Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program Inc

“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 public upon request. Independent annual audit and monthly internal financial statements are posted on the organization's website.”

“Coastal bend bays & estuaries progam is dedicated to protecting and restoring bays and estuaries of the texas coastal bend. Coastal bend bays and estuaries remain a vital part of the environmental and economic landscape by preserving and enhancing their roles as a recreational resource, international seaport, and habitat for fish and wildlife.”

“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 propagation of a balanced 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 levees and water control structures that benefit federal trust resources. A portion of the shoreline supports a coastal woodland plant community that is 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 endangered species recovery implementation program (cfda 15.657) provides financial assistance to secure endangered species information, undertake restoration actions that will lead to delisting of a species, help prevent extinction of a species, or aid in the recovery of a species. This award's objective is the gathering of accurate migration data on the threatened red knot population, where a substantial number winter on offshore barrier islands of louisiana.”

“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. The texas legislature, passed the texas estuaries act designating the texas commission on environmental quality as the lead state agency for working with the coastal bend bays & estuaries program (cbbep) to implement the locally developed, and epa approved, cbbep's comprehensive conservation management plan titled the "coastal bend bays plan". The main purpose of the coastal bend bays plan is the protection and restoration of healthy bays and estuaries while supporting continued economic growth and public use of the area bays. 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 research 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 program is one of the u.s. Fish and wildlife service's most effective resources for helping partners identify, protect, and restore or improve habitats of fish and wildlife, including migratory birds in priority coastal areas. Funding from u.s. Fish & wildlife provides assistance in the census of red knots on the chandeleur islands and grand isle in louisiana, in attempt to estimate survival rates and population size.”