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(US Army Corps of Engineers’ Coastal Programs)
(Tampa Bay Estuary Program)
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==US Army Corps of Engineers’ Coastal Programs==
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==Tampa Bay Estuary Program==
  
[[Image:USACE.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Figure 1: The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) serves the Armed Forces and the Nation by providing vital engineering services and capabilities.]]
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[[Image:The Social Network for Tampa Bay.jpg|thumb|300px|left|Figure 1: The Social Network for Tampa Bay <ref>http://www.buzzardsbay.org/download/nep-networks-paper.pdf</ref>]]
  
The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) <ref>USACE Website http://www.usace.army.mil/</ref> is a federal agency within the Department of Defense mandated to provide both military and civil works services. In coastal regions, its primary roles include protecting and [[Overview of Coastal Habitat Protection and Restoration in the United States|restoring habitat]], maintaining navigable waters, conducting [[beach nourishment]], undertaking [[Flood (overflow)| flood control]] projects and regulating coastal restoration projects.   
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In 1990, Tampa Bay was designated an "estuary of national significance" by the US Congress, and joined the ranks of the [http://www.epa.gov/nep/| National Estuary Program] (which currently contains 28 estuaries) in 1991. As an urban watershed confronted with pollution, habitat loss and increasing development, the [http://www.tbep.org/| Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP)] faced significant challenges. Over fifteen years later, TBEP stands as a model for collaborative partnerships, innovative agreements and approaches for habitat restoration and addressing [[nitrogen| atmospheric nitrogen]] deposition as a contributor to [[eutrophication]].   
  
The USACE’s military service dates to 1775. Its first water works project began in 1812. After the passage of the Rivers & Harbors Act of 1899, the USACE regulated activities in navigable waterways. Passage of the [http://www.epa.gov/watertrain/cwa/| Clean Water Act] in 1972 vastly increased the USACE’s authority over dredging and filling in waters and wetlands. The Corps is the lead federal flood control agency and a major provider of hydroelectric energy. In the late 1960s, the Corps became a leading environmental preservation and restoration agency. It is a leading partner in one of the largest restoration projects ever attempted—restoration of the hydrologic regime in the Florida Everglades.
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Tampa Bay is Florida’s largest open-water estuary, spanning 400 square miles, with a drainage area nearly six times that size. While the Bay contains rich [[biodiversity]], it is impacted by a rapidly growing human population and the second largest metropolitan area in the state. As of 2008, more than 2.3 million people lived in the watershed, and that number is expected to grow by nearly 20 percent by the year 2015.  
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In the 1950s, rapid population growth in the Tampa Bay watershed and increased urban development caused a significant deterioration in the bay’s water quality and habitat, and natural resources. Urban development, dredging, canals, and causeways have altered approximately half of the bay’s original shoreline.  Forty percent (40%) of the Bay’s seagrass beds have disappeared since 1950, as have 21% of its [[wetlands| emergent wetlands]] (Tampa Bay Estuary Program/TBEP).

Revision as of 10:46, 1 April 2009

Tampa Bay Estuary Program

Figure 1: The Social Network for Tampa Bay [1]

In 1990, Tampa Bay was designated an "estuary of national significance" by the US Congress, and joined the ranks of the National Estuary Program (which currently contains 28 estuaries) in 1991. As an urban watershed confronted with pollution, habitat loss and increasing development, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP) faced significant challenges. Over fifteen years later, TBEP stands as a model for collaborative partnerships, innovative agreements and approaches for habitat restoration and addressing atmospheric nitrogen deposition as a contributor to eutrophication.

Tampa Bay is Florida’s largest open-water estuary, spanning 400 square miles, with a drainage area nearly six times that size. While the Bay contains rich biodiversity, it is impacted by a rapidly growing human population and the second largest metropolitan area in the state. As of 2008, more than 2.3 million people lived in the watershed, and that number is expected to grow by nearly 20 percent by the year 2015.

In the 1950s, rapid population growth in the Tampa Bay watershed and increased urban development caused a significant deterioration in the bay’s water quality and habitat, and natural resources. Urban development, dredging, canals, and causeways have altered approximately half of the bay’s original shoreline. Forty percent (40%) of the Bay’s seagrass beds have disappeared since 1950, as have 21% of its emergent wetlands (Tampa Bay Estuary Program/TBEP).