Restore America's Estuaries (RAE) is a national non-profit organization that works to protect and restore estuaries across the United States. Estuaries are special coastal areas where rivers meet the ocean, and they support a wide variety of plants and animals. RAE is based in Washington, D.C., and has staff in Seattle, Colorado, and Florida. It is an alliance of eleven local coastal conservation groups, including the American Littoral Society, Chesapeake Bay Foundation, Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, Conservation Law Foundation, Galveston Bay Foundation, North Carolina Coastal Federation, Save The Bay – San Francisco, EarthCorps, Save The Bay – Narragansett Bay, Save the Sound, and Tampa Bay Watch.

RAE partners with communities, private groups, and government agencies at the national, state, and local levels to protect estuarine habitats. Its work includes supporting local restoration projects, developing tools to help guide restoration efforts, and bringing together important groups at a national conference and through outreach programs.

Since 1994, RAE and its members have restored more than 56,000 acres of coastal habitat. This work has helped improve food supplies, human health, job opportunities, and quality of life. Over $25 million in funding has been raised and used to complete more than 800 local restoration projects across the United States. Additionally, more than 300,000 volunteers have helped with these efforts.

History

In 1994, the Pew Charitable Trusts started an initiative to connect coastal organizations across the United States. These groups worked together nationally to help them achieve their goals locally. Eight existing coastal organizations (ALS, CLF, CBF, CRCL, NCCF, PFPS, STB-SF, STB-NB) were invited to a meeting in Philadelphia. The group agreed that restoring habitats in coastal and estuary areas would be the best way to work together. Soon after, these eight organizations, along with GBF, formed Restore America's Estuaries. In 1997, two additional organizations, TBW and STS, joined the group.

Restore America's Estuaries operated from the American Littoral Society offices until December 14, 1999, when it became an official organization. In June 2000, the IRS gave Restore America's Estuaries 501(c)(3) status.

Member organizations

Restore America's Estuaries is made up of eleven coastal conservation groups found along the coasts of the United States. These groups are the main partners and receive support from the organization. Each group sends one representative—such as an Executive Director, President, or Vice President—to serve on the Restore America's Estuaries Board of Directors.

• American Littoral Society
• Chesapeake Bay Foundation
• Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana
• Conservation Law Foundation
• Galveston Bay Foundation
• North Carolina Coastal Federation
• Save The Bay – Narragansett Bay
• Save The Bay – San Francisco
• Save the Sound – a program of Connecticut Fund for the Environment
• Tampa Bay Watch
• EarthCorps

Community-based restoration

Restore America's Estuaries works with government, business, and nonprofit groups at all levels to help restore coastal areas. The organization focuses on community-based projects that involve local people and volunteers. These projects use volunteer help and scientific methods to improve the environment. Activities include planting salt marsh grasses, removing non-native plants, fixing stream banks, raising and sharing shellfish, and placing materials to build oyster reefs in places like Coastal Louisiana, Chesapeake Bay, North Carolina, and East Bay, Texas.

Advocacy

Restore America's Estuaries partners with government agencies and Congress to create better policies for protecting and restoring coastal habitats. In its first major success, RAE worked to help Congress pass the Estuary Restoration Act, which became law on November 7, 2000. In 2009, RAE successfully promoted habitat restoration funding in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, securing $167 million for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Restoration Center. That same year, RAE formed the HabNet Coalition, a group of over 50 conservation organizations that support the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Coastal Program, including efforts to get Congress to approve the program. Additionally, RAE and its member organizations work to pass regional estuary restoration laws in Congress and organize events and legislation each year to support National Estuaries Day.

Convening the coastal and estuarine habitat community

Restore America's Estuaries brings together the larger coastal and estuarine habitat restoration community by encouraging conversations; by finding and creating partnerships that help build skills and improve restoration practices; and by identifying and discussing new issues important to the community. As a group that brings people together, its goal is to create fair and open conversations with the many different groups involved in or affecting coastal habitats. Restore America's Estuaries hosts a conference every two years called the National Conference and Expo on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration to bring together government, business, and non-government groups to share information about coastal issues and discuss challenges and solutions related to the environment.

The first conference on Coastal and Estuarine Habitat Restoration was held in April 2003 in Baltimore, Maryland. Since then, conferences have been held in 2004 (Seattle), 2006 (New Orleans), and 2008 (Providence, Rhode Island).

The 5th National Conference, titled "Preparing for Climate Change: Science, Practice, and Policy," will take place at the Galveston Island Convention Center in Galveston, Texas, from November 13 to 17, 2010. Restore America's Estuaries expects more than 1,000 people to attend, including 150 exhibitors, 160 poster presentations, and 400 presenters in over 80 sessions discussing the latest methods for preserving and restoring coastal habitats.

Issues addressed

RAE understands the importance of certain economic and ecological issues when supporting and funding restoration projects. These issues help guide RAE's focus and mission.

A key point RAE highlights is the value of estuaries to people. Estuaries are places where many fish and wildlife species reproduce, supporting both commercial and recreational fishing. These areas contribute billions of dollars and millions of jobs to the U.S. economy each year. They also serve as centers for tourism, culture, and major cities. Estuaries provide important environmental benefits, such as filtering pollution, reducing the impact of storm surges, and keeping shorelines stable. Restoring natural functions in coastal areas can improve water quality, human health, and coastal economies.

RAE has also focused on how climate change affects America's coasts and how restoration can help reduce these effects. In April 2010, RAE gathered a group of experts to create a plan for reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the restoration of wetlands, marshes, and mangrove forests. The organization is now studying ways to use estuary restoration as a method to remove some greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

Publications

RAE supports on-the-ground restoration projects and also works to educate people and share information. RAE has created several resources that explain the current condition of coastal habitats and possible ways to solve environmental problems.

The Hope for Coastal Habitats report shows how individual volunteers can help with restoration efforts. It also describes examples of people who have taken action to improve their local environments. RAE has been involved in projects that restore wetlands, oyster reefs, eelgrass, and fish passage.

With help from economist Linwood Pendleton, RAE published a report that shows the dollar value of U.S. estuaries to the national economy. The report found that healthy coasts and estuaries are important for protecting more than $800 billion in trade each year, tens of billions of dollars in recreational activities annually, and more than 45 percent of the nation's petroleum refining capacity.

Published in 2002, the National Strategy to Restore Coastal and Estuarine Habitat provides a plan for restoring the natural functions of coastlines and estuaries. It includes principles and strategies that match the goals of the Estuary Restoration Act of 2000 and can be used for restoration projects across the country.

Through teamwork between scientists and field workers, RAE created a guide for estuarine habitat restoration. The guide includes best practices for successful projects, covering areas such as understanding the environment, planning, designing, and carrying out restoration work.