The Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program Working toward One Lagoon, One Community, One Voice
Photo Credit: L. Ludlum
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) established the National Estuary Program (NEP) as a core water program authorized by Section 320 of the Clean Water Act. The NEP’s mission is to protect and restore the water quality and ecological integrity of the 28 estuaries designated by the U.S. Congress as “Estuaries of National Significance.”
The Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program (IRLNEP), is the leading organization that connects local, state, federal and community partners with a common goal to restore the IRL.
Photo Credit: M. LaMartina
There is a Plan
National Estuary Programs are tasked with developing Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plans (CCMPs) for their watersheds. The IRLNEP CCMP is a 10-year, lagoon-wide management plan adopted in 2019. The Vital Signs wheel contains 32 Action Plans that guide improvements to lagoon health.
Explore the Indian River Lagoon
Discover the nature and heritage tourism destinations of the Indian River Lagoon with our interactive map.
Help Keep the IRL Clean
Latest Updates from the IRLNEP
Episode 33: How Reconnecting Isolated Wetlands Is Improving IRL Habitats and Ecosystems
Florida's mosquito control districts built earthen dikes around coastal wetlands starting in the mid-1950s. Flooding marshes with water interrupted the breeding cycle of salt marsh mosquitoes, which lay eggs on moist — but not wet...
Episode 32: Invisible Infrastructure: How Baffle Boxes Filter Stormwater Before It Reaches the Lagoon
Every time it rains, stormwater carries trash, sediment, nitrogen and phosphorus into the Indian River Lagoon (IRL). But underground sits a growing network of concrete boxes that most Floridians will never notice. Those boxes are...
Episode 31: What Fish Populations Are Telling Us About the IRL’s Health
Every fishing regulation in Florida (every bag limit, every closed season) traces back to data. Biologists at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) have been collecting it in the Indian River Lagoon (IRL)...
