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Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Awards

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Awards

Habitat Protection and Restoration Awards
National Estuarine Research Reserve System

In April 2023, NOAA announced the distribution of $35 million in funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act for National Estuarine Research Reserves to support coastal habitat restoration and conservation projects and capacity-building. This includes $20.2 million across 13 projects and $14.8 million to support capacity-building within the reserves to manage these, and to develop impactful projects and carry out other projects, planning, and initiatives to advance the resilience of their reserves and surrounding communities. Award descriptions are below, and can be downloaded here.


Conservation in the Weeks Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, Baldwin County, Alabama

Recipient: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
Federal Funding: $147,000
Summary: This land purchase will help protect the ecological integrity of the area and the important ecosystem services it provides, such as acting as a buffer for storm surge and coastal flooding, providing space for marsh migration, providing carbon sequestration services, and maintaining water quality.


Conservation of Peatlands near Kachemak Bay

Recipient: University of Alaska Anchorage
Federal Funding: $1,272,383
Summary: Through a partnership with the Kachemak Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, the City of Homer will acquire 55 acres of peatland, an area that provides habitat for fish and coastal wildlife, and improves water quality for salmon and other fish. Peatlands also serve as a nature-based solution for stormwater collection. This project will simultaneously recharge water levels in the peat, protect the water quality of Kachemak Bay, and mitigate coastal erosion.


Enhancing Climate Resilience through Coastal Ecosystem Restoration in Elkhorn Slough

Recipient: Elkhorn Slough Foundation
Federal Funding: $2,249,711
Summary: This project will restore three iconic coastal habitats within the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, significantly increasing the extent of tidal marsh vegetation, native grassland, and oyster habitat. The funding will invest in restoration, monitoring, and stakeholder engagement at the reserve’s Hester Marsh restoration site, adding value to existing investments at this site. The project will also engage a number of community groups, including local Native American tribal members and the broader coastal management community.


Henderson Creek Hydrologic Restoration Project

Recipient: Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Federal Funding: $3,999,163
Summary: This award will fund restoration of hydrologic sheet flow and related hydrologic regimes within the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Collier County, Florida. The project will increase habitat resilience against future climate change impacts by enhancing wildlife habitat, hydrologic connectivity, wildlife corridor connectivity, water quality, and preservation of stormwater receiving areas that help prevent flooding in local communities.


Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary Stream and Shoreline Restoration

Recipient: Maryland Department of Natural Resources
Federal Funding: $992,728
Summary: This project will result in the creation of a freshwater tidal marsh living shoreline and the restoration of three headwater streams, coupled with the installation of stormwater best management practices, in the Jug Bay Wetlands Sanctuary—a component of the Maryland Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. The shoreline work will protect the property from erosion and enhance resilience to sea level rise and climate hazards. Project work will also significantly reduce the amount of sediment and nutrient pollution going into Chesapeake Bay.


Creating a Multi-Beneficial Stormwater Park Using Nature-Based Solutions

Recipient: Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
Federal Funding: $319,730
Summary: This project will focus on the development of a community stormwater park that will reduce flooding and nonpoint source pollution for the community of Moss Point. Funding will be used to determine the feasibility and impact of a stormwater park; create a maintenance plan; create designs that prioritize diversity, inclusion, and community engagement; and promote activities to create a “shovel-ready” project.


Wasson Creek Watershed Ridgetop-to-Estuary Restoration Project

Recipient: Oregon Department of State Lands
Federal Funding: $3,535,900
Summary: This project will restore the ecological health of and cultural connections with the Wasson Creek watershed in the South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve, resulting in more resilient wetlands, streams, tidal forested swamps, and upland forest habitats. These restored systems will provide habitat for ecologically and culturally important fish species, have significant blue carbon storage benefits, support sustainable harvesting for Indigenous cultural practices, and provide a seed source for local restoration projects.


Improving Coastal Wetland Resilience within the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

Recipient: Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
Federal Funding: $199,959
Summary: This project will address sea level rise impacts by supporting the design and permitting of projects that protect important coastal wetland habitats within the Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. The development of construction plans, cost estimates, and permit applications for three habitat areas—Coggeshall Marsh, Nag West Marsh, and the T-Wharf Shoreline—will ultimately provide room for the habitat to move upland. The restoration planning will include mitigation measures, such as rerouting coastal roads and removing infrastructure that impedes marsh migration.


A Path Forward; Codesigning Habitat Protection and Restoration and Community Resilience

Recipient: San Francisco University
Federal Funding: $202,896
Summary: This investment will support planning efforts to restore the marsh at China Camp State Park, part of the San Francisco Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. The project will ultimately reconnect tidal and watershed hydrology to improve ecological functions, as well as to maintain access to the park for recreation, education, subsistence fishing, and tribal and Chinese cultural practices.


Improving the Resilience of Salt Marsh Ecosystems within the ACE Basin through the Creation of Intertidal Oyster Reef Habitat

Recipient: South Carolina Department of Natural Resources
Federal Funding: $620,313
Summary: This project will address salt marsh erosion and habitat loss, and generate essential fish habitat, by creating intertidal oyster reefs within the ACE Basin National Estuarine Research Reserve. The project will also promote salt marsh stewardship by engaging various stakeholder groups, including the use of volunteers, in the project implementation efforts.


Protection and Restoration of a Bird Nesting Island in Aransas Bay

Recipient: The University of Texas at Austin
Federal Funding: $4,000,000
Summary: This project will protect and restore a three-acre island in Aransas Bay that provides critical nesting habitat for hundreds of pairs of colonial nesting waterbirds, such as pelicans and egrets, important to the ecological resilience of the bay. The project will also support the recruitment and growth of oyster larvae, resulting in the development of an oyster reef complex that will create habitat for recreationally and commercial fish species.


Padilla Bay Samish Conservation Area Protection Project

Recipient: Washington State Department of Ecology
Federal Funding: $2,332,854
Summary: This project, which will allow Padilla Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve to protect and restore 74.5 acres of former and current tidal marsh, is part of a larger overall effort to restore up to 105 acres of tidal marsh to Padilla Bay. The project will increase climate resilience by reducing flood risk for the only road and utility corridor that services the Samish Island community. The project will also restore tribal cultural connections with the site, which is near an important historical longhouse location. Access to the area, and the natural resources that once flourished on the site, will be restored.


Establishing Regional Restoration Visions and Identifying Projects within the Lake Superior Headwaters Sustainability Partnership Region

Recipient: The Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System
Federal Funding: $350,047
Summary: This project will develop detailed, actionable habitat restoration visions for congruent geographic regions within the St. Louis River Estuary, with guidance from a diverse and participatory group of stakeholders. The work will be led by the Minnesota Land Trust through the Lake Superior Headwaters Sustainability Partnership, a consortium of federal, tribal, state, county, municipal, and community partners working to implement sustainable, landscape-level conservation in the headwaters of Lake Superior.


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