NOAA AWARDS OVER $550,000 TO RUTGERS UNIVERSITY

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded a grant totaling $555,000 to Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey. NOAA is an agency of the Commerce Department.

The grant will provide funds to support operations, program management and oversight, education, monitoring projects and resource management and stewardship in the Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve. The reserve encompasses wetlands, riparian habitats, barrier islands and forested uplands of the New Jersey Pine Barrens, in addition to its Atlantic Ocean environment. The reserve is focusing research and monitoring efforts on the effects of non-point source pollution on estuaries, coastal up-welling, near shore sediment transport, essential fish habitat and salt marsh restoration.

“NOAA and the Bush Administration are working to improve the understanding of our environment to strengthen local and regional initiatives, such as the Jacques Cousteau Reserve and its support from Rutgers University,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. “This grant to the Rutgers University will help advance knowledge critical to those efforts in research and management of national estuarine research reserves."

Each year, NOAA awards approximately $900 million in grants 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 the past 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.

On the Web:

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration: http://www.noaa.gov.

Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve: http://nerrs.noaa.gov/JacquesCousteau/welcome.html

Conrad C. Lautenbacher: http://www.noaa.gov/lautenbacher.html