Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program

“The form 990 is only reviewed by the executive director and the business manager. However, it is available to the governing board if they choose to review it.”

“The board of directors appoints a subcommittee to review the performance of the executive director on an annual basis.”

“The organization provides governing documents, conflict of interest policy, and financial statements to the pubic upon request. Independent annual audit and monthly internal financial statements are posted on the organization's website.”

“The u.s. Environmental protection agency's (epa) national estuary program was established by congress in 1987 to improve the quality of estuaries of national importance. The clean water act section 320 directs epa to develop plans for attaining and maintaining water quality in an estuary. This includes protection of public water supplies and protection and propogation of a balance indigenous population of shellfish, fish, and wildlife that allows recreational activities, in and on water, requires that control of point and nonpoint sources of pollution to supplement existing controls of pollution. In several cases, more than one state is participating in a national estuary program. Each program establishes a comprehensive conservation and management plan to meet the goals of section 320. To assist the state of texas in the efforts of promoting judicious use and maximum conservation and protection of the quality of the state's waters, section 604 (b) of the federal clean water act (cwa), as amended, authorizes epa to fund water quality management planning activities. Under the fiscal year 2017 604(b) texas commission on environmental quality (tceq) work plan, the water quality planning division staff of tceq will administer the grant and manage the water quality contracts with regional planning agencies.”

“The coastal program is one of the u.s. Fish and wildlife service's most effective resources for restoring and protecting fish and wildlife habitat on public and privately-owned lands. Funding from u.s. Fish & wildlife provides assistance for habitat restoration and protection in the coastal bend area, including the implementation of prescribed fire to enhance habitats for attwater's prairie chicken, aplomado falcon, whooping crane, and associated grassland and migratory birds that will benefit from prescribed fire. The national wildlife refuge enhancements program (cfda 15.654) provides resources to identify, conserve, manage and enhance the physical and ecological infrastructure of national wildlife refuges (nwr). This award assists in the protection of the aransas nwr shoreline, which eroded during hurricane harvey, from future storms by reconstructing water management infrastructure. It also provides assistance for the restoration and enhancement of leaves and water control structures that benefit federal trust resources. A portion of the shoreline supports a coastal woodland plant community that is an important habitat for migratory birds and other wildlife. The migratory bird monitoring, assessment, and conservation (cfda 15.655) funding from u.s. Fish & wildlife aims at working with others to conserve, enhance, and better understand the ecology and habitats of migratory bird species. This award specifically is to support development of the midcontinent shorebird conservation initiative (msci). The msci is a collaborative effort by usfws and other federal, state, and partners to develop a conservation framework and increase communication and collaboration among shorebird practitioners.”

“The texas coastal management program (cmp) seeks to ensure the long-term environmental and economic health of the texas coast through management of the state's coastal natural resource areas. The coastal coordination council is a public/private council chaired by the texas land commissioner, manages the cmp, on behalf of the council, the general land office (glo), awards approximately 2.2 million annually in grants, reviews federal actions in the texas coastal zone to ensure consistency with the goals and policies of the cmp, support protection of natural habitats and wildlife, and provides baseline data on the health of gulf waters. Texas general land office award is a pass-through from national oceanic and atmospheric administration to assist in disaster relief. The mission-aransas national estuarine reserach reserve (nerr) took a direct hit from hurricane harvey in august of 2017. Removal of debris on sensitive wetland habitat, state park and critical research area are being facilitated by this funding. The coastal erosion planning and response act, texas natural resources codes provides state assistance to maintain and protect texas' barrier island and bay systems. This ensures a strong and resilient texas coastal ecosystem.”

“Organization did not have a change in accounting method. Prior year was incorrectly marked as cash basis. This organization has historically, and continues to, operate on an accrual basis.”