Coastal Bend Bays and Estuaries Program
Living on the Edge
Protecting Our Bays and Estuaries

Many of the benefits we receive from living near the Gulf of Mexico are dependent on the health of the bays and estuaries. The vision of the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program (CBBEP) is to maintain healthy bays and estuaries so that residents and visitors may enjoy their aesthetic, recreational, and commercial values.

The Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program is a local non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that was established in 1994 with the goal of developing and implementing a plan to protect and restore the bays and estuaries of the Texas Coastal Bend. The estuary system of the Coastal Bend is one of 28 estuaries of “National Significance” that was nominated by Governor George W. Bush in 1998 and approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in 1999.

The CBBEP project area encompasses the 12 counties of the Coastal Bend Council of Governments extending from the land-cut in the Laguna Madre, through the Corpus Christi Bay system, and north to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge. The mission of the CBBEP is the implementation of the Coastal Bend Bays Plan, which is to protect and restore the health and productivity of the bays and estuaries while supporting continued economic growth and public use of the bays.

The Coastal Bend Bays Plan identifies 50 actions that will benefit the bay system and the users of the bays. The Bays Plan is intended to help manage the needs of the bay system for the people who use it for the next 20 – 50 years.

The CBBEP implements management solutions and supports research with a focus on Water and Sediment Quality, Freshwater Inflows, Maritime Commerce, Habitat Loss, Human Uses of Coastal Resources, and Public Education and Outreach.

The LOTE project is an integral part of the CBBEP’s Public Education and Outreach Action Plan which is designed to: raise the public’s environmental awareness, foster community stewardship of bay resources, and increase individual involvement in bay resource management issues.