A Preliminary Classification of Bays and Estuaries in Southeast Alaska
The hierarchical framework for classification of bays and estuaries in southeastern Alaska presented here represents a further refinement of efforts toward systematic conservation planning and ecological assessment conducted by The Nature Conservancy within the Coastal Forests and Mountains Ecoregion (Schoen and Dovichin 2007). While differences in biological communities among coastal and estuarine systems in this region have been previously recognized (O’Clair et al 1996), this work represents the first attempt to quantify these patterns systematically by using comprehensive physical and ecological data.