Center For The Inland Bays - Background & Mission Statement

Our Goals And Issues

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 mission of the Center for the Inland Bays is to promote the wise use and enhancement of the Inland Bays and their watersheds.

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 establishment 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 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.

Major Environmental Issues

Two major areas of concern have been identified as critical issues for Delaware's Inland Bays � eutrophication and habitat loss.

Our office has joined many others in learning all we can about Pfiesteria and other Harmful Algal Blooms (HABs) such as the brown tide organism (Aureococcus anophageafferens). In addition, the recent blooms of sea lettuce (Ulva lactuca) and other macroalgal species in our bays have been problematic and demonstrate a continuing change in the ecology of these impaired waters. Since all of these organisms thrive in stressed estuaries, like the Inland Bays, the concern of nutrient over-enrichment (especially phosphorus) is bringing attention to the need to reduce nutrient contributions from a variety of point and non-point sources in the watershed.

The loss of valuable aquatic, upland, and wetland habitat is also an important symptom of the stressed conditions of the Inland Bays.

It is increasingly clear that public attention and concern for our Inland Bays is reaching a level perhaps never before seen in our state. News coverage and media attention of the Ulva bloom and the presence of Pfiesteria in the Inland Bays make our efforts even more visible and accountable. We are on the forefront of taking some important leadership steps in the restoration of the Inland Bays.

Click here to view a copy (in .pdf format) of the By-laws of the Delaware Center for the Inland Bays, Inc.

GO BACK

Sandy beach at the James Farm

CIB staff has undertaken measures to protect and preserve this stretch of beach which serves as an important horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) nesting area in the Inland Bays.

Where Waters Meet

Students get a close look at life in the Bays.

Beautiful Swimmer

The CIB has funded efforts to transplant eelgrass (Zostera marina), which offers important habitat for the blue crab (Calinectes sapidus) population in Delaware's Inland Bays.

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