9522314 The Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve (Wells NERR) is part of a national system created to promote and support estuarine research. It is the sole on-site research facility for the study of marsh dominated estuarine ecosystems on the Gulf of Marine coast, and its site encompasses estuarine ecosystems of such systems from Cape Cod to Maine's mid-coast. It contains one of the few undeveloped barrier beaches in Maine and two marsh dominated estuaries, one nearly pristine, the other in use as a harbor and surrounded by development. The Reserve has a Research Program that is growing to meet the pressing need for estuarine research in the Gulf of Maine region. The Wells NERR is a partnership between governmental and private entities. A unique feature of the NERR program is that research and resource management work together, so that new research findings will be used to guide management of coastal resources. The Wells NERR has fulfilled many of the research objectives set out in its first Management Plan, which was approved in 1990. It is beginning to work on a major revision of its Management Plan this year. The Research Program is cooperating with this effort. The research director will work with an independent panel of scientist, herein called the Research Planning and Review Committee, to review and develop the long-term goals of the program and formulate achievable objectives for the next five years, including establishment of a university affiliation. After the planning activities and conference are completed, the Wells NERR will make the necessary changes that will allow it to establish its place in the research community and meet the demand for ecological research focused on marsh dominated estuaries in the Gulf of Maine.
