Acknowledgements

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, and Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management provided funding for this project.

The Estuary Program entered into a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to perform the coastal wetland and buffer zone trends analysis with technical support from the University of Massachusetts-Natural Resources Assessment Group. The Estuary Program also formed a partnership with the University of Rhode Island-Environmental Data Center to perform geographic information system (GIS) services.

Ralph Tiner was project officer for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and helped design the study, provided project oversight and played major roles in data analysis/synthesis and report preparation.

Helen Cottrell, under the direction of Richard Ribb, Director, served as project officer for the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, secured grant funding, provided project oversight, and reviewed draft maps and project reports.

Irene Huber and Todd Nuerminger, from the University of Massachusetts, Natural Resources Assessment Group, under the direction of Dr. Peter Veneman, performed the photo-interpretation and cartographic work, data quality control, and assisted with project design, coordination, and report preparation. Additional support was provided by Mary Johnson, graduate student at the University of Massachusetts, and Crag Polzen, Natural Resources Assessment Group GIS Specialist.

Aimee Mandeville of the University of Rhode Island, Environmental Data Center, performed the GIS analyses, digitized the map overlays, created the database, maps, statistical summaries and tables, and assisted with project coordination and report preparation.