Sustaining ecosystem services of coastal habitats, while maintaining social and economic uses of these areas, requires a thorough understanding of the relevant natural processes as well as the consequences of specific anthropogenic activities. Extensive human habitation and visitation to coastal barriers and nearby estuaries has illustrated the problems associated with uses of these habitats without providing insight in choosing among alternative management strategies. IMS has a decades-long history of conducting research in these critical areas that has proved useful to policy makers.