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Equinor Joins Gulf Star
The Gulf of Mexico Alliance (Alliance) is pleased to announce a new partnership with Equinor (NYSE: EQNR), which aims to invest in projects that support a healthy and productive Gulf of Mexico. Equinor is a global energy company, with a key innovation hub located in Houston, Texas, right on the Gulf of Mexico. An ideal position as a new supporter of the Alliance's Gulf Star Program.
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Call for Tools
The Call for Tools at the Gulf of Mexico Alliance All Hands Tools Café and reception is open.
This year the event will take place on Monday, June 10th, setting the stage for Tuesday morning's opening plenary.
Submissions are accepted from Alliance partners who would like to demonstrate their online or paper-based tools. The lively, interactive reception is organized by our Data and Monitoring Team. They request tools that are applicable to one of the six priority issues or three initiatives.
2019 All Hands Sponsored By
Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS)
Harte Research Institute * Dauphin Island Sea Lab * The Balmoral Group
NOAA * Sea Grant
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Alliance Updates
Water Resources Team
The next Water Resources Full Team call is scheduled for Tuesday, April 9th at 1:30 pm CT.
In lieu of the January meeting cancellations, the Team will hold a series of working webinars for each of their three focus areas. These are aquatic health, human health, and economic health. The objective of the webinars is to discuss progress toward completion of Action Plan III goals. They intend to determine what are the remaining action priorities and prepare for full team discussion at the All Hands meeting in June.
The webinars are being scheduled for mid-late April and early May. For information on these webinars, the Full Team call, and other information, contact Ann Porter the
Team Coordinator. Members will be notified via email for Team updates.
Coastal Resilience Team
Our Coastal Resilience Team Coordinator Daphne Viverette was selected to participate in the National Aquarium's Urban Climate Network (UCAN). Through this program, Ms. Viverette will develop, design, and complete a conservation-driven project for a local community.
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Texas Coastal Exchange
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Texas coastal marsh by
Dr. Azure Bevington |
This month the Texas Coastal Exchange (TCX) announcd completion of its first carbon dioxide storage transaction in the Galveston Bay marsh ecosystem - the first known sale of carbon credits benefiting Texas marshes and prairies.
The Texas Coastal Exchange concept evolved from research by Rice University's SSPEED Center, which was interested in establishing a system to pay landowners for keeping low-lying coastal lands subject to hurricane surge flooding in their natural state. TCX, a non-profit corporation, was created to facilitate the sale of carbon credits to interested individuals and businesses in the state.
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Resources
Building and Measuring Community Resilience: Actions for Communities and the Gulf Research Program
The NAS Gulf Research Program is releasing a
new report on existing resilience efforts, gaps, and recommendations for communities to build and measure resilience.
Florida Coastal Mapping Program - Overview and 2018 Workshop Report
The U.S. Geological Survey released a
report on sea-floor mapping efforts that align partner and stakeholder activities for increased efficiency and cost reduction. Presented are modern, high-resolution bathymetric and coastal topobathymetric data.
Adapting Stormwater Management for Coastal Floods
This NOAA
website can be used by communities to determine how flooding today and in the future may affect stormwater systems.
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Restoration
Activities related to Deepwater Horizon oil spill research and restoration are updated monthly.
Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council)
The Council lists all grant and interagency agreements awarded under the Council-Selected restoration component here. Complete information on RESTORE Council activity is available on
RestoreTheGulf.gov
.
U.S. Department of Treasury - All RESTORE Act Direct Component activities administered by the Department of Treasury are listed on the official website.
In the States
Florida -
The
Gulf Consortium
and
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) maintain websites
of related restoration information.
Mississippi -
Visit the Office of Restoration web page for announcements, procurement opportunities, project updates, and more.
Louisiana - The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) manages restoration activities for the state in conjunction with the State's Master Plan.
Louisiana restoration updates are available on the
CPRA website.
Texas - On March 4th, the state received approval of the Texas' Initial State Expenditure Plan (SEP). The initial plan focuses on Hurricane Harvey recovery efforts. It is programmatic and will address distribution of approximately $31 million in RESTORE Bucket 3 funds. There are additional steps to complete before projects are selected and funds are distributed.
For more information on Texas activities go to
www.restorethetexascoast.org
.
NOAA RESTORE Science Program -
This program has a project explorer page that allows interested parties to learn more about funded projects. Current information on this program is available through the RESTORE Science Program website.
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Gulf Research Program -
The program has three grant opportunities open; full proposals and letters of intent are required by May and June. The program maintains active Facebook and Twitter pages. Learn more about these fellowships, awards, and other program activities.
Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) -
The Deepwater Horizon Oceanic Fish Restoration Project, an Early Restoration Phase IV project led by NOAA, kicked off the third year of a partnership to restore important fish species impacted by the oil spill. Group Trustee Implementation (TIG) announcements this month are:
- The Florida TIG released group public webinar materials from their October meeting and December 2018 webinar. This month, the group approved its Final Restoration Plan I which selects 23 projects estimated at over $61 million.
- The Louisiana TIG released its Final Restoration Plan for Queen Bess Island. They also announced the intent to draft one or more project alternatives for the draft Barataria Basin Strategic Restoration Plan.
- The Open Ocean TIG approved its Final Restoration Plan I at an estimated cost of $16 million. This plan addresses injured migratory birds (common loons and black terns) as well as Gulf sturgeon.
National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) -
For information on NFWF supported projects, go to their website.
North American Conservation Wetlands Act fund (NAWCA) - Information for this program is available on the
NAWCA website.
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Funding
The Gulf of Mexico Alliance maintains a
Funding Opportunities web page of programs. Below are selected opportunities from that page.
Gulf of Mexico Alliance 2019 Gulf Star Program -
Economic Impacts of Water Quality Issues in the Gulf of Mexico - The Gulf of Mexico Alliance Water Resources Team is seeking an interdisciplinary team to collect, synthesize, and share information regarding the economic effects of harmful algal blooms (HABs) and their impact on industry sectors such as tourism, commercial and recreational fisheries, and aquaculture. The team must include at least one economist and one scientist with expertise in water quality. The deadline to apply is April 15, 2019.
Ben & Jerry's Foundation
Social and Environmental Justice Projects - One-year grants of up to $25,000 will be awarded to grassroots community-organizing groups in the United States working to advance social and environmental justice and sustainable and just-food systems. Grants can be used for both programming and operational costs. The deadline for the pre-application Cycle B is April 15, 2019.
Alabama Coastal Area Management Program Annual Request for Proposals - ACAMP is accepting applications for projects that protect, enhance, and improve the management of natural, cultural and historical coastal resources and that increase the sustainability, resiliency and preparedness of coastal communities. The deadline is April 19, 2019.
NFWF Fishing for Energy RFP - NFWF, with partners Fishing for Energy partners Covanta Energy Corporation and NOAA's Marine Debris Program, issued a grant opportunity to support derelict fishing gear removal efforts and innovation in gear technology. Grants will target areas in U.S. coastal waters with a priority for areas that have been identified and prioritized for derelict fishing gear prevention, reduction, and gear technology innovation in state or regional plans, such as state marine debris action plans or as part of species or habitat conservation plans. The deadline is April 25, 2019.
Network for Landscape Conservation
Catalyst Fund - The Fund specifically seeks to build critical capacity and forward momentum in landscape conservation partnerships by supporting the key building block activities and collaborative processes that move partnerships forward. There is a general fund application and separate indigenous community fund. The deadline is April 26, 2019.
NAS Gulf Research Program
Healthy Ecosystems Grant 4 -
The progam will provide up to $5 million in grants to support
research projects that will improve understanding of how coastal ecosystems in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico region are affected by or interact with natural processes and human activities for the purpose of informing natural resource decision-making and management practices. A letter of intent is due May 22, 2019 and full proposals are due July 24, 2019.
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Events
Our
events page lists workshops, conferences, symposia, trainings, webinars, and other notable activities. Please
email us with things to post and share.
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Comment Periods
Click here to request a comment period to be shared in our next newsletter.
Revised Definition Waters of the United States (WOTUS)
The EPA and Department of the Army are proposing new definitions for what constitutes "waters of the United States". The comment period is open until April 15, 2019.
South Atlantic Coastal Study
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
South Atlantic Coastal Study (SACS) (geography extends from North Carolina through Mississippi): In preparation towards its "shared vision" statement, the SACS team seeks input regarding problems and objectives related to coastal resilience in the study region and/or general statements related to your "vision" of what coastal resilience means/how stakeholders can jointly move in that direction. Please send any comments to:
SACS@usace.army.mil.
For all federal rules, comments, adjudications or supporting documents visit regulations.gov.
The NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office maintains a bulletin of public notices and news releases related to topics of importance on many Gulf of Mexico issues.
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has a website that includes fish regulations, amendments, and meeting announcements. See their
Public Hearings for updates on sea turtle release protocol, venting tools, state management of recreational Red snapper, and other pertinent fishery management issues.
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