial deposition. Accidental spills and the resuspension of pollutants as a result of dredging also contribute to the degradation of water quality. Altered estuarine circulation - The maintenance of both good water quality and natural circulation patterns within our bays and estuaries will provide for optimum conditions for aquatic and wildlife species and the habitat on which they depend. When natural bay circulation patterns are altered due to man-made factors, bay bottom habitats may not receive the optimal water exchange needed to restore nutrients, sediments, or salinity range.