SENATE RESOLUTION MARKS IMPORTANCE OF ESTUARIES

Senator Cochran is Original Cosponsor of “National Estuaries Day” Resolution

GULFPORT, Miss. – U.S. Senator Thad Cochran (R-Miss.) has signed as an original cosponsor to a bipartisan Senate Resolution designating Sept. 26 as National Estuaries Day, a day that will draw attention to the importance of estuaries like the Mississippi Sound.

Cochran is one of 16 cosponsors to S.Res.247, which has been referred to the Senate Commerce Committee.  The measure was introduced by Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.).

“The Mississippi coast, as one of the country’s most significant estuaries, is a source of economic and environmental importance.  On the whole, Mississippi’s estuary and river systems represent the lifeblood for the character and livelihood of our entire state,” Cochran said.

“This resolution simply sets aside a day for Mississippians and all Americans to be more aware of estuarine systems and the care needed to protect and preserve them for the future,” he said.

The resolution states that the nation’s estuaries support more than 28 million jobs through commercial and recreational fishing, boating, tourism and other coastal industries.  It also notes that “estuaries provide critical ecosystem services that protect human health and public safety, including water filtration, flood control, shoreline stabilization and erosion prevention, and protection of coastal communities during extreme weather events.”

In addition to designating Sept. 26, 2009, as National Estuary Day, the measure reaffirms the Senate’s “support for estuaries, including the preservation, protection and restoration thereof, and expresses its intent to continue working to protect and restore the estuaries of the United States.”

The Mississippi Sound, the state’s largest estuary, includes coastal bays, marshes, bayous, rivers and coastal beaches, as well as the Cat, Ship, Horn and Petit Bois barrier islands in the Gulf of Mexico.

Cochran in June became an original cosponsor to Senator Roger Wicker’s Gulf of Mexico Restoration and Protection Act (S.1311).  This bill would amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act to expand cooperative efforts to monitor, restore and protect the resource productivity, water quality and marine ecosystems in the Gulf of Mexico.
 
Related links:

• Mississippi Department of Marine Resources

http://www.dmr.state.ms.us/

• National Estuarine Research Reserve (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

http://nerrs.noaa.gov/GrandBay/welcome.html

• Ocean and Coastal Management in Mississippi (NOAA)

http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/mystate/ms.html

• Mississippi Coastal Watershed (Environmental Protection Agency)

http://cfpub.epa.gov/surf/huc.cfm?huc_code=03170009

• National Estuary Program (EPA)

http://www.epa.gov/owow/estuaries/index.html