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This report expands upon previous efforts summarizing juvenile use of estuaries and synthesizes the existing geospatial data and information on the nursery role of estuaries for a group of ecologically and economically important fish and invertebrate species. It aims to synthesize: 1) important and emerging threats to the nursery functions of West Coast estuaries, 2) tradeoffs associated with the management of habitats for species specific nursery function, 3) knowledge gaps and 4) potential management actions to conserve or restore nursery function. The review showed that despite good information demonstrating the importance of estuarine nurseries for some species, significant knowledge gaps remain.