NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) recently announced that the agency will fund a number of habitat restoration projects in Florida, Alabama, Louisiana.
In addition, this funding is expected to draw hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional contributions for this work from project partners.
The money slated for the restoration projects is separate, but complementary, to restoration projects funded through the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Natural Resource Damage Assessment court settlements or the RESTORE Act.
Restoration projects in the Gulf of Mexico include:
Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority of Louisiana ($7 million): for engineering and design to restore 1370 acres of marsh in western coastal Louisiana. This funding is awarded through the Coastal Wetlands Planning Protection and Restoration Act and covers 3 projects.
St. Johns Water Management District ($250,000): to launch restoration of over 2000 acres of marsh, oyster reef and shoreline forage and nursery habitat along the northeast coast of Florida. The project will benefit a variety of marine life including fish in the snapper-grouper complex, snook, red drum, and tarpon, spiny lobsters and shrimp. In addition, this project may benefit endangered species such as sea turtles and smalltooth sawfish.
Coral Restoration Foundation ($200,000): to begin planting thousands of elkhorn and staghorn corals in the Florida Keys, both of which are currently listed as "threatened" and proposed for listing as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act
Coastal Cleanup Corporation ($17,000): to remove marine debris at eight turtle nesting beaches along Elliot Key in Biscayne Bay, FL.
Marine Environmental Sciences Consortium/Dauphin Island Sea Lab ($100,000): to remove 36 vessels or other large debris from Mobile Bay, AL.
In addition to projects in the Gulf of Mexico, NOAA Fisheries will be providing funds for projects in North Carolina, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
source: NOAA Fisheries
Showing posts with label habitat restoration. Show all posts
Showing posts with label habitat restoration. Show all posts
Friday, November 8, 2013
Saturday, October 27, 2012
NOAA-NFWF Pacific Coast Fish Habitat Projects
NOAA and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation have awarded $135,000—and leveraged nearly $320,000 in matching, non-federal funds—for five fish habitat protection projects on the Pacific Coast.
The funding program was developed to promote voluntary coastal and marine protection activities within the National Fish Habitat Partnership. Each of the funded projects was endorsed by the Pacific Marine and Estuarine Fish Habitat Partnership and/or the California Fish Passage Forum.
The projects will incorporate the support of community conservation organizations, farmers, homeowners, recreational anglers, and boaters to protect habitat for threatened and endangered salmon and other commercially and recreationally valuable fish.
Funded projects include:
Increasing water flow during critical Coho salmon and steelhead trout migration in the San Gregorio watershed, California (American Rivers)
Establishing a voluntary, no anchor, eelgrass protection zone in Port Townsend, Washington (Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Foundation)
Setting up a neighborhood conservation easement program to protect salmon habitat in San Juan County, Washington (Friends of the San Juans)
Acquiring 167 acres of coastal estuary and freshwater wetlands at Sand Lake, Oregon (North Coast Land Conservancy)
Protecting 120 acres of tidal wetlands in Tillamook Bay, Oregon (Wild Salmon Center)
source: NOAA FishNews
Monday, June 25, 2012
Connecticut River Herring Restoration
In 2010, culverts were replaced on Bride Brook in Connecticut. With the increased flow from the new, larger culvert, fish were able to swim upstream for the first time in more than a decade.
Culverts, which allow water to flow under roads and bridges, are everywhere. Culverts sometimes block fish from swimming upstream. Many old culverts are much more narrow than the streams that channel through them, and sometimes too high for fish to jump through. When this happens, fish can’t reach their spawning habitat upstream of the culvert.
The herring run on Bride Brook is the second largest in the state. In the 1970s, it was as high as 175,000 per year. But the culverts had reduced the run to less than half that number.
With tidal flows restored, adult river herring now have access upstream to Bride Lake to spawn, and juveniles can swim downstream to feed and grow in the ocean. Approximately 275,000 fish passed through the new culvert during the spring of 2012; more than triple what had seen in recent years.
A Similar project will replace tide gates on the West River in New Haven Connecticut. The improved tide gates will allow a more natural flow of water and improve fish passage.
source: NOAA FishNews
Culverts, which allow water to flow under roads and bridges, are everywhere. Culverts sometimes block fish from swimming upstream. Many old culverts are much more narrow than the streams that channel through them, and sometimes too high for fish to jump through. When this happens, fish can’t reach their spawning habitat upstream of the culvert.
The herring run on Bride Brook is the second largest in the state. In the 1970s, it was as high as 175,000 per year. But the culverts had reduced the run to less than half that number.
With tidal flows restored, adult river herring now have access upstream to Bride Lake to spawn, and juveniles can swim downstream to feed and grow in the ocean. Approximately 275,000 fish passed through the new culvert during the spring of 2012; more than triple what had seen in recent years.
A Similar project will replace tide gates on the West River in New Haven Connecticut. The improved tide gates will allow a more natural flow of water and improve fish passage.
source: NOAA FishNews
Thursday, June 21, 2012
Penobscot River Dam Removal
On June 11, 2012, an event was held at the Penobscot Indian Nation reservation to celebrate the breaching of the Great Works Dam on the Penobscot River in Maine. The Great Works dam breaching kicks off a larger effort to improve access to nearly 1,000 miles of river habitat on the Penobscot River.
This large-scale, ecosystem-level project will remove the Great Works and Veazie dams and build a fish bypass around the Howland dam. The project will open up the river to eleven species of migratory fish, including endangered Atlantic salmon, sturgeon, and river herring.
The project will also create new community and economic benefits throughout the watershed. The removal of the Great Works dam, which was partially funded by NOAA through the Recovery Act, has supported more than 250 jobs including engineering, hydrology, construction, science, and local contracting services.
Similar benefits are expected for the Veazie Dam removal and Howland bypass construction. With the river flowing freely, fishers, kayakers, and paddlers will have increased opportunities for recreation on the river.
The three dams are currently used for hydropower generation. They will continue to operate until the time of removal. Energy generation lost as a result of the removals and decommissioning will be replaced by expanding capacity at existing projects primarily within the Penobscot River watershed. When the project is complete, hydropower generation will be maintained at the same levels as before the project began, and may even increase.
The project is part of collaboration between the Penobscot River Restoration Trust, NOAA and other federal and state agencies, the Penobscot Indian Nation, and seven conservation groups.
source: NOAA FishNews
This large-scale, ecosystem-level project will remove the Great Works and Veazie dams and build a fish bypass around the Howland dam. The project will open up the river to eleven species of migratory fish, including endangered Atlantic salmon, sturgeon, and river herring.
The project will also create new community and economic benefits throughout the watershed. The removal of the Great Works dam, which was partially funded by NOAA through the Recovery Act, has supported more than 250 jobs including engineering, hydrology, construction, science, and local contracting services.
Similar benefits are expected for the Veazie Dam removal and Howland bypass construction. With the river flowing freely, fishers, kayakers, and paddlers will have increased opportunities for recreation on the river.
The three dams are currently used for hydropower generation. They will continue to operate until the time of removal. Energy generation lost as a result of the removals and decommissioning will be replaced by expanding capacity at existing projects primarily within the Penobscot River watershed. When the project is complete, hydropower generation will be maintained at the same levels as before the project began, and may even increase.
The project is part of collaboration between the Penobscot River Restoration Trust, NOAA and other federal and state agencies, the Penobscot Indian Nation, and seven conservation groups.
source: NOAA FishNews
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