The Barataria Terrebonne National Estuary Program operates under a comprehensive conservation management plan.  This plan was developed democratically by the Management Conference of the concerned estuary interests.  A formal management plan with specific action plans was developed to promote and preserve the Barataria and Terrebonne estuaries. This document is outlined below for online browsing a single
compressed file with all of these documents can also be downloaded.

CCMP Part I: Executive Summary (Coming Soon)

CCMP Part II: Estuary Compact

The public agreement between the BTNEP Mangement Conference to the public about how the estuary program would operate to promote the visions, goals and public education to protect the Barataraia Terrebonne Estuarine complex. 

CCMP Part III: The Technical Supplement

Coordinated Planning and Implementation Action Plans

Once the comprehensive management plan was approved by the EPA and adopted by the State of Louisiana, an organizational structure was established for the implementation of the program. Tasks for the day to day activities, such as distributing information to the public, making policy decisions regarding the prioritization of major initiatives. The following action plans describe how these tasks are handled and how the other plans are completed.

The ecological management action plans directly address the Priority Problems identified for the estuary. As such, they are considered by many to be the most important elements of the CCMP. The plans are listed under the following headings: Habitat Management, actions which address the issues of water and sediment flows, habitat loss, and marsh protection; water quality, actions which identify water quality problems and protect water resources: Living Resources, actions which address problems associated with the plant and animal life of the estuary; and Accessible and Compatible Data Sets, actions which address the need for a centralized accessible body of scientific information about the estuary and its problems.

The actions included in this section do more than any other plans to increase public awareness for the estuary's importance and problems, and to encourage residents, users, and decision makers to become more involved in the promotion and protection of the estuary as a national treasure. The plans are categorized as Citizen Involvement and Participation actions, which encourage the involvement of the general public in the estuary's protection; Public Information and Education actions, which educate the public about estuary issues; and K-16 Curriculum actions which develop and support an estuary based educational program to be used in the state's school system from kindergarten through college.

The Economic Growth action plans were developed to encourage the growth of businesses that are more sensitive to the fragile environment. Industries such as nature-based tourism, which has a tremendous potential in this estuary, will benefit from the resources of the estuary. These plans are organized under Economic Development actions, which support additional develop additional development of businesses; Technology Transfer actions, which promote ecologically sensitive technology; and Cooperative Incentives actions, which encourage environmentally compatible practices through incentives and education.