Nitrogen Management Consortium honored by research federation

The Tampa Bay Estuary Program's Nitrogen Management Consortium has received the inaugural Coastal Stewardship Award from the Coastal and Estuarine Research Federation (CERF). The Consortium was honored for its long-standing, innovative public-private partnership to reduce nitrogen pollution in Tampa Bay.

CERF is a national federation of coastal and estuarine scientists and managers dedicated to advancing knowledge and wise use of estuaries and coasts. Every two years, CERF recognizes individual excellence in the fields of coastal and estuarine science, management and education through several scientific and service awards. This is the first year the Federation has honored an organization, project or program as well.

The awards committee noted that Tampa Bay's Nitrogen Management Consortium "demonstrated impressive achievements in all the key criteria considered important in the mission of CERF to promote the wise use of science and management toward the stewardship of estuaries and coasts around the world."

The Consortium, formed by TBEP in 1996, is comprised of more than 55 public and private entities from throughout the Tampa Bay watershed who work together to maintain water quality and seagrass recovery in the bay. NMC members include cities and counties, regulatory agencies and key industries such as fertilizer manufacturing, electric utilities and agriculture. Since 1996, the group collectively has constructed more than 500 projects to reduce nitrogen loadings in the bay, resulting in water quality equal to that of 1950. Tampa Bay also has regained 16,000 acres of seagrass, surpassing 1950s levels, at the same time our population has grown from 1 million to nearly 3 million.

"I have grown up on the bay and have watched the cycles of change and I know that TBEP has been a key part of its continued improvement. Hillsborough County is proud to have such an excellent program as TBEP contributing to the health and ongoing rehabilitation of the bay," said Hillsborough County Commissioner Stacy White.

The Consortium's success in engaging diverse stakeholders also was lauded by a sister watershed management program in Chesapeake Bay.

"We watched and learned from their extraordinary efforts to reach out and directly engage all the source sectors, local governments, businesses, and advocacy groups, and make them part of the shared decision-making process. They effectively blurred the lines between public and private, turning us and them into we," said Rich Batiuk, an EPA scientist who has been involved with the Chesapeake Bay Program for 25 years.

Learn more about the Nitrogen Management Consortium and all the 2017 CERF Scientific Award Recipients at http://www.erf.org/cerf-2017-scientific-award-recipients#Coastal