National Marine Fisheries Service
07/22/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 07/22/2024 07:14
NOAA Partners Create Jobs, Train Future Leaders to Advance Habitat Restoration Across the Country
For more than 30 years, NOAA's Office of Habitat Conservation has supported habitat restoration efforts across the country. We've reopened riversin New England, rebuilt coral reefsin the Pacific Islands, restored coastal wetlandsalong the Gulf of Mexico, and more. Through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, we're continuing our work to support fisheries, endangered species, and coastal communities. Many of our partners are helping to build capacity for current and future habitat restoration. Their efforts include workforce development programs, job creation, internships and educational opportunities, support for project planning, and engagement with community members.
Read on to learn more about how several of our partners are helping build capacity for habitat restoration efforts.
Recycling Oyster Shells on the Gulf Coast
Restore America's Estuariesis coordinating with partners across the Gulf of Mexico to expand oyster recycling efforts and restore oyster reef habitat. They're also working to engage more community members in the oyster recycling and restoration process.
In Florida, the Pensacola and Perdido Bays Estuary Programwill use funds provided through the Restore America's Estuaries award to support an oyster shell recycling program driven by people ages 18 to 25. The Program has partnered with OysterCorps, a workforce development program managed by NOAA partner Franklin's Promise Coalition. They will collect shells from participating restaurants and use them to create new oyster habitat in the Pensacola Bay area.
Learn more about the effort to restore oyster reef habitat in Louisiana, Florida, Alabama, and Texas
Restoring Coral Reefs in Puerto Rico
The Institute for Socio-Ecological Researchis advancing efforts to restore Puerto Rico's coral reefs on a massive scale. The project is building off more than a decade of collaboration between NOAA, ISER, and other coral restoration partners in the region. It is dramatically expanding efforts to outplant corals and protect reefs from coral-smothering algae. ISER is also improving capacity for coral restoration on the island by improving laboratory facilities and nurseries and providing more than 60 new, coral-related jobs to local residents.
"A lot of young people leave the island due to a lack of jobs," says ISER Co-Founder Dr. Stacey Williams. "This project is keeping local scientists and students here and enabling them to do what they love."
Learn more about how the project is restoring hope for Puerto Rico's coral reefs
Revitalizing an Urban Waterway in Michigan
The City of Benton Harbor, Michigan, is collaborating with partners to restore Ox Creek. This urban waterway was damaged by decades of industrial pollution, storm water runoff, and neglect. The creek-which runs through the city center-was once a place to fish and play. Now, it has largely been abandoned by residents due to pollution and other damage.
NOAA funding will be used to create a restoration plan for Ox Creek and complete a pilot restoration project. It will also support a new position to manage restoration and engage the community in planning efforts. Project partners are supporting the city to create plans, obtain community input, and find collaborators and additional funding to advance restoration efforts and other city improvements.
Learn more about the effort to restore Ox Creek
Reopening Rivers for Salmon in Washington
Nonprofit, tribal, state, and federal partners collaborating through the Cold Water Connection Campaignare reopening critical salmon and steelhead habitat on the Olympic Peninsula. A portion of the NOAA funds will support tribes so they can train and hire more restoration staff and advance shared restoration priorities.
"There's so much restoration work the Quinault Indian Nation is trying to do; we can't keep up with all of the technical needs," says Lauren Macfarland, Environmental Protection Manager for the Quinault Indian Nation. "With these new funds we're going to hire engineering consultants to help us review large-scale fish passage designs and hopefully implement projects."
Restoring Bull Kelp Forests in Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary
The Greater Farallones Associationis restoring bull kelp forests in the Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary. They're removing kelp-eating purple sea urchins and planting new kelp seedlings. The project employs local urchin divers, who lost income when the red sea urchin and red abalone fisheries collapsed as a result of the kelp forest decline.
"[The Kelp Restoration Project Manager] Rietta Hohman approached me a couple years ago to talk about removing purple urchins," says Erik Owen, an urchin diver. "From September 9 to November 3, I took 17,000 pounds of urchins from Timber Cove (one of the restoration sites). The project gave me a job for the fall, and we made a big difference, getting 90 percent of the urchins out of that area."