NOAA Seeks Proposals That Will Restore Coastal Habitat, Create Jobs, Stimulate Economy
Office of Habitat currently seeking project proposals from coastal and Great Lakes communities
March 23, 2009
High resolution (Credit: NOAA)
NOAA has begun accepting proposals for coastal habitat restoration projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. The effort will foster healthy and resilient American communities while generating and protecting jobs for the thousands of people whose task it will be to restore valuable coastal and marine habitat.
NOAA anticipates that up to $170 million may be available for coastal and marine habitat restoration; typical awards are expected to range between $1.5 million and $10 million.
“Restoration of coastal wetlands, shellfish, coral ecosystems and fish migration routes along coastal rivers is a significant source of green jobs,” NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco said. “Habitat restoration also provides long-term natural, health and economic benefits to communities, including improved recreational and commercial fishing, improved water quality and more resilient coastal areas.”
NOAA is formally seeking proposals through April 6 for a variety of habitat restoration projects – including wetlands restoration, removal of unsafe, obsolete dams, construction of fish passages, oyster and other shellfish restoration and coral reef restoration. To ensure relevance, readiness and accountability to the American public, the solicitation requires that projects be “shovel-ready.”
For more information about this federal funding opportunity, please visit the NOAA habitat recovery Web site.
High resolution (Credit: NOAA)
Coastal communities are America’s economic engines, with more than half of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product generated in coastal counties. However, these areas also face great threats related to severe storms, development, wetlands loss, and the long-term effects of climate change, including sea level rise. President Obama has shown his commitment to addressing these growing threats by investing substantial recovery funds in coastal restoration.
Restoration projects employ people with a wide range of skills, including laborers, engineers, ecologists, landscapers, hydrologists and nursery workers who provide local seedlings and other plants for wetland and coastal restoration.
NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources. To learn more about the Recovery Act’s work across the country, visit the Recovery.gov Web site.