The Center for Watershed Protection has revived its publication Watershed Protection Techniques, for one last gasp as we put forth some watershed management tools for coastal plain watershed communities.

In 1998, the Center created a comprehensive local framework for watershed planning known as the eight tools of watershed protection. This framework addresses each stage of land development from initial land zoning, through site plan development and review, construction and occupancy. Since then, the Center has applied the eight tools framework in numerous watersheds across the country and has continuously tested, refined and updated it. Although the framework has been widely accepted and applied, some of the specific recommendations in it are derived primarily from research in the Piedmont region of the U.S. No comprehensive effort has been made to evaluate whether these tools are effective in coastal plain watersheds.

In order to address this information gap, the Center, under a grant from the Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology, conducted a two-year long research effort to better understand coastal plain watersheds and adapt the eight tools framework. This issue of Techniques is the culmination of this project, and in many cases the results are applicable beyond the coastal plain to other coastal regions or to regions with similar characteristics and challenges.

The first four articles in this issue provide the context for coastal plain watershed management. The remaining articles discuss the eight tools in detail and how to apply them in coastal plain watersheds.

Click here to download the entire issue. Download individual articles below:

• Characteristics of the Atlantic Coastal Plain describes the unique features of coastal plain watersheds
• The Effects of Watershed Land Use on Coastal Plain Water Resources summarizes findings from a literature review of impacts research conducted in the coastal plain
• Practicing Watershed Protection in the Coastal Plain provides a snapshot of how the coastal plain is currently being managed and the needs of coastal plain watershed managers based on a recently conducted survey of 73 coastal plain communities
• Reversing the Trend of Coastal Sprawl: Smarter Land Use Planning for Coastal Watersheds deals with the application of land use planning in the coastal plain
• Conserving Critical Lands in Coastal Plain Watersheds deals with the application of land conservation in the coastal plain
• Designing Aquatic Buffers for the Coastal Plain deals with the application of aquatic buffers in the coastal plain
• Reversing the Tide: Better Site Design in Coastal Communities deals with the application of better site design in the coastal plain
• Managing Construction Site Runoff deals with the application of erosion and sediment control in the coastal plain
• Adapting Stormwater Management Practices to Coastal Environments deals with the application of stormwater management in the coastal plain
• Keeping Waste In Its Place: Preventing and Controlling Non-Stormwater Discharges deals with the management of non-stormwater discharges in the coastal plain
• Watershed Stewardship in Coastal Communities deals with the application of watershed stewardship in the coastal plain