Southeastern Florida’s 300-mile reef system is the backbone of the state’s coastal economy and a powerhouse for the national Blue Economy, supporting 61,000 jobs and $5.7 billion in sales and income annually.Serious threats confront this natural system, however, including in recent years an unprecedented, widespread coral disease outbreak.

University of Miami: Engineering Coastal Resilience Through Reef Restoration

Coastal cities play a critical role in the global economy. The cities are being increasingly exposed to natural hazards and disasters, such as hurricanes, and recurrent flooding due to the rise of sea levels caused by climate change, University of Miami’s College of Engineering said in their latest announcement. Read more.

Cleaning New York's filthy harbor with one billion oysters

The New York Harbor for years has been polluted and depleted of marine life. But one nonprofit is working to clean the murky water and revive its long-lost ecosystem — one oyster at a time.

The Billion Oyster Project has worked since 2014 to rebuild oyster reefs in the waters surrounding New York City. The creatures are natural purifiers: A single adult oyster can cleanse about 50 gallons of water per day. And their reefs can provide a habitat for other marine life and help protect New York's shores against storm surge during rough weather. Read more.

State Starts Development of Probabilistic Tsunami Design Zone Maps 

The Office of Planning’s Coastal Zone Management Program (OP-CZM) has begun developing comprehensive high resolution probabilistic Tsunami Design Zone (TDZ) maps for the Island of Oahu.

The current 2018 State of Hawaii Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan (SHMHMP) and the previous 2013 SHMHMP identified tsunamis as a hazard of high concern for Hawaii and a significant coastal hazard risk to the state. Read more.

Regulators consider bird-smart wind development off California coast

The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is leading an effort to consider birds in their planning of wind energy development off the shores of California, including in three areas approximately 25 to 50 miles off the coasts of Humboldt Bay, Morro Bay, and Diablo Canyon – areas designated as having wind energy potential.

American Bird Conservancy has provided further considerations, including ways to minimize impacts in these areas to seabirds, such as the Marbled Murrelet, a species listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). Read more.

Storm surge, flooding relief part of $3.3B Southwest Coastal La. project

A recent agreement between the Army Corps of Engineers and the state Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority will fund engineering and design work to protect eligible homes and businesses in Calcasieu, Cameron and Vermilion parishes from storm surge and flooding.

The deal allocates $1.2 million in federal and state money to cover pre-construction, engineering and design costs. The corps and CPRA will be able to “identify and prepare approximately 50 to 100 eligible structures” for flood-proofing or elevation, according to a CPRA facts sheet. The cost-share is 65 percent federal and 35 percent state. Read more.

DeSantis seeks $625 million for everglades, water efforts

Water protection and restoration projects, including the fight against red tide and the continued cleanup of the Everglades, will account for $625 million of a proposed budget that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said he will roll out Friday for state lawmakers to consider.

DeSantis on Tuesday outlined part of his environmental budget proposal during an appearance at Rookery Bay Environmental Learning Center in Naples. He also named Chauncey Goss and Ron Bergeron to the South Florida Water Management District Governing Board. Read more.

‘Great Lakes Chronicle’ Tells the Story of Coastal Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Historical Society Press helped celebrate last year’s 40th anniversary of the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program with the publication of a book of essays celebrating the state’s coastlines. Called Great Lakes Chronicle: Essays on Coastal Wisconsin, it includes essays written by a wide variety of contributors – including quite a few Door County residents – between the years 2002 and 2018. Read more. Pick up the book here.

Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) - Program Manager

State of South Carolina, DHEC-OCRM - Environmental Health Manager II

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