BTNEP is currently administered through the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) . The fundamental goals of the BTNEP were delineated in 1992 by a management conference. These goals provide the basis for all action plans found in the Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan. Goals of the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program are to: - Preserve and restore wetlands and barrier islands
- Realistically support diverse, natural biological communities
- Develop and meet water quality standards that adequately protect estuarine resources and human health
- Promote environmentally responsible economic activities that sustain estuarine resources
- Generate national recognition and support
- Implement comprehensive education and awareness on and awareness programs that enhance public involvement and maintain cultural heritage
- Create an accessible, comprehensive database with interpreted information for the public
- Create clear, fair, practical, and enforceable regulations
- Develop and maintain multi-level, long-term, comprehensive watershed planning
- Be compatible with natural processes
- Forge common-ground solutions to estuarine problems
- Formulate indicators of estuarine ecosystem health and balance estuary use
These goals and the seven priority concerns of the estuaries provide the basis for all action plans found in the Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program's Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan. The Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program's challenge is to coordinate all agency and stakeholder efforts related to restoration in the B-T system and to create a sense of environmental stewardship for the natural resources of the estuary complex. The program is focusing on the following issues to effect change and understanding of this complex system. Habitat - For thousands of years, the deltaic lands of the lower Mississippi have been subsiding. Yet, in spite of this natural sinking process, new wetlands were created historically from new sediments transported here and then dispersed by the great river. Humans have changed this landing building process in two main ways. The Mississippi is now confined within its banks by artificial levees and can now longer move its sediment load into adjacent wetlands. Additionally, the historically high sediment load of the river has declined by 80% since 1850 because of the hundreds of locks and dams built in the upper river watershed. Sea-level rise, erosion, and manmade changes to the way water naturally flows in our estuary also contribute to the habitat loss problem. Water flow changes that occur when oilfield or navigation canals are dredged are known as hydrologic modifications. Hydrologic modifications are considered the "linchpin" problems of the B-T basins, meaning that they affect all of the other issues of our estuary. Changes in Living Resources - Approximately 735 species of birds, finfish, shellfish, reptiles, amphibians, and mammals spend all or part of their life cycle in the estuary. Several of the species are either categorized as threatened or endangered. Water Quality -Present sources of pollutants in the Barataria-Terrebonne estuarine system are mostly generated from within the system itself rather than transported here directly through our major rivers. The levees built along the banks of our major rivers have severed their natural influrence and connection with Barataria-Terrebonne. A relatively small amount of water from the Mississippi River flows into the Barataria basin at Davis Pond, Naomi and West Pointe a la Hache, and pumps at Donaldsonville bring river water into Bayou Lafourche. Water from the Atchafalya influences the lower estuary through the Intracoastal Waterway, Fourleague Bay and western Terrebonne marshes and the Mississippi through the various passes of the bird-foot delta and from offshore. The magnitude of freshwater flows and maintenance of a fresh/saline gradient is mainly controlled by the seasonal rainfall patterns in Barataria-Terrebonne. Major and minor industrial point discharges are numerous within the B-T system. Municipal point sources include high-volume sewage discharges from municipalities and smaller volumes from subdivisions and rural communities. Septic tanks, sewage/stormwater overflow, unsewered communities, pasturelands, and marshes are also contributors of nutrients, organic matter, and fecal coliform contamination. A frequent avenue for the addition of pollutants is by sewage/stormwater overflow or, as is the case for several areas, pumped stormwater drainage systems. Changes in our hydrology have combined with losses of wetlands to bring saline waters into drinking water sources. This has resulted in degraded drinking water quality. Cultural Heritage - The 602,000 people who live in the estuary trace their hertiage to several continents, they share a common love of this land. Economic Development - Some estuarine goods are assigned values in the economic marketplace, such as the products of the commercial fishing, hunting, and trapping, and aquaculture industries. Other estuary services, such as storm protection and tertiary wastewater treatment, are never explicitly purchased and thus are more difficult to value.
Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CCMP) In July 1993, the Management Conference generated a list of 254 potential actions that would help BTNEP achieve its twelve goals. Fifty-one of those plans are being developed through BTNEP. The Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program is in its implementation phase. This publicly accessible internet station is a product of several action plans EM-18 Centralized Data Sets
SR-11 Written, Audio, and Visual Materials
SR-12 Distribution of Informational Materials | 
