NOAA GRANT OF NEARLY $1 MILLION TO STAMFORD WILL HELP PURCHASE RIVERFRONT LAND

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded a grant of $994,000 to Stamford, Conn., so the city can purchase and protect West Park Place along the Mill River. NOAA is an agency of the Department of Commerce.

Connecticut’s Coastal Management Program will handle the land acquisition. The program addresses water quality issues including runoff pollution, habitat protection and restoration, public access to the coast and the use of public lands and waters. The state manages its coastal resources by applying coastal policies to land uses, by overseeing activity in fishery habitats and coastal waters, and by demanding consistency between local, state and federal actions.

“We are constantly working to improve the understanding of our environment and to strengthen local initiatives like Connecticut’s Coastal Management Program,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “These grants allow states to manage their coastal resources while actively supporting efforts that reinforce NOAA and the Bush Administration’s commitment to the environment.”

NOAA’s Coastal Management Program is a federal-state partnership dedicated to comprehensive management of the nation’s coastal resources, ensuring their protection for future generations while balancing competing national economic, cultural and environmental interests. The Coastal Zone Management Program (CZMP) is authorized by the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972 and administered at the federal level by the Coastal Programs Division (CPD) within NOAA.

So far this year, NOAA has awarded more than 475 grants totaling $204.2 million to members of the academic, scientific and business communities to assist the agency in fulfilling its mission 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. NOAA goals and programs reflect a commitment to these basic responsibilities of science and service to the nation for 33 years.

The Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (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, please visit http://www.noaa.gov.