Gulf of Mexico Alliance
e-Newsletter October 2018
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Wednesday Webinar: Harmful Algal Bloom Detection
Please join GOMA and the National Water Quality Monitoring Council for the last Wednesday Webinar of the year. In this year of unprecedented harmful algal bloom (HAB) reporting in Florida, Kate Hubbard with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission and Wildlife Research Institute will cover technologies used to improve forecasts, response, and reduce sampling costs.
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NOAA Marine Debris Art Contest
Every year the NOAA Marine Debris Program offers an art contest to all students kindergarten through 8th grade. Each entry must be a piece of student original artwork and a description. For more information and inspiration, go to NOAA's official webpage.
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New Gulf of Mexico Avian Monitoring Network Newsletter
The Gulf of Mexico Avian Monitoring Network (GoMAMN) provides a forum for scientist and land managers to coordinate and collaborate. Their three-fold priorities are restoration and monitoring; design and implementation of surveys; and sharing information. To further these objectives, the GoMAMN developed a quarterly newsletter. The purpose of this newsletter is to share information about the Network and ongoing monitoring projects, news, and relevant opportunities associated with bird conservation along the Gulf of Mexico.
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Survey: Critical Needs in Coastal Ecosystem-based Management
The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, in cooperation with NOAA's National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS), is conducting a survey on critical needs in ecosystem-based management. Voluntary participation in this survey will help identify critical science gaps and support impactful regional research. It should take about 15-20 minutes.
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This year Giving Tuesday is November 27, 2018. Consider supporting the campaign. Individual or organizational support will help GOMA build resources for campaign preparation in 2019.
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Resources
State of Alabama Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Restoration Progress Report: 2018 Update
This report summarizes actions taken on 122 funded restoration projects.
Download it.
CPRA Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Plan
The Louisiana Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) plan provides an update on the state's efforts to protect and restore the coast. It includes master plan implementation activities for the coming year.
Get the web version.
Texas OneGulf Center of Excellence Strategic Research and Action Plan
This plan documents the strategic research focus and capacity to address goal and visions for the Texas center of excellence. The SRAP is the foundational document to guide OneGulf.
Download the PDF.
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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) -
This month, w
orking with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), the Council announced public meetings for the state in December. In September, the Council held two public webinars. Those are now available online. 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 -
On October 1st, The Gulf Consortium announced the RESTORE Council approval of the state's $291 million Expenditure Plan. The
Gulf Consortium
and
Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) maintain websites
of related restoration information.
Alabama - On October 5th, the Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council (AGCRC) released a Draft State Expenditure Plan (SEP) for a 45-day public comment period. A public meeting about the Draft SEP will be held November 7th.
The State also announced the approval of two RESTORE council awards. They are a coastal Alabama comprehensive watershed restoration planning project ($4.3 million) and a submerged aquatic vegetation restoration and monitoring program ($875,000). The State updated their website
Alabama Coastal Restoration that includes a map of all funded projects.
Mississippi -
Restoration in Mississippi is led by the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality. The Mississippi Restoration Summit is planned for November 13, 2018 in Biloxi.
Visit the Office of Restoration web page for announcements, procurement opportunities, project updates, and more.
Louisiana - The State of Louisiana is represented by the CPRA on state and RESTORE Council activities. Restoration activities are conducted in conjunction with the State's Master Plan. This month, CPRA released the Fiscal Year 2019 Annual Plan. C
oastal Louisiana restoration updates are available on the
CPRA website.
Texas -
This month the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality announced December public meetings to gather input on priority issues along the Texas coast, as well as Gulf-wide. To attend these meetings and get other information go to
www.restorethetexascoast.org
.
NOAA RESTORE Science Program -
The program extended the full-proposal deadline for their current funding opportunity to November 14th. Current information on this program is available through the RESTORE Science Program website.
National Academy of Sciences (NAS) Gulf Research Program -
On October 22, the program announced the award of $3.2 million to nine awardees addressing education projects that advance scientific and environmental literacy. Two fellowship opportunities are anticipated to open in December. Learn more about these awards and other program activities.
Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) -
The Trustee Implementation Group (TIG) announcements this month include:
- The Florida TIG released its Draft Restoration Plan I and Environmental Assessment for public comment. The deadline was October 26th but in lieu of Hurricane Michael, the TIG will continue to accept comments after the date. On October 5th, they announced the completion of Island View Park, one of five components in the Florida Coastal Access Project.
- The Mississippi TIG will hold their annual public meeting on November 13th as part of the 2018 Restoration Summit. The TIG will break into two afternoon sessions, blue economy and marine and living resources. An evening session will address restoration updates. The group made notice that they began to draft a supplement to the 2016-2017 Restoration Plan/Environmental Assessment. A full draft will be made available for public comment.
- The Open Ocean TIG released its first Draft Restoration Plan for public comment this month. Public webinars were held and information from them is available online. Comments are due November 9th. The TIG will hold its annual meeting via webinar on November 14th.
National Fish & Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) -
A complete list of the NFWF supported projects and open Requests for Proposals can be found on their website.
North American Conservation Wetlands Act fund (NAWCA) - Information for this program is available on the
NAWCA website.
Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI) - The 2019 Gulf of Mexico Oil Spill and Ecosystem Science Conference (GoMOSES) is planned for February 4 - 7, 2019 at the Hyatt Regency New Orleans in New Orleans, LA. Registration is now open. Comprehensive GoMRI information is on
gulfresearchinitiative.org.
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Funding
The Gulf of Mexico Alliance maintains a
Funding Opportunities web page of current opportunities. Below are selected opportunities from that page.
NOAA RESTORE
Science Program FFO-2019 - This funding competition will support long-term projects to investigate trends in the Gulf of Mexico's living coastal and marine resources and the processes driving them. Required pre-proposals were due July 30, 2018 and full proposals due October 29, 2018 are extended to November 14, 2018.
FWS
Marine Turtle Conservation Fund - The purpose is to support projects that conserve nesting populations and habitat and address other threats to the survival of marine turtles in foreign countries.The deadline is November 26, 2018.
NPS
Save America's Treasures - Preservation - Grants provide preservation and/or conservation assistance to nationally significant historic properties and collections. The deadline is December 3, 2018.
NOAA
Marine Debris Program Research Funding Opportunity - Applications are for research funding in any of three areas of focus: research that explores the ecological risk associated with marine debris and determines debris exposure levels; research that examines the fate and transport of marine debris; and/or research that quantifies habitat impacts resulting from marine debris and the gains in ecosystem services that result when debris is removed. The deadline is December 14, 2018.
Walmart Foundation
Community Grant Program - Through the annual program, grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded to support local nonprofit organizations within the service area of individual Walmart stores in the areas of hunger relief and healthy eating, sustainability, women's economic empowerment, and/or career opportunities. The deadline is December 31, 2018.
Gulf of Mexico Climate and Resilience Community of Practice (CoP) is requesting letters of intent for
Climate Adaptation Projects. Funding is to assist a community effort to plan for climate change and natural hazards. The deadline is January 15, 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.
Selected events:
- Public Meeting: Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council
November 7
- Open Ocean TIG Annual Meeting Webinar
November 14
- Mississippi Restoration Summit
November 13
- GOMA Wednesday Webinar: Harmful Algal Blooms Detection
November 28
- Alabama-Mississippi Bays and Bayous
November 28-29, 2018
- GOMA Data and Monitoring Team Call
December 7
- GOMA Coastal Resilience Team Mid-Year Meeting
December 11-13, 2018
- GOMA Marine Debris Cross-Team Initiative Mid-Year Meeting
December 12-13, 2018
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Comment Periods
Click here to request a comment period to be shared in our next newsletter.
Alabama Draft State Expenditure Plan
The Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council released its Draft State Expenditure Plan (SEP) for a 45-day public comment period. The deadline is November 20, 2018.
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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