Texas National Estuarine Research Reserve

The National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) System is a network of coastal reserves that operates as a collective partnership between the federal government and coastal states. The primary goal of the Texas NERR system is to identify and track short-term variability and long-term changes in the integrity of the ecosystem for effective management of the coastal zone.

The Mission-Aransas Estuary was nominated as a Texas NERR site because it is environmentally representative, relatively pristine, suitable for education and interpretation, and accessible. Nomination of the Mission-Aransas Estuary as an appropriate site was greatly aided by maps that identified political boundaries, land types, state tracts for oil and gas development, pipeline locations, watersheds, oil and gas well locations, fishing cabin locations, boat ramp locations, and habitat types (coastal marshes, oyster beds, sea grasses, tidal flats, and mangroves). In addition, the GIS was used to determine acreages of habitats and land types (federal, state, and private). Map development also took into consideration that lands within the proposed site are owned by a combination of state, federal, and private entities.

Maps of the proposed site are essential to the approval and designation of the Texas NERR site. Upon designation, a great return on investment will be seen through the promotion of management and stewardship of our estuarine and coastal habitats through scientific understanding linked with public education. This is accomplished through a combination of research, education, and public outreach. The reserves serve as living laboratories and classrooms where the effects of both natural and human activity can be monitored and studied.