IRL Council The IRL Council is a special district of the State of Florida sponsoring the Indian River Lagoon National Estuary Program (IRLNEP). The IRL Council includes representatives of five counties bordering the lagoon (Volusia, Brevard, the Indian River County Lagoon Coalition, St. Lucie and Martin counties), the St. Johns River and South Florida Water Management Districts, and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
National Estuary Program (NEP) The NEP was established under the EPA by the U.S. Congress as a non-regulatory, community-based program to protect and restore the water quality of the nation's estuaries.
Sebastian Inlet Tax District (SITD) The SITD maintains the inlet between the Atlantic Ocean and the Indian River Lagoon and authorizes programs and projects for beach renourishment, erosion control, environmental protection, navigation, boating, recreation and public safety.]
United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) The EPA administers the National Estuary Program, identifies Estuaries of National Significance and supports the development of comprehensive management plans to assure that estuaries maintain their ecological integrity.
Association of National Estuary Programs (ANEP) The ANEP works with the 28 individual programs in the National Estuary Program (NEP) to restore and protect estuaries of significant importance.
Public Land Conservation
Florida DEP Aquatic Preserve - Banana River Lagoon Banana River Aquatic Preserve is located in north central Brevard County, separating Merritt Island on the west and the Kennedy Space Center on the east.
Florida DEP Aquatic Preserve - Indian River: Malabar to Vero Beach Aquatic Preserve Located in Brevard and Indian River counties, the Indian River-Malabar to Vero Beach Aquatic Preserve encompasses 28 miles and 29,000 acres of the lagoon. The aquatic preserve begins just north of Turkey Creek at Castaway Point in Palm Bay, extends south to northern Vero Beach. It includes the waters of Turkey Creek and St. Sebastian River.
Located in Indian River and St. Lucie counties, the Indian River: Vero Beach to Fort Pierce Aquatic Preserve is 12 miles long and encompasses 9,500 acres. The aquatic preserve extends from south Vero Beach to the north U.S. Highway A1A bridge in Fort Pierce. It includes Big Starvation Cove, Wildcat Cove and Fort Pierce Cut.
Indian River: Jensen Beach to Jupiter Inlet Aquatic Preserve Located in St. Lucie, Martin and northern Palm Beach counties, the Indian River: Jensen Beach to Jupiter Inlet Aquatic Preserve is 37 miles long and encompasses 23,000 acres. The aquatic preserve extends from Fort Pierce south to Jupiter Inlet, including the Peck Lake and Hobe Sound area.
[://floridadep.gov/rcp/aquatic-preserve/locations/mosquito-lagoon-aquatic-preserve Florida DEP Aquatic Preserve - Mosquito Lagoon] Mosquito Lagoon Aquatic Preserve is a long, wide, shallow estuarine lagoon bounded on the west by the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge and on the east by the Playalinda National Seashore.
Florida Atlantic University Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute. Located in Fort Pierce, FAU Harbor Branch’s research and outreach programs translate marine science in order to provide solutions that improve economies and quality of life for coastal communities.
Indian River Lagoon Project Reference Link Directory
This Reference Link Directory List contains abbreviations, acronyms and initialisms commonly used in the Indian River Lagoon Project.
Indian River Lagoon Project Reference Link Directory
Definition
Abbreviation: A shortened or contracted form of a word or phrase; as in Dr. for Doctor or U.S. for United States.
Acronym: A type of abbreviation that is a new pronouncable word formed by using the first letter of each word found in a phrase or name: as in YOLO for "you only live once" or NASA from National Aeronautics and Space Administration.
Initialism: A type of acronym that uses a set of initials formed with the first letters of the words in a phrase or name with each letter pronounced separately; as in LOL for "laugh out loud" or IRL from Indian River Lagoon.
Indian River Lagoon Project Abbreviations
Learning a whole new lingo comes along with the 100's of government (GOV), research (RES), academic institute (INST), and nonprofit organization (NPO) groups involved in the restoration and preservation of the Indian River Lagoon Estuary.
It would be helpful to get familiar with this list of abbreviations in order to know what a "USFWS NWR in the EPA's IRLNEP" is!
The U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) conserves and manages the Nation’s natural resources and cultural heritage for the benefit and enjoyment of the American people.
An independent agency of the U.S. federal government that protects people and the environment from significant health risks, sponsors and conducts research, and develops and enforces environmental regulations.
FAU in Fort Pierce is home to the Harbor Branch (HB) Oceanographic Institute whose Indian River Lagoon Observatory (IRLO) is monitoring the southern IRL water quality in real-time.
A bureau within the United States Department of the Interior (DOI), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is a federal conservation agency whose primary responsibility is the management of fish and wildlife for the American public.
This term is confusing because different demographics use the term differently; Colloquially the Indian River (IR) proper (a lagoon) is often referred to as the Indian River Lagoon (IRL); Nationally the term is used to describe the entire Indian River Lagoon Estuary.
On this site the term is used to refer to the entire Indian River Lagoon Estuary and it's connected waters.
The Indian River Lagoon Observatory (IRLO), based at FAU Harbor Branch in Fort Pierce, Florida, is investigating the IRL’s plants, animals, and environment, and how natural and human-induced stressors impact them. The goal of IRLO is to acquire and disseminate data and knowledge on the IRL critical to its ecological function and its sustainable management.
Located on the east coast of Florida in Brevard and Volusia counties, Mosquito Lagoon is one of three main bodies of water in the Indian River Lagoon Estuary.
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an independent agency of the United States Federal Government responsible for the civilian space program, as well as aeronautics and aerospace research.
The U.S. FWS National Wildlife Refuge System administers a network of United States lands and waters for the conservation, management and restoration of the fish, wildlife and plant resources and their habitats.
