PARTNERSHIP FOR THE DELAWARE ESTUARY INC

The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE) is a nonprofit organization established in 1996 to take a leadership role in protecting and enhancing the Delaware Estuary, where fresh water from the Delaware River mixes with salt water from the Atlantic Ocean. PDE is one of 28 Congressionally designated National Estuary Programs throughout the coastal United States working to improve the environmental health of the nation's estuaries. Our staff works with partners in three states to increase awareness, understanding, and scientific knowledge about the Delaware Estuary, the region's most important cultural, economic, and recreational resource.
Vision

We envision everyone working together for clean water, thriving fish and wildlife, and abundant recreational activities in and around the tidal Delaware River and Bay to support communities and a robust economy. To make this vision a reality, the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary will become:

• A model implementer of practical solutions that fill critical gaps and engage people as stewards of the Estuary;

• The driver of attention and joint problem solving to overcome the challenges facing the Estuary; and

• The driver of attracting financial support and sustainable investment in the Estuary.

Guided by its 2013-2017 strategic plan, the Partnership for the Delaware Estuary strives to achieve its organizational mission through scientific research coupled with educational outreach. The following goals and objectives will be pursued in partnership with many organizations, agencies, and individuals throughout this estuary of national significance:

Continuous improvement of the health of the Estuary through sustained momentum of current successful science-based activities and new high-priority activities.
o Improve the health and sustainability of wetlands for clean water, healthy habitat, and community resilience.
o Restore shellfish to improve water quality, habitat, and community resilience.
o Facilitate partnerships and capacity building to improve the health and sustainability of watersheds and waterfronts.
o Coordinate science activities for improved management of the Estuary's natural resources.
o Advance scientific knowledge and its use for improved management of the Estuary's natural resources.

Public, community, and key stakeholders highly engaged in improving the health of the Estuary and its tributaries.
o Increase the preparedness of coastal communities to adapt to climate change and/or sea level rise.
o Encourage targeted behavior changes that can reduce pollution entering local waterways and improve community resilience.
o Build affinity for the tidal Delaware River and Bay and its major tributaries.
o Facilitate collaborative problem solving on key issues and in key areas and sub-watersheds.

Heightened visibility, profile, and organizational capacity for improving the health of the Estuary.
o Increase advocacy for the use of science in decision making and for increased investment in the Estuary's health.
o Strengthen the framework for shared leadership and responsibility, which transcends geography, jurisdiction, and economic sector.
o Enhance the sophistication of marketing and communications, including building PDE's and the Estuary's brand locally, regionally, and nationally.
o Improve administrative systems and augment personnel to support growth and to raise awareness and visibility as well as to advance PDE's role as a lead facilitator and key implementer.
o Develop PDE's physical infrastructure, proactively, in support of current and future needs.

Financial resources for PDE and for the Estuary to enable a greater impact on improving the health of the Estuary.
o Increase financial resources for implementation of the Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan.
o Increase the level of unrestricted support for PDE.
o Increase the amount of dedicated support (grants and sponso

The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary is one of 28 congressionally-designated National Estuary Programs working to improve the environmental health of the nation's estuaries. As a core methodology, PDE achieves its mission through leading collaborative and creative efforts to protect and enhance the Delaware Estuary and its tributaries for current and future generations. PDE has a proven track record of leading multidisciplinary technical and outreach programs, with recent examples of past work including a multi-state benthic inventory, native vegetation inventory, and wetland monitoring and assessment (e.g. http://www.delawareestuary.org/scienceandresearch/scienceprojects.asp).

PDE routinely brings together representatives from all levels of government, business and industry, academia, and other nonprofits in our region to work together to tackle the most pressing issues and needs facing the Delaware Estuary (e.g., http://www.delawareestuary.org/science_stac_about.asp).

PDE currently oversees a $1.8 million annual budget, and employs 16 full time staff, 2 part time staff, and several interns throughout the year. PDE has an office in Wilmington, Delaware with full administrative, financial, and technical capabilities to successfully manage and complete this project. As a National Estuary Program, PDE receives annual federal funding from the U.S. EPA and has procedures and systems in place to properly track, manage, and report on the use of federal funds. As a non-profit organization, it has a volunteer Board of Directors made up of eighteen representatives from local government, business, industry, academia, and non-profit organizations.

PDE also has extensive experience with overseeing sub-award programs. For more than five years, PDE administered a mini-grant program utilizing EPA National Estuary Program (320) funding. From 2005 through 2009, PDE administered an EPA Targeted Watershed Grant (TWG) for the Schuylkill Watershed which involved the successful management and oversight of a $1.15 million award from EPA for the implementation of over 40 projects in the Schuylkill Watershed that leveraged an additional $2 million from local, state, and regional sources. PDE's Science Director managed a scientific grant funding program (Marsh Ecology Research Program) from 1995 to 2000. PDE has also served on the technical assistance/review team for the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's Delaware Estuary Watershed Grants Program, since its creation and sits on the technical review team for the Schuylkill River Restoration Fund administered by the Schuylkill River Heritage Area.

The Partnership for the Delaware Estuary (PDE) is responsible for publishing a “State of the Estuary Report" every three to five years. This serves as a scientific health exam of the tidal Delaware River and Bay, as well as the land draining to them in coastal Delaware, southern New Jersey, and Southeast Pennsylvania.

The PDE produced two complimentary reports in 2012. One was a public-friendly “State of the Estuary Report" (PDF file) published as a special issue of Estuary News. The other was a robust "Technical Report for the Delaware Estuary and Basin," with contributions from expert authors working throughout the region (PDF file). The purpose of both reports is to provide readers with insight into the status and trends of select natural resources in the Delaware Valley.

The information from these reports is used to track the progress being made toward implementation of the PDE's Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan, drafted and adopted in 1996. See http://delawareestuary.org/state-estuary to access to reports from 2008 and 2002 (PDF files).