The Coastal States Organization represents the nation’s Coastal States, Territories, and Commonwealths on ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resource issues. |
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Welcome From CSO's New Executive Director |
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I’m very pleased to be starting my first week as Coastal States Organization Executive Director. Having worked closely with CSO in my last job as executive director of American Shore and Beach Preservation Association – on the organizations’ Joint Policy, the annual Coastal Celebration on Capitol Hill, WRDA advocacy, and much else – I’m familiar with a lot of what CSO does and a lot of the people who make up CSO. But I also have a lot to learn! I look forward to getting to know all of CSO’s members and partners over the coming weeks and months.
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Spotlight on Coastal Management:
February Celebrates #EstuaryLove
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During the month of February CSO joins partners in celebrating our #EstuaryLove!
Estuaries are unique coastal ecosystems where rivers meet the sea and are home to plant and animal communities that have adapted to brackish water. NOAA Office for Coastal Management has tons of resources with information on the importance of estuaries and the value of the National Estuarine Research Reserve System which is comprised of 29 estuarine reserves across the country.
Learn more about estuaries and the reserves here.
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In the States and Regions |
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Small Fish, Big Barriers: A County Confronts Climate Change
Island County doesn’t need a canary in the coal mine to warn of advancing climate change. It already has sand lance and surf smelt. The small fish are silvery links in the chain of Puget Sound life, eaten by many marine animals. They can’t survive without beaches and shallow water. Both habitats are in short supply because humans have armored shorelines with boulders, concrete bulkheads and dikes. Climate-driven sea level rise and storm surge can only make matters worse, said Lisa Kaufman, nearshore program manager for the Northwest Straits Foundation. Climate change concerns have made their way into public debate and county documents, notably this year’s expected updates of the Shoreline Master Plan and Hazard Mitigation Plan. Read more
California Seeking Volunteers to Help Keep Waterways Clean
California’s Boating Clean and Green Program is looking for individuals to become Dockwalkers to help keep the ocean, lakes and reservoirs clean. For the past two decades, Dockwalkers have taught more than 100,000 boaters about keeping waterways clean from oil, fuel, sewage and marine debris. For the past two decades, Dockwalkers have taught more than 100,000 boaters about keeping waterways clean from oil, fuel, sewage and marine debris. Read more
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DEC Releases Report On Restoration And Protection Of New York's Great Lakes
State Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos released the 2018-2020 progress report on the restoration and protection of New York’s Great Lakes resources. Prepared every two years, the report highlights partnerships and achievements completed during the prior two years, including improving resilience to coastal and tributary flooding impacts, protecting source waters, and accelerating restoration initiatives in communities that have been historically and disproportionately impacted by environmental pollution, called Environmental Justice communities. Read more
Army Corps Studying Ways To Use Dredged Material From Fairport Harbor's Channel For Ecosystem Restoration
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' Buffalo District is looking at ways to use dredged material from Fairport Harbor's federal navigational channel for ecosystem restoration projects. One idea that the Army Corps is researching is to take dredged material and make it a component in an artificial reef. This underwater structure would be placed off the Fairport Harbor shoreline, in Lake Erie, to benefit fish habitat. Another option being explored would be to use dredged material to enhance or create wetlands in Fairport Harbor. Read more
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National Estuary Program Announces $200K Grant To Local Coastal Restoration Efforts
Efforts to help restore and defend Louisiana's fragile coastline received a shot in the arm recently in the form of a major grant to the Lowlander Center. The grant of $246,386 from the National Estuary Program to combat and restore coastal land loss in the state will be used in collaboration with the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe, the Grand Caillou/Dulac Tribe, the Grand Bayou Atakapa-Ishak/Chawasha Tribe. Patty Ferguson-Bohnee of the Pointe-au-Chien Indian Tribe said that these efforts are a small start to help indigenous communities who have decided to stay in the area continue to work towards restoration. Read more
ERDC partners with University of Southern Mississippi to maximize Gulf oyster habitat restoration
The U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center (ERDC) has announced a three-year research collaboration with the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) to create oyster reef habitat in the northern Gulf of Mexico. The primary objectives of the project are to investigate methods for optimizing oyster habitat restoration in the area ― which would ultimately lead to oyster population recovery — and enhancement of ecosystem services in coastal waters; a secondary objective is to evaluate whether the oyster reefs have any impacts on the use of critical habitat by Gulf sturgeon, a federally protected species. Read more
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Getting Our Water Right
One of the world’s largest and most complex hydrological engineering projects, the restoration of Florida’s Everglades — an 18,000-square mile ecosystem stretching from Orlando to the Florida Keys — all comes down to one thing: “getting the water right.” That’s shorthand for the 20-year-old Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and related projects. They are crucial to our quality of life in South Florida, planners say, at a time when the consequences of not getting the water right — due to early engineering of the region’s wetlands — has become increasingly problematic. At stake include the toxic blue-green algal blooms that wreak havoc on coastal industries alongside the Caloosahatchee and St. Lucie Estuaries and inland on Lake Okeechobee; saltwater intrusion in the enormous Biscayne Aquifer that 5 million people in Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade counties rely on for potable water; flood protection as the effects of sea level rise and rapid population growth converge; and a degraded ecosystem of plant and animal life. Read more
'Major' beach erosion in 6 South Jersey towns after last week's nor'easter
Days of a pounding onshore wind and large waves chewed up parts of the Jersey Shore last week. Cliffs of sand and major beach erosion were reported in six South Jersey shore towns from the four-day nor’easter that hovered in the region Jan. 31 to Feb. 3. A report from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection classifies the Holgate and Loveladies sections of Long Beach Township, Harvey Cedars, Beach Haven, parts of Atlantic City, parts of North Wildwood and Sea Breeze in Fairfield Township as having major erosion. Major erosion consists of significant beach berm loss or when dunes transform into cliffs, as the ocean washes away the sand from the base of the dune, according to the report, which did not include the Sunday’s nor’easter. However, that storm lasted only a half day and was not as strong. Read more
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February 12, 2021
February 16, 2021
February 17, 2021
February 18, 2021
February 23-25, 2021
February 23
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February 25, 2021
March 1-3, 2021
March 3, 2021
March 4, 2021
March 11, 2021
May 9-13, 2021
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Woods Hole Partnership Education Program
The Woods Hole Partnership Education Program is accepting applications for the 2021 summer undergrad internship research program. The program dates are May 29 through August 7. Applications are due February 13. Application materials and program information are available here.
Learn to use NOAA's OpenNSPECT tool on February 16, 2021 at 2pm ET
Various land use practices cause runoff, which in turn may compromise water quality and harm the plants and animals communities depend on for their livelihoods and economic stability. In this virtual training, a NOAA Office for Coastal Management instructor will lead hands-on exercises that explore the effects of different land use and land management practices. The course is geared towards managers with at least a basic working knowledge of GIS.
2021 Call for Proposals Great Lakes Research Consortium Small Grants Program
This small grants program provides seed funding for new, cooperative projects that improve our understanding of, and/or management of, New York's Great Lakes basin. The program supports collaborative projects and grant awards that can be used for basic or applied research and project planning that will lead to larger projects. Routine monitoring and one-time site-specific infrastructure projects are not appropriate topics for this RFP. Proposals are due March 1, 2021. Learn more and apply here.
The National Sea Grant Office and the NOAA Ocean Acidification Program are funding a joint competition to fund proposals that seek to establish, continue, and/or expand collaborations between researchers and the shellfish aquaculture industry. Specifically, applications to this competition should utilize new or existing research/industry partnerships to study how ocean and coastal acidification in combination with other stressors impacts shellfish aquaculture. Applications must include at least one researcher and one shellfish grower acting as co-Principal Investigators, and the proposed work must utilize a co-production of knowledge framework. Total funding for this competition includes up to $2,000,000 in federal funds to support 2-6 projects. Each project will be funded at the approximate level of $100,000 - $300,000 per year for 1-3 years. Applications are due March 16, 2021. Learn more here.
Coastal and Estuarine Research Foundation Scientific Awards Nominations
Help CERF recognize excellence among colleagues, mentors, and former students and nominate them for a CERF Scientific Award. The nomination deadline is April 7, 2021. Learn more and submit nominations here.
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The views expressed in articles referenced here are those of the authors and do not represent or reflect the views of CSO.
If you have a news item or job posting to include in future CSO Newsletters, please send an email to: rkeylon@coastalstates.org with a subject line: "Newsletter Content". Please include the information to be considered in the body of the email. Please note: CSO reserves final decision regarding published newsletter content and may not use all information submitted.
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Coastal States Organization | 50 F Street. NW, Suite 570, Washington, DC 20001 | 202-508-3860 | cso@coastalstates.org | www.coastalstates.org |
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