Bi-Weekly Report 
February 16, 2016

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At the Agencies

As part of its efforts to promote healthy ecosystems and resilient coastal communities, NOAA announces the availability of $9 million in Community-based Restoration Program funding for coastal and marine habitat restoration in 2016.
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NOAA's National Ocean Service will award, on February 4th, $4.5 million in coastal resilience grants, with plans to award another $4.5 million in grants later this year. The local community grant recipients are required to add an additional $2.4 million in matching funds.
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U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe announced that over $20 million will be provided to 28 projects in 12 coastal states to protect, restore or enhance more than 10,000 acres of coastal wetlands and adjacent upland habitats under the National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program.
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In the News

The President's Budget for fiscal year 2017 (FY 2017) includes $4.620 billion in gross discretionary funding for the Civil Works program of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps).

A Yale-led research team has adapted traditional asset valuation approaches to measure the value of such natural capital assets, linking economic measurements of ecosystem services with models of natural dynamics and human behavior. This innovation will enable policymakers to better evaluate conservation and natural resource management programs, make apples-to-apples comparisons between investing in conversation of natural capital and other investments, and provides a component critical to measuring sustainability.
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As any beer lover knows, hops are a key ingredient in beer. But now,  climate change  poses a threat to hops production,  according to  the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
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In the States and Regions 
 
East Coast 

A 2012 study of hardened and living shore-stabilization projects in the Outer Banks showed that natural shorelines outperformed bulkheads during Hurricane Irene.
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Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works Jo-Ellen Darcy signed the Record of Decision for the Port Everglades Harbor Navigation Study Jan. 29, 2016, signifying the completion of the final administrative review for the project's report. The report passed the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) review and was transmitted to Congress Jan. 29, 2016. The project will compete with other investments for funding in future budgets.

Gulf Coast 

A federal-state coastal restoration task force has ordered design work to begin on five new restoration projects and a restoration demonstration. It also OK'd the start of construction on two existing projects. The vote by members of the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act task force covers about $74 million in planning, design and construction work. The panel includes representatives of Louisiana's Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, the Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the federal departments of Agriculture, Interior and Commerce.
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French water and waste group Veolia said on Tuesday it is talks to install a flood prevention system in the city of New Orleans that was devastated by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Veolia innovation director Laurent Auguste said a study will be carried out jointly with Swiss insurer Swiss Re and that Veolia - which operates the main New Orleans waste water plant - plans to increase its flood protection services globally.
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West Coast and Pacific Islands 
   
The Hawaii West Maui Region was the focus of Hawaii Regional Sediment Management (RSM) investigations in fiscal year 2014 (Podoski et al., in preparation). The West Maui Region extends from Hanakaoo in the south through Honolua Bay in the north.
The conceptual regional sediment budget developed for West Maui indicates that the shoreline has been relatively stable over the past 17 years (1997 through 2014). Portions of sandy shoreline within the region, however, have been lost altogether. Critically eroding beaches in the West Maui Region have been identified by the County of Maui Planning Department and various other stakeholders.
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The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will spend $14 million on repairs to the damaged San Pedro and Long Beach breakwaters, U.S. Rep. Janice Hahn's office announced Tuesday, February 9.
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Great Lakes

The 21 Lake Superior islands and 12 miles of mainland that are the Apostle Islands National Lakeshore could knit together under a new federal protection if a group of Wisconsin residents get their way.
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Area support for the designation of Chequamegon Bay as a National Marine Sanctuary (NMS) is picking up steam following the unanimous vote of the Ashland City Council passing a resolution in support of the designation. Ashland has joined the city of Bayfield in endorsing the designation, and supporters say that that support is just beginning.
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Announcements & More   
 

NOAA National Ocean Service Constituent Budget Briefing: February 24th
On Wednesday, February 24th, NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) will host a constituent briefing on the President's fiscal year 2017 budget request. The briefing will be held by teleconference call from 2:00-3:30 PM (Eastern). NOS Assistant Administrator Dr. Russell Callender and senior program officials will be available to answer any questions you may have on the President's budget request and NOS activities. Please RSVP to NOS.constituent@noaa.gov by February 19, so we can provide the call-in number and a link to background information.  If you have questions, you can contact Rick Schwabacher at 240-533-0923 or Rick.Schwabacher@noaa.gov.
 
EPA's Green Infrastructure program has released a new report, "Tools, Strategies and Lessons Learned from EPA Green Infrastructure Technical Assistance Projects." The report provides results from EPA's green infrastructure technical assistance program for communities looking for the best solutions to their unique challenges. This quick-reference guide matches problems with real world, tested solutions and offers readers resources for further information. The report also includes a handy guide to technology and a table of benefits to share with potential collaborators and stakeholders.
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The NOAA Restoration Center's Community-based Restoration Program just released a federal funding opportunity (FFO) for Coastal and Marine Habitat Restoration grants.
The CRP FFO has been posted to Grants.gov   The deadline for applications is April 6, 2016.

OneNOAA Science Seminars, 2016
 
Title: Scaling up Community-based Coral Reef Conservation in Hawai'i
Date & Time: Fri Feb 19, 2016 5pm - 6pm GMT (no daylight saving)

Title: New York Opens the Gates on Geospatial Information used in Regional Marine Planning
Date & Time: March 17, 2016 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm ET 

Title: Coastal Erosion and Shoreline Conservation Practices in Maryland - Walking that Fine Line between Shoreline Protection and Habitat Enhancement
Date & Time: March 22, 2016 12:00 pm - 1:00 pm ET 
 
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/ 

Seminars are posted in Eastern Time and subject to changes without notice; please check the web page for the latest seminar updates.   

Events

February 23 - 25, 2016
 

The Voice of the Coastal States and Territories on Ocean, Coastal & Great Lakes Affairs