 At the Agencies
Warm ocean temperatures may mean major coral bleaching
NOAA scientists are warning that warm ocean temperatures in the tropical Pacific and Indian Oceans could set the stage for major coral bleaching events across the globe in 2015. Their warnings follow severe bleaching in 2014, and come with the release of the most recent outlook from NOAA's Coral Reef Watch, a weekly product that forecasts the potential for coral bleaching up to four months in the future. BSEE, BOEM Issue Proposed Regulations to Ensure Safe and Responsible Exploratory Drilling Offshore Alaska The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) today released proposed regulations to ensure that future exploratory drilling activities on the U.S. Arctic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS) are done safely and responsibly, subject to strong and proven operational standards. EPA Awards 15 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative Grants Totaling Over $8 Million to Combat Invasive Species
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today announced the award of 15 Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants totaling more than $8 million for projects to combat invasive species in the Great Lakes basin. "These Great Lakes Restoration Initiative grants will be used to target aquatic and terrestrial invasive species in the Great Lakes basin," said Region 5 Administrator/ Great Lakes National Program Manager Susan Hedman. "The projects will also help to prevent the introduction of new invasive species that pose significant risks to the Great Lakes ecosystem."
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 In the States and Regions
East Coast
Homeland Security, state partner on climate change study The Department of Homeland Security has partnered with the state of Maine for the first-ever study of the effects of climate change on energy, water, transportation and telecommunications systems. While the project's final report has not been completed, initial findings of the assessment in Maine suggest that climate change will continue to have a significant impact on critical infrastructure.
U.S. Senators Robert Menendez and Cory Booker (both D-N.J.) announced the Federal Emergency Management Agency's (FEMA) has awarded $21,172,333 in federal Sandy relief grants to the State of New Jersey. The funds will go towards mitigation projects, debris removal reimbursements, and repair and clean-up efforts in the wake of Superstorm Sandy.
Beach replenishment on Long Beach Island will start next month, four months ahead of schedule as state and local officials prepare to condemn the parcels they need for the storm protection work. With a dune construction project for Margate now on hold because of legal battles, equipment has become available for work to start in Long Beach Township on April 15, officials said.
As ecological change affects the world around us, University researchers are looking at its impact close to home. The Rhode Island Science and Technology Advisory Council announced Feb. 19 that it will award a total of $814,042 in funds to six projects studying various aspects of Narragansett Bay, according to a press release on the council's website. Two of the six projects involve University researchers.
Gulf Coast
The bald cypress trees in one patch of Louisiana wetlands thrived following the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, according to a new study. A strategy to release extra water from the Mississippi River to push oil away from the coast mimicked a tactic that conservationists hope could slow the loss of coastal wetlands.
McDermott International is preparing for its arrival at the Port of Gulfport. That's the company which is building a pipeline spooling facility at the port and creating 100 new jobs. An emergency dredging project will help accommodate the new tenant. The Mississippi State Port Authority board considered and approved an emergency dredging proposal that will assist McDermott International.
Orange Beach, a city known for its charter boats and recreational fishing, received some good news about Perdido Pass this month. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will soon begin dredging the city's lone access to the Gulf of Mexico. Once all the equipment is in place, the project at Perdido Pass is expected to wrap up within four weeks. The City Council credited U.S. Sen. Richard Shelby for securing the funding for the long-sought maintenance dredging, with the help of Governor Robert Bentley and Guy Gunther, commissioner of Alabama's Department of Conservation and Natural Resources. It's been about five years since the Perdido Pass channel has been thoroughly dredged.
West Coast and Pacific Islands
San Mateo County and the California Coastal Conservancy are teaming up to complete a 20-month assessment that will identify areas in the county most vulnerable to sea level rise. The Coastal Conservancy, a state agency founded to protect and restore the coastline, granted $220,000 to San Mateo County in late January to hire a "climate resiliency specialist" for San Mateo's Office of Sustainability who will work directly with the Coastal Conservancy in conducting the vulnerability assessment. Another $280,000 has been budgeted to hire an outside consulting firm for the project. The Coastal Conservancy is receiving proposals to do the assessment through March 6.
While our state Department of Fish and Wildlife and other agencies continue to dither on Ballona, the University of California, San Diego is seeking a Coastal Development Permit to restore the Kendall-Frost Marsh Reserve (KFMR) in coastal San Diego County. The KFMR is one of four wildland reserves managed by UCSD, among thirty-four reserves managed by the UC system statewide. The KFMR is located along the northern shore of San Diego's Mission Bay, and presently consists of 20.5 acres of upland and salt marsh.
Authorities have stepped in for the preservation of the naturally occurring, scenic sand dunes of the Oregon coast. Steps are being taken to regulate the access to the various locations where sand dunes are found. Along the coast of the state of Oregon, 40 picturesque miles of sand dunes are located, the farthest-reaching in the northern subcontinent of the Americas. As the aftermath of the rain and wind grinding down on the coastal areas of Oregon for millions of years, these dunes were formed by virtue of blowing sand. Many of the dunes extend as far as almost half a mile above the level of the sea, thereby offering opportunities for tons of activities for leisure, amusement, and sport in Oregon. These activities include all-terrain vehicle trails, hiking, camping, fishing, swimming, and an abundance of natural beauty for photography.
February is officially the driest month in Guam's recorded history, according to the U.S. National Weather Service Guam. Derek Williams, a meteorologist, said last month was the driest month since weather record keeping started in 1957. Only 0.18 inches of rainfall had fallen last month, which is only 4 percent of the average of 4.53 inches, the weather service stated.
Great Lakes
Fluorescent bands of color outline the Great Lakes on a new, comprehensive map of the region's coastal wetlands. This publicly available map is the first of its kind on such a broad scale - and the only one to trump political boundaries. Both Canadian and US wetlands are shown along more than 10,000 miles of shoreline. The Great Lakes is an important focus of Michigan Technological University research. The coastal wetlands map is an extension of that focus, expanding on previous maps created through the Michigan Tech Research Institute (MTRI).
On Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Buffalo District (USACE) hosted a public hearing regarding the dredging of Cleveland Harbor at the request of the Ohio Attorney General. We also conducted a media roundtable on Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2015, to address follow-up questions. At the hearing, I explained how USACE intends to dredge Cleveland Harbor in 2015 without using open-lake placement of dredged sediment.
Following several months of productive discussions with the EPA and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and additional input from community members and industry experts, NSP-Wisconsin Monday announced plans to explore a breakwater that could be installed as part of the sediment cleanup work and one that is consistent with the community's waterfront development goals.
That was the theme that lent a real sense of urgency to a Monday, March 2, special meeting of the New Buffalo City Council held to discuss and make decisions regarding the ongoing problem of beach erosion south of the New Buffalo harbor. The problem reached a critical point in the wake of an extremely strong storm last Oct. 31 that caused damage to the revetment protecting the city's pump house and washed away enough sand to put many lakefront homes in that area in peril. A home at the end of Shore Drive that was left perched atop a steep, washed away drop-off was abandoned.
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Louisiana could earn up to $1.6 billion for coastal restoration projects over the next 50 years by selling credits for storing carbon in wetland plants and soils, according to a new study by New Orleans-based Tierra Resources, Entergy Corp. and the ClimateTrust.
The credits could be sold by private landowners and businesses in Louisiana that create their own restoration projects or participate in publicly-financed projects. Buyers would include businesses that must reduce carbon emissions in California under the nation's first "cap and trade" program aimed at reducing greenhouse gases, said Tierra Resources president and chief executive Sarah Mack.
If you haven't already, meet the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, a collection of oceanic junk that has ballooned over the last four decades. No one is sure how big it is, but it's probably enormous. A new study in Science Magazine tried to pin down some firm numbers by digging into various data: waste generation per person, the portion of that waste that's plastics, the size of populations near the coast, and the quality of countries' waste management systems. The researchers surveyed 192 countries, and found that, between them, humanity dumped 10.5 billion to 28 billion pounds of plastic waste into the oceans in 2010 alone - about 1.3 times the weight of Egypt's Great Pyramid at Giza.
Tourists in bikinis and board shorts packed onto the narrow strip of sand fronting the iconic Royal Hawaiian and Moana Surfrider hotels on a recent weekday. Dozens of novice surfers lurched to catch waist-high waves in the turquoise water. It's a scene that has played out for decades at the world-famous beach that lures several million people a year to Waikiki, generating about 42 percent of the state's visitor industry revenue. But the beach stretching to the Kuhio Beach Basin, where a bronze statue of famous surfer Duke Kahanamoku welcomes visitors with outstretched arms, is in danger of disappearing.
You may be ready to enjoy more daylight hours after we "Spring ahead" an hour on March 8, but are you ready for the threat of flooding that warmer months can bring? "With the change of seasons comes the risk of snow melt, heavy rains, and rising waters-we're all at some level of flood risk," said Andrew Velasquez III, FEMA Region V administrator. "It is important we prepare now for the impact floods could have on our homes, our businesses and in our communities."
IHC Mining, part of Royal IHC, has become a member of the World Ocean Council (WOC). As a leader in responsible dredging and offshore mining activities, it is expanding its scope as one of the pioneers in deep-sea mining with initiatives such as this. Using its extensive mining and ocean expertise, IHC Mining is working towards reaching deep-sea mineral deposits. This is being achieved with the support of a dedicated research and development program, as well as through its position as a leader of the EU Blue Mining project. The company is also demonstrating its commitment to understanding and addressing the environmental aspects of seabed mining through its participation in the EU Midas Project and other similar programs.
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Announcements
Title: Climate Smart Adapation: Vulnerability Assessment Results and Next Steps for the North-Central California Coast and Ocean
Date & Time: Thursday, March 12, 1pm - 2pm (ET)
Online Access Only - see event description for login info.
Seminars are open to the public. For remote access, location, abstracts and more, visit the OneNOAA Science Seminar Calendar at: http://www.nodc.noaa.gov/seminars/
2015 NOAA Satellite Conference
The 2015 NOAA Satellite Conference (NSC 2015) for environmental satellite users will be held April 27-May 1, 2015, in Greenbelt, Maryland. The conference will bring together users and providers of polar-orbiting and geostationary satellite data, products, and applications and provide them with a venue and opportunity for greater collaboration. NSC 2015 will consist of invited oral and poster presentations with an emphasis on environmental satellite technological, scientific, educational, and training opportunities and services to raise awareness of upcoming enhancements and prepare for their use. Participation is expected from 40 countries and will include members of NOAA, NASA, Department of Defense, Environment Canada, EUMETSAT, and the Hydrometeorological Services of countries in North, Central, and South America, the Caribbean, and Asia.
Calling all Coastal Planners
Are you a member of APA and planning to attend the National Conference in Seattle, WA? Is your focus shoreline and coastal planning? Join us to discuss creation of an APA Shoreline and Coastal Planner Interest Group on April 20, 2015 at 2:45 p.m. Look for session S825 in WSCC-211. Topics include roundtable discussions about climate change, working waterfronts, Coastal Zone Management and waterfront planning and design.
March 24-26, 2015
March 30-April 2 2015
June 9-11 2015
June 16-18 2015
September 6-9, 2015
October 4-8, 2015
Best regards,
The CSO Team
cso@coastalstates.org
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