Mission/Management Plan
The Delaware Center for the Inland Bays was established as a nonprofit organization in 1994 under the auspices of the Inland Bays Watershed Enhancement Act (Title 7, Chapter 76). The creation of the Center for the Inland Bays was the culmination of more than 20 years of active public participation and investigation into the decline of the Inland Bays and the remedies for the restoration and preservation of the watershed.
The Center for the Inland Bays was created to oversee the implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for Delaware’s Inland Bays (CCMP) and to promote the wise use and enhancement of the Inland Bays watershed by conducting public outreach and education, developing and implementing restoration projects, encouraging scientific inquiry and sponsoring needed research, and establishing a long-term process for the protection and preservation of the inland bays watershed.
The goals of the Center for the Inland Bays are:
- To sponsor and support educational activities, restoration efforts, and land acquisition programs that lead to the present and future preservation and enhancement of the Inland Bays watershed.
- To build, maintain, and foster the partnership among the general public; the private sector; and local, state, and federal governments, which is essential for establishing and sustaining policy, programs, and the political will to preserve and restore the resources of the Inland Bays watershed.
- To serve as a neutral forum where Inland Bays watershed issues may be analyzed and considered for the purposes of providing responsible officials and the public with a basis for making informed decisions concerning the management of the resources of the Inland Bays watershed.
The National Estuary Program, established under the Clean Water Act and administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, provided approximately $2 million to study the Inland Bays, characterize and set priorities for addressing the environmental problems in the watershed, and develop a Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) to protect and restore the bays. The underlying theme of the program is that a collaborative, consensus-building effort involving citizens; private interests; organized groups; and federal, state, and local governments is essential to the successful development and implementation of the CCMP. Adopted in 1995, the CCMP addresses action plans in five targeted areas:
- Education and Outreach
- Agricultural Sources
- Industrial, Municipal, and Septic System Sources
- Land Use
- Habitat Protection.
Did You Know
DID YOU KNOW?
Blue crabs have the ability to sacrifice limbs (called autotomy) in order to avoid capture. Missing limbs are regrown by a process called regeneration.
Take Action
TAKE ACTION
So Many Ways to Help the Bays
You’re Invited!
YOU'RE INVITED!
Join us for these upcoming events.
- Finance & Executive Committee Meetings
2:30 pm - March 20, 2012 - CIB Board of Director's Meeting
9:30 am - March 30, 2012 - Native Plant Sale
9:00 am - May 5, 2012 - Scientific and Technical Advisory Committee Meeting
9:00 am - May 11, 2012 - Diamondback Dash
9:00 am - May 19, 2012 -
