Celebrate Estuaries

Discover some of the benefits of estuaries and our National Estuarine Research Reserve System:

National Estuarine Research Reserves

The National Estuarine Research Reserve System is a network of 30 estuarine areas established across the nation for long-term research, education, and coastal stewardship. The reserves are a partnership between NOAA and the coastal states and territories.

Living Laboratories

The reserves are living laboratories, which makes them ideal sites for research and long-term monitoring. By understanding how estuaries function and change over time, scientists are in a better position to predict how coastal ecosystems will respond to climate change.

Estuary Life

Estuaries are made up of many different types of habitats. These habitats can include oyster reefs, coral reefs, rocky shores, submerged aquatic vegetation, marshes, and mangroves. Different animals live in each of these habitats. Fish, shellfish, and migratory birds are just a few of the animals that can live in an estuary.

Protect our Estuaries

You have a role in helping to protect these fragile estuarine ecosystems. View this list of simple things you can do every day to help protect and conserve our nation's estuaries.