Recognizing the importance of the Mobile Bay Estuary and the threats posed to its health by local growth and development, a team of investigators, led by the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission, developed a nomination package for Mobile Bay's inclusion in the National Estuary Program. Alabama Governor Fob James, Jr. then submitted the nomination package for consideration by the U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in March, 1995. In September of the same year, EPA Administrator Carol Browner, having concurred with the justification provided within the nomination package, convened a Management Conference, and the Mobile Bay National Estuary Program (MBNEP) was created.The mission of the MBNEP is to promote wise stewardship of the water quality characteristics and living resource base of the Mobile Bay estuarine system. We are a non-regulatory program, so we implement the CCMP by bringing together citizens; local, state, and federal government agencies; businesses and industries; conservation and environmental organizations; and academic institutions to meet the environmental challenges that face the unique and imperiled resources that characterize our coastal estuaries. We engage these groups in determining how to best treat the Bay, our associated coastal waters, and their surrounding watersheds to ensure their protection and conservation for our lifetimes and beyond.