Reviewed by Kirk R. Barrett, Ph.D., P. E., P.W.S. Research Assistant Professor and Research Director Meadowlands Environmental Research Institute ...This book examines the (US) National Estuary Program (NEP) and "focuses on the technical and management issues" involved at 4 NEP sites. The declared purpose of the book is "to examine the multitude of anthropogenic problems affecting estuaries nationwide and to investigate the management actions that have been devised to remedy them"; it is "principally designed as a reference for estuarine scientists, resource managers, decision-makers, and other professionals dealing with anthropogenic impacts and remediation".

The National Estuary Program was established by the Clean Water Act amendments in 1987. Twenty-eight major estuaries were identified and included in the program. For each site, USEPA was directed to convene a "management conference" whose main purpose was to develop a "comprehensive conservation and management plan (CCMP)". A major part of each NEP is a technical assessment or "characterization" of problems to be addressed in the CCMP.

In most books, case studies are a complement, serving as illustrations or examples of ideas raised in the bulk of the book. In this book, however, the case studies are primary. The first chapter presents an excellent, thoroughly referenced overview of the anthropogenic effects on estuaries (pollution sources, types and effect; habitat loss and alteration; freshwater inflow alteration shoreline development; sea level rise; introduced species; and fishing).

The balance of the book, about 70% of its pages, is devoted to essentially summarizing the CCMPs for 4 case-study NEP sites that have been extensively studied, namely Long Island Sound (NY/CT), Delaware Bay (NJ/PA/DE), Galveston Bay (TX), San Francisco Bay (CA). Although they are widely distributed geographically, these sites are all in heavily populated and industrialized areas. As such, they all experience the kinds of impacts that one would expect: habitat destruction, contaminated sediments, nonpoint pollution, etc. The bulk of these chapters presents assessment of resources and problems, with a secondary emphasis on restoration/management goals and plans. I presume that these programs are not far along in implementing their CCMPs, because there is almost no information on their success. The book concludes with the final case study, without any generalized lessons presented. In any case, by focusing only 4 sites of 28, it seems difficult to draw any firm conclusions about the NEP as a whole.

As advertised, the book will be most valuable to those in the process of developing a CCMP (or a differently named equivalent); also to those who are acutely interested in one of the case studies, and want a quick lesson on that site.