The White House plans to eliminate federal funding for the 29 National Estuarine Reserves, including our own Rookery Bay Reserve in Naples. Loss of federal funds will eliminate staff and close facilities that have reached over 180,000 local residents and students in the past decade.
Why is this important?
The 110,000-acre Rookery Bay Reserve is one of the few remaining pristine estuaries in the nation, providing for recreational boating and sportfishing, an essential refuge for wildlife, supporting thousands of local jobs and generating millions of dollars through tourism, recreational boating and sportfishing.
