This article was originally published on NOAA.
“The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today announced a partnership that will restore, increase and strengthen natural infrastructure — the landscapes that help absorb the impacts of storms and floods — to protect coastal communities, while also enhancing habitats for fish and wildlife.
In its inaugural year, the National Coastal Resilience Fund will invest up to $30 million in the restoration or expansion of natural features such as coastal marshes and wetlands, dune and beach systems, oyster and coral reefs, mangroves, forests, coastal rivers, as well as barrier islands that help minimize the impacts of storms, rising sea levels and other extreme events on nearby communities and infrastructure. NOAA will use a small portion of the funding for scoping designed to assist communities in getting the regional information they need to make ocean and coastal management decisions and provide economic, security, and environmental benefits.
“Protecting local coastal communities and benefiting wildlife at the same time is a huge win-win for coastal regions of the United States,” said Jeff Trandahl, executive director and CEO of NFWF. “The projects we fund through this new partnership with NOAA, and with the support of Congress, will provide lasting benefits to millions of Americans, and to the natural resources that are essential to the future of the nation.”
In 2017, the United States was impacted by 16 separate billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events, resulting in a record $306.2 billion in damages. In addition, many coastal cities are experiencing high tide flooding 10 to 20 days or more each year, resulting in public safety and health risks, such as road closures, overwhelmed storm drains, and compromised infrastructure and water quality…”
Read on at: NOAA.
