NOAA today announced the approval $53.5 million in funding for two agency-sponsored habitat restoration projects in Louisiana. NOAA said that the projects will restore ~1,100 acres of wetland habitat and “help support resilient coastal communities and sustainable fisheries along the Louisiana coast. The projects will specifically restore areas in Plaquemines Parish and Cameron Parish.
Archive | January, 2022
NMFS Highlights Deep Sea Coral and Sponge Study
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today highlighted a “successful” Southeast Deep Coral Initiative, which involved a multi-year study of deep sea corals and sponges in the U.S. South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico, and Caribbean. NMFS noted that the study resulted in a 450% increase in coral and sponge observations in the West Florida Wall, revealed that the central Blake [...]
CEQ Highlights Conservation and Protection Actions
The White House Council on Environmental Quality today highlighted the administration’s efforts in areas including land and water conservation. CEQ specifically noted the preliminary report with recommendations for “Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful,” establishment of an America the Beautiful Interagency Working Group, and release of a progress report on implementation of the administration’s 30×30 conservation initiative. CEQ also noted [...]
NOAA, BOEM Enter into MOU for Offshore Wind
NOAA and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today signed a Memorandum of Understanding to “responsibly advance offshore wind energy” through the coordination of resources, input, and responsibilities related to offshore wind activities in federal waters. The MOU cites potential areas of cooperation including the identification and use of best available science and Indigenous Traditional Ecological Knowledge [...]
NMFS Releases AK Fisheries Science Center Strategic Science Plan
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced the release of the FY 2023-2027 Strategic Science Plan for the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. Priorities included in the Plan include monitoring and assessing Alaska fish, crab, and marine mammal populations, fisheries, and marine ecosystems; monitoring and predicting climate impacts on Alaska marine life; and advancing new initiatives including aquaculture and ‘omics [...]
DOI Seeks Comments on 30×30 Atlas
The U.S. Interior Dept. today launched a 60-day comment period on the development of the “American Conservation and Stewardship Atlas,” which is intended to reflect baseline information on U.S. lands and waters already conserved or restored and serve as a tool to measure progress toward achieving conservation and restoration of at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters [...]
Coast Guard Announces Final Northern NY Bight Port Access Route Study
The Coast Guard today announced the availability of the Northern New York Bight Port Access Route Study, which assesses the adequacy of existing vessel routing measures and recommends that five shipping fairways and one federal anchorage ground be established in the Study Area. The Study was conducted to consider the need for recommended routing changes arising from the need [...]
