The Canterbury School, a preparatory school in St. Petersburg, was the winner of the inaugural Golden Mangrove Award as the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s most outstanding Bay Mini-Grant project for 2007.

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Water quality in Tampa Bay is meeting all targets for the second year in a row, according to data just released by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP).

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The Tampa Bay Estuary Program is sponsoring the following teacher workshops this summer:

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At the request of its Management and Policy Boards, the Tampa Bay Estuary Program will be facilitating a series of workshops to develop regional, science-based guidelines for appropriate use of residential fertilizer. Once developed, these guidelines could be incorporated into a local ordinance, should a local government elect to do so.

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A companion teaching guide to TBEP’s award-winning documentary film, “Tampa Bay: Living Legacy” is now available to high school teachers in the Tampa Bay watershed.

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The Tampa Bay Estuary Program's Policy Board has chosen longtime Program scientist Holly Greening to succeed retiring director Dick Eckenrod at the helm of the Estuary Program.

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About 75 people attended a very successful community information forum on residential fertilizer use in November at Weedon Island Preserve’s Cultural and Natural History Center in St. Petersburg. It was sponsored by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s Community Advisory Committee and the League of Women Voters chapters of the Bay Area.

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Looking for the perfect gift for the Tampa Bay enthusiast? Now you can order gift certificates for the Tampa Bay Estuary license tag!

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The Feather Sound Seagrass Recovery Project was a multi-phase, multi-agency research project, funded by the Pinellas County Environmental Fund, to identify the potential causes of poor seagrass recovery in the Feather Sound region of Old Tampa Bay. Unlike many other areas in Tampa Bay that have experienced increases in seagrass acreage, seagrass coverage here, especially in the northwest quadrant of Old Tampa Bay, has been slower or declining. Until recent years, this bay segment also failed to meet one or both of its water clarity targets, prompting additional research.

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An Eagle Scout, a Girl Scout troop, and three school classes were honored as winners of TBEP’s first “Guardians of the Bay” contest.

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Nearly 60 people participated in the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s annual “Estuary Academy” held in October at Weedon Island Preserve in St. Petersburg.

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TBEP is spearheading an innovative $560,000 research project that seeks to restore natural sandbars to areas of the bay where they once existed.

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ST. PETERSBURG – The Tampa Bay Estuary Program recently awarded $116,000 to 20 community groups for projects that directly involve citizens in restoring and improving Tampa Bay.

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The Tampa Bay Estuary Program was among the premier sponsors of a regional visioning exercise that recently brought together 300 community leaders in Tampa to brainstorm how to accommodate the population and job growth expected by the year 2050 .

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Download the Tampa Bay Estuary Program June 2007 Newsletter.

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The National Estuary Program celebrates 20 years of community-based watershed management in 2007.

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Download the Tampa Bay Estuary Program March 2007 Newsletter.

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Tampa Bay has gained nearly 1,300 acres of seagrass since 2004, and now supports more seagrass than at any time measured since the 1950s, according to newly released data presented to the Tampa Bay Estuary Program (TBEP).

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The Tampa Bay Estuary Program recently awarded $160,000 to 25 community groups for projects that directly involve citizens in restoring and improving Tampa Bay.

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“Tampa Bay: Living Legacy,” a one-hour documentary film about Florida’s largest open-water estuary, will be broadcast on WUSF-TV (Channel 16) on Wednesday, August 23 at 8 p.m.

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The first teaching guide to marine invasive species in Florida is now available from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.

Designed for middle-school students, “Intruders in Paradise” contains 12 classroom activities, website references, a master vocabulary list, 29 Fact Sheets about individual invasive plants and animals, and additional resources – all as downloadable web-based files. Activities are aligned with both FCAT learning benchmarks and Sunshine State curriculum standards for grades 6-8.

The “Intruders in Paradise” guide was developed by The Florida Aquarium with assistance and funding from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, Florida Sea Grant and the UF/IFAS Cooperative Extension Service.

To view and download the guide, click here.

Copies of the newly revised Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP) for Tampa Bay are now available free on CD-ROM by e-mailing saveit@tbep.org or calling (727) 893-2765.

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The Tampa Bay Estuary Program is facilitating the development of comprehensive Basin Management Action Plans (BMAPs) to identify and address the causes of water quality impairments in three major drainage basins in Hillsborough County.

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Photographs from six local photographers were selected for use on special notecards commemorating the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s 15th Anniversary in 2006.

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A new color-coded card provides important information about safe consumption of fish caught in Bay area coastal waters, as well as rivers and lakes in Hillsborough County.

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TBEP Senior Scientist Holly Greening recently was appointed to the National Academy of Sciences Ocean Studies Board. The 3-year appointment will be from spring 2005 to spring 2008.

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An information-packed guide to environmentally responsible boating and angling in Hillsborough Bay is now available free of charge from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.

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A waterproof laminated card explaining how boaters can help prevent the spread of invasive plants and animals is now available from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.

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The TBEP is pleased to announce the 2005-2006 Bay Mini-Grants Recipients.

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Boaters new to boating in Tampa Bay are being offered free, customized kits under a new educational program developed by the Tampa Bay Manatee Awareness Coalition (MAC).

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The Tampa Bay Estuary Program – in cooperation with the Hillsborough Cooperative Extension Service and Shooting Stars Post, has produced a 20-minute video showing homeowners how to safely remove invasive trees, shrubs and vines from their own home landscapes.

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We have added a Birds of the Bay Photo Album under the "Portrait of the Tampa Bay Estuary" section of the website. This page also lists some of the best parks in the area for birdwatching in the fall. We plan to keep adding more photos of the large variety of seabirds that live in and migrate through Tampa Bay each year, so be sure to bookmark this page.

Visit the Birds of the Bay Photo Feature...

ST. PETERSBURG - The first revised edition of the Boating and Angling Guide to Tampa Bay in eight years has finally arrived!

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The popular “Tampa Bay Ethical Angler Wallet Card,” produced by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, is now available in Spanish. The wallet card is designed to encourage responsible fishing in the bay. The card is available free upon request, and also will be distributed through many bait and tackle shops in the area.

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A waterproof identification card featuring several known or likely invasive species in Tampa Bay is being offered to divers, fishermen and others who want to serve as “Eyes On The Bay.”

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The Local Rule Review Committee (LRRC) was convened in July 2003 to evaluate and provide local perspectives on new manatee protection zones in Tampa Bay proposed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC). The Tampa Bay LRRC was the first constituted under a new state law requiring review of state manatee zones by a local advisory panel of diverse stakeholders. That law, the Florida Manatee Sanctuary Act, specified that the membership of the LRRC must contain a 50-50 balance of manatee advocates and waterway user advocates, and set a 60-day time clock, commencing upon receipt of the formal state proposal, for reviewing and providing a report to the FWC summarizing the Committee’s recommendations regarding the proposed zones.

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The most frequently asked questions we get about the Tampa Bay estuary.

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Bay area neighborhoods that help to promote manatee protection can now earn special recognition for their efforts through an innovative program developed by the Estuary Program’s Manatee Awareness Coalition (MAC).

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The Tampa Bay Estuary Program has produced a wallet card designed to encourage responsible angling in the bay. The card is available free to upon request, and also will be distributed through many bait and tackle shops in the area.

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This 30-acre restoration project involves an innovative partnership of both public and private sector organizations to create an urban nature park along Tampa Bay in northern Manatee County.

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Responses to a public opinion poll developed by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program’s Community Advisory Committee (CAC) indicate that citizens have a good grasp of key issues affecting the health of Tampa Bay.

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Bay area neighborhoods that help to promote manatee protection can now earn special recognition for their efforts through an innovative program developed by the Estuary Program’s Manatee Awareness Coalition (MAC).

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As part of its “Eyes On The Bay” project, TBEP has prepared a slide show on invasive species that is now available to interested community groups.

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For a current list of available videos, please visit our online video library.

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A new educational campaign launched by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program seeks to enlist the aid of boaters, aquarium owners and others in preventing the introduction of potentially harmful invasive species.

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Don’t dump unwanted aquarium pets in nearby bays, rivers or lakes. Instead, return them to a local pet shop for resale or trade; give them to another hobbyist, an aquarium in a professional office, a museum or public aquarium or zoo; donate them to a school, nursing home, hospital or prison; or advertise to give them away for free.

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The Tampa Bay Estuary Program and a host of partner organizations have received a major grant to assess why seagrasses in some parts of Tampa Bay are not recovering despite improvements in water quality.

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TBEP is offering a free brochure that addresses a variety of issues intended to help anglers and seabirds co-exist in harmony.

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Existing dredge disposal sites in Tampa Bay may be full to capacity within five years unless steps are taken soon to expand the storage areas or find alternative disposal methods, according to a recently completed study financed partially by the Tampa Bay Estuary program.

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A special stand-up card promoting the Tampa Bay Estuary license plate is available for businesses to display at their front desk or check-out counters. Order yours today by calling the Estuary Program at (727) 893-2765 or e-mailing saveit@tbep.org.

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Test your knowledge about issues affecting the health of Tampa Bay.

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ST. PETERSBURG -- An information-packed guide to environmentally responsible boating and angling in Hillsborough Bay is now available free of charge from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program.

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TBEP’s Video Lending Library has the following new films available for loan to residents, community groups and school classes:

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In the last decade, nearly 500 acres of marshes, mangroves and other critically important native habitats have been restored in the Tampa Bay ecosystem.

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“Charting The Course,” the Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan for Tampa Bay, is now available on CD.

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Although seagrass recovery baywide is still on pace to achieve goals adopted by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program, slowdowns or declines in seagrass growth in some parts of the bay deserve further study.

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Show your support for Tampa Bay by purchasing a Tampa Bay Estuary specialty license plate, now available at tax collector offices through the Bay Area.

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“Habitat Is Where It’s At!” is the theme of a new educational poster guide spotlighting the wild and wonderful creatures of the Tampa Bay watershed.

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The Baywide Environmental Monitoring Report (BEMR) is a periodic document produced by the Tampa Bay Estuary Program intented for use by resource managers and scientists working in Tampa Bay, to provide timely access to information critical for successful restoration and protection of Tampa Bay's living resources. Its authors are those scientists reponsible for conducting the extensive monitoring efforts on going in Tampa Bay. The first edition of the BEMR covered pre-1993 conditions. The second edition (available from the TBEP) covers 1993-1998.

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