| NOAA
2002-R925 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Scott Smullen 10/1/02 |
NOAA News Releases 2002 NOAA Home Page NOAA Public Affairs |
|
NOAA ANNOUNCES
$17 MILLION IN GRANTS TO THE UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded a total of $17 million in grants to study or preserve New Hampshire coastal and marine resources through four grants worth nearly $11 million to the University of New Hampshire, and a $6.08 million grant to The Nature Conservancy. The University of New Hampshire’s Cooperative Institute for Coastal and Estuarine Environmental Technology (CICEET) will receive $6.02 million to identify, assess, and monitor the impacts of contamination in coastal waters. The program will emphasize ways to reduce and reverse those impacts. The funding is part of NOAA’s Coastal Zone Management Administration (CZMA) award program. In addition, NOAA will fund $2.8 million to continue the University of New Hampshire’s research program for offshore aquaculture technologies in the New England area. NOAA will award a $2 million grant to the University of New Hampshire to establish a new Coastal Ocean Observing and Analysis Center to generate new information about how the ocean plays a role in atmospheric changes. The university will also receive a $119,951 NOAA grant to implement the Great Bay Reserve System Wide Monitoring Program. A NOAA grant of $6.08 million to The Nature Conservancy will fund the purchase and protection of nine tracts of environmentally sensitive water front land as part of the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership Land Acquisition Program. The Nature Conservancy is based in Concord. “Through our cooperative institutes and joint programs the Bush Administration and NOAA promote collaborative work between academic and the agency's researchers,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “The funding enables dozens of outstanding scientists to work cooperatively with NOAA to better understand and alleviate the pressures put on our coastal and fisheries resources. NOAA is proud to make these awards to the University of New Hampshire and the Nature Conservancy.” CICEET will use the grant funds to initiate 18 new research projects around the nation, including the development of technologies that address the coastal management issues of toxic contaminants, nutrient enrichment, and habitat restoration. Funds from the grant to the Nature Conservancy will be used to purchase about nine tracks of land depending on size, willing sellers and appraised cost. Fee simple purchase or easements will be pursued with the final decision resting on the landowner. Funds will also be used to cover survey, appraisal, environmental hazard assessments, attorney fees, closing costs, as well as other costs associated with the land acquisition process. In addition, funds from the grant will support the Conservancy's Great Bay Project director, land protection specialist, and staff in the coordination and negotiation of the land purchases including preparation for, and participation in, meetings with landowners, Great Bay partners, and the local public. Conservation staff conduct stewardship activities, developing management plans for each land parcel and conduct on-the-ground science work to identify important areas for protection. Since 1998, The Nature Conservancy, on behalf of the Great Bay Resource Protection Partnership, has received $18,800,000 in NOAA funds to purchase land for the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve on Great Bay. These funds have allowed the Partnership to purchase interests in 690 acres of critical coastal resource land made up of 16 parcels, which includes 14,256 feet of frontage on Great Bay and 3.6 miles of frontage on the Lamprey River, an important tributary to Great Bay. In May 1997, the UNH and NOAA established CICEET as a national center for enhanced cooperation and collaboration among academia, the private sector, and federal, state and local governments. This unique partnership is developing and fostering the use of innovative environmental technologies and management approaches for the long term conservation of the nation’s coastal and estuarine ecosystems. Particular emphasis is placed on identifying, reducing, and reversing the impacts of contamination of coastal waters. The Institute uses the capabilities of the UNH as well as those of the Great Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve and the other 24 Reserves in the National Estuarine Research Reserve System to develop and apply new environmental technologies and techniques. NOAA will award over $800 million in grants during 2002 to members of the academic, scientific, and business communities to assist the agency fulfill its mission which is to study the Earth’s natural systems in order to predict environmental change, manage ocean resources, protect life and property, and provide decision makers with reliable scientific information. Our goals and programs reflect a commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for 32 years. NOAA is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and providing environmental stewardship of our nation’s coastal and marine resources. To
learn more about NOAA and its grants programs, please visit http://www.noaa.gov. |