Overview

The mission of the Albemarle-Pamlico National Estuary Partnership (APNEP) is to identify, protect, and restore the significant resources of the Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine system. APNEP pursues its mission with guidance and support from its overarching Comprehensive Conservation and Management Plan (CCMP), the Management Conference (advisory groups) and regional partners.

APNEP was among the first of 28 National Estuary Programs established by the Clean Water Act in the late 1980's. The Partnership is a cooperative effort currently hosted by the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality under a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and works closely with the Commonwealth of Virginia. APNEP's program area extends across both states, from its headwaters in the Virginia mountains and North Carolina Piedmont, through a broad coastal plain and out to the string of barrier islands bordering the sounds.

APNEP's staff works closely with diverse stakeholder committees whose members include citizens, local business leaders, environmental organizations, and local, state, and federal agencies. APNEP engages citizens and organizations through its committees to ensure a coordinated approach to managing the Albemarle-Pamlico estuarine system. By facilitating communication and collaboration among different organizations throughout the region, APNEP seeks to leverage its resources and those of its partners to accomplish more together than any individual organization could alone. This, combined with our ecosystem-based management approach, positions APNEP to identify and fill regional gaps and to address pressing issues confronting the region.