The north inlet winyah BAY national estuarine research reserve (NI-WB nerr) was designated in 1992 and encompasses 18,916 acres in georgetown county, south carolina

The University of South Carolina received a $1,258,525 Cooperative Agreement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) under the Coastal Zone Management Estuarine Research Reserves program (CFDA 11.420) for the period of October 1, 2025, through March 31, 2027. The award supports the continued operation and management of the North Inlet Winyah Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NI-WB NERR), an 18,916-acre reserve designated in 1992 and located in Georgetown County, South Carolina. The University of South Carolina is providing $377,558 in matching funds through waived indirect costs, bringing the total project funding to approximately $1.64 million.

Under this award, the NI-WB NERR, administered by the Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine and Coastal Sciences, will deliver comprehensive estuarine research, monitoring, education, training, and stewardship services. Key deliverables include System-Wide Monitoring Program (SWMP) activities encompassing abiotic monitoring and wetlands assessment; operation of the Hobcaw Barony Discovery Center in partnership with the Belle W. Baruch Foundation; professional development training workshops for educators focused on estuarine science; coastal training programs addressing water quality protection, coastal hazards, habitat protection, and low-impact development practices; and expanded citizen science and environmental stewardship initiatives. The reserve will also complete updates to its management plan and provide support and integration services for a Davidson Fellow within the broader National Estuarine Research Reserve System.

The reserve is administered by the belle W. Baruch institute for marine and coastal sciences, university of south carolina (USC), which is submitting this application for FY 2025 funds to support operations, research and monitoring, education, training, and stewardship activities from october 1, 2025 march 30, 2027. The university of south carolina is requesting $880,967 in federal funds for these activities that will be matched by $377,558 from the university of south carolina in the form of waived indirect. During the 2025 fiscal year, NI-WB nerr will continue to focus on three primary goals outlined in its management plan, which is currently being updated, with plans for completion during this award period. The reserve will continue to work with its belle W. Baruch foundation partners to operate the hobcaw barony discovery center and plan estuary education programs. Following national guidance, the reserve education staff will host a summer teachers on the estuary professional development training workshop for educators. The NI-WB nerr will fulfill the requirements of the system-wide monitoring program (SWMP), including abiotic monitoring and wetlands and water level monitoring efforts. The coastal training program will continue to provide training and technical assistance on priority audience needs, particularly related to water quality protection, coastal hazards and environmental change, habitat protection, and low impact development practices. Increased community participation in environmental stewardship projects will be encouraged through the reserves conservation education efforts and continued development of citizen science projects. The reserve will support its current davidson fellow and will ensure that the fellow is well integrated into the nerrs at both the local and national levels. The nerr will also directly fund and promote student training by providing two undergraduate summer internships to engage competitively selected students in priority reserve research and national products. Finally, the reserve will participate in planning for and conducting its section 312 program evaluation, as well as coordinating USC review and response to draft evaluation findings.