Media Coverage

The Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council today announced a proposed ~$7.6 million Texas Commission on Environmental Quality subaward to The Nature Conservancy to purchase habitat conservation easements on properties within the Goliad Refugio Prairie in Texas, as well as a $3 million Texas Commission on Environmental Quality subaward to Armand Bayou Nature Center to acquire and preserve […]

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries today announced (1) its decision to suspend for two years the application of special use permit requirements for the continued presence of commercial submarine cables in any new sanctuaries designated after Aug. 16, 2024; and (2) its request for public comments by Monday, Sept. 30 on the use of the

NOAA today announced that the agency’s Science Advisory Board will hold a public virtual meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 11.  Agenda items will address items including the Board’s Consent Calendar and review of the Cooperative Institute for Marine, Earth, and Atmospheric Systems Report, as well as a public comment session.

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced the release of a summary report for Alaska Aquaculture Opportunity Area Spatial Planning Workshops. NMFS Alaska Regional Aquaculture Coordinator Alicia Bishop said that input received from the workshops held earlier this year “have allowed NOAA to focus engagement and follow up on data leads,” adding that NMFS has “begun

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced the availability of an environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact for possible wind energy leasing, right-of-way and right-of-use issuance, site assessment, and site characterization activities in ~195,000 acres of federal waters offshore Oregon (Coos Bay and Brookings Wind Energy Areas). BOEM expects to hold

The Interior Department today held a wind energy auction for federal waters off the coast of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia that generated provisional winning bids by Equinor Wind US LLC and Virginia Electric and Power Co. of $93 million and over $23 million in bidding credits that will support workforce training and domestic supply chain investments

NOAA today announced over $9 million in Inflation Reduction Act funds to support strategic partnerships designed to improve fishing gear and population monitoring to assist in the recovery North Atlantic right whales. Funding will specifically support further development of on-demand (ropeless) fishing gear technology through funds to fishing industry partners to assess and provide feedback on

NOAA today announced that the Marine and Coastal Area-Based Management Advisory Committee will hold a public virtual meeting on Aug. 27-28. Meeting agenda items include committee team building and sharing, a NOAA update, presentations on subcommittee scopes and focus (including Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act funding, and indigenous and tribal engagement), feedback on subcommittee work

NOAA today announced that the Ocean Research Advisory Panel (ORAP) will hold a public meeting in Honolulu, HI on Sept. 4-5, with virtual participation available for Day 1 and Day 2. The meeting will include discussion from ORAP subgroups on their tasks surrounding (1) advice on areas of opportunity for partnership (such as through the National Oceanographic Partnership Program) on the

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced the availability of a Final Supplemental Restoration Plan II and Environmental Assessment: Marine Mammals, which was prepared by federal and state natural resource trustee agencies for the Alabama Trustee Implementation Group.  The supplemental plan allocates ~$1.89 million to enhance capacity for the Alabama Marine Mammal Stranding Network project extension.