CSO Newsletter
The Coastal States Organization represents the nation’s Coastal States, Territories, and Commonwealths on ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resource issues.
Spotlight on Coastal Management:
Ocean Month!
June is National Ocean Month and June 8th is World Ocean Day! Both are an opportunity to celebrate the ocean and the important programs that ensure that we have a healthy and vibrant ocean for future generations!

Learn more about the ocean with NOAA's 30 Days of Ocean highlighting Ocean Health and Safety, the Ocean Economy, Ocean Life, and Ocean Trivia throughout the month! Follow along on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram and look for #30DaysofOcean, #OceanMonth2021, and #OceanMonthNOAA.

Follow CSO's Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram to learn more about how State and Territory Coastal Zone Management Programs are working with coastal communities to preserve, protect, restore, enhance, manage, use, and develop ocean and coastal resources.
In the States and Regions
West Coast and Pacific
Marsh Habitat Restoration Project Planned at Point No Point Aims to Help Salmon
A 32-acre area at Point No Point will undergo a habitat restoration led by the Mid Sound Fisheries Enhancement Group that aims to restore critical salmon habitat. The nonprofit, which was created by the Legislature and partners with groups on salmon restoration, is working with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife, Kitsap County Parks and the Hansville community on the restoration project that will reconnect the Point No Point marsh to Puget Sound. Mid Sound has been reaching out to various groups to get their input on the project. Juliana Tadano, Mid Sound’s nearshore project manager, said the "tide gate" in the area is failing, allowing the freshwater in the marsh but not letting fish back in. This is creating an area that functions more like a bathtub, not a dynamic marsh. Read more

Biden Administration, Gov. Newsom Open California Coast to Offshore Wind Farms
California and the U.S. government announced an agreement Tuesday to open up areas off the state’s central and northern coasts to the first commercial wind energy farms on the Pacific Coast. The pact that would float hundreds of turbines off the coast of Morro Bay and Humboldt Bay was touted as a breakthrough to eventually power 1.6 million homes and help the state and federal government reach ambitious climate change goals through clean energy production. “California, as we all know, has a world-class offshore wind resource, and it can play a major role in helping to accelerate California’s and the nation’s transition to clean energy,” National Climate Advisor Gina McCarthy said. Read more
East Coast and Caribbean
Historic Black Town in Maryland Seeks Justice for Stormwater Discharge
A Maryland power plant has been releasing stormwater for years into a small Patuxent River town founded in the late 1920s as a vacation resort for Black professionals. The outflow has intensified floods and damaged the stream that the community relies on to drain heavy rains, town officials say. A resident of the town, Eagle Harbor, spotted a culvert in a wooded area earlier this year that appears to feed stormwater from a Pepco-controlled portion of the Chalk Point generating station into the town’s drainage system. An official with the Maryland Department of the Environment confirmed in a follow-up investigation that the previously undocumented culvert is “likely contributing” to flooding in the town and “has created an adverse impact” on the stream it flows into. Read more

Conservation Corps NC Plugs First Living Shoreline Project
About 3,000 salt marsh sea grass plugs were planted recently as part of a large-scale living shoreline project in Bogue Sound by town hall. The project was one of a handful focused on coastal restoration and living shorelines tackled through a partnership between Conservation Corps North Carolina – the first of its kind for this group, according to one organizer — and the North Carolina Coastal Federation. Conservation Corps N.C. engages ages 16-27 in conservation work and is a program of Conservation Legacy, a national organization dedicated to supporting locally based conservation service programs. AmeriCorps members serve on most Conservation Corps projects. The six-person AmeriCorps crew, volunteers and federation staff planted the salt marsh grass, completing a restoration project put in place to reduce shoreline erosion, protect the area’s maritime forest from storms, provide fish habitat and help improve coastal water quality, according to the federation. The AmeriCorps crew also collected marine debris and did maintenance work at Cape Lookout National Seashore, Carolina Beach State Park, Morris Landing in Holly Ridge and other spots on the central and southern North Carolina coast. Read more
Great Lakes
16 Months After Storms Decimated Racine's Lakefront, City Moves Toward Rebuilding It
It has been 16 months since a severe storm wreaked havoc on southeast Wisconsin’s shoreline, damaging popular pathways by the Racine Zoo and creating a mile of rubble along Pershing Park Road that obstructs the normally immaculate view of Lake Michigan. Moving forward, the City of Racine not only wants to fix the damage, but wants to do so in a way that lessens the potential destruction of future storms amid rising waters of Lake Michigan. The Finance and Personnel Committee voted to recommend the city enter into a professional services agreement for design and analysis associated with a Coastal Resiliency and Improvements Project. Read more

H2Ohio Program Invests $5 Million in Water Quality
As part of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine’s H2Ohio initiative, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources is awarding a total of more than $5 million to 150 new projects that will contribute to improved water quality in the Lake Erie watershed. Projects have been accepted in 23 out of the 27 Lake Erie CREP counties. Out of the 150 approved projects, 133 will construct wetlands and 17 will create riparian buffers. Read more
Gulf Coast
$29.7 Million Granted to Improve Infrastructure in Low-Income Communities in Jim Wells County
Texas Land Commissioner George P. Bush and Jim Wells County Judge Juan Rodriguez announce the Texas General Land Office (GLO) approved more than $29.7 million in flood mitigation projects to improve drainage infrastructure in Jim Wells County (JWC) and the cities of Alice and Premont. These infrastructure projects will directly benefit thousands of residents in majority low-to-moderate income (LMI) areas that have faced repetitive storm damage in 2015, 2017 with Hurricane Harvey, and 2018. Read more

Edwards Announces Three Large-Scale Coastal Restoration Projects 
Gov. John Bel Edwards announced that three large-scale coastal restoration projects are now under construction to restore more than 2,900 acres of beach, dune, marsh and ridge in southeast Louisiana. The Spanish Pass marsh restoration near the town of Venice, the West Grand Terre barrier island restoration near Grand Isle, and the Golden Triangle marsh restoration east of New Orleans and Chalmette, will address significant land loss due to erosion and subsidence and restore a combined total of nearly 5 square miles of coastal land. All three projects are being accomplished using $256.6 million in funds resulting from the aftermath of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Read more
Events & Webinars
Announcements
FEMA to Provide $1 Billion in Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities Grants
In the program’s second year, $1 billion will be made available under BRIC for Fiscal Year 2021 funding to state, local, tribal and territorial governments to assist with undertaking hazard mitigation projects and planning to reduce the risk they face before the next disaster strikes. Additional information will be available once the Fiscal Year Notice of Funding Opportunity is released in a few weeks. The funding notice will provide detailed program information, grant application requirements, and other administrative requirements needed to apply for funding. Learn more about BRIC here.

DOI Spring NEWSWAVE and Summer Photo Issue
DOI has released two new issues of NEWSWAVE! The  Spring 2021 issue includes the following articles: Q&A with Secretary Deb Haaland focused on DOI’s blue portfolio, Tribal Youth Coastal Conservation Program, Rescuing Cold-Sunned Sea Turtles, First Tribal Ocean Summit, Coral Reefs and Sunscreen, Geospatial Mapping Tools, Science for Plovers, Aquatic Connectivity and Fish Passage, Partnerships for Marshes, Invasive Mussels, ‘Why the Ocean’ -- Hear from inspired women marine scientists, and more. The Summer 2021 Photo Issue celebrates with images of our diverse national ocean and coastal treasures and illustrates some of the ways we apply scientific expertise for their wise stewardship.

EPA Releases Checklists of Potential Climate Change Risks
The EPA has released its Checklists of Potential Climate Change Risks. When EPA’s Climate Ready Estuaries program published the Being Prepared for Climate Change workbook in 2014, checklists were included to help place-based organizations identify climate change risks. Checklists have been used with great success in meetings and workshops and helped many communities to get started on conducting a risk-based climate change vulnerability assessment. These checklists are also a fantastic and simple tool for educating and communicating about climate change impacts. The new document includes the four checklists that originally appeared in the CRE workbook and has three new ones that were developed since the workbook was published. The checklists can be printed, or progress can be saved in the electronic pdf. The risk identification checklists, the Being Prepared for Climate Change workbook, training webinars, videos, and more are available through the EPA’s risk-based climate adaptation webpage, here.

NOAA's National Marine Sanctuaries Releases Wildlife Viewing Guidelines
The NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries Program has released Wildlife Viewing Guidelines to help educate and inform the public about how to have fun on the water while reducing human/wildlife conflicts. There is also a Pledge for Wildlife to show support for wildlife and to encourage others to do the same. Learn more here.

TNC and PEW Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration (SOAR) Program
The Nature Conservancy and Pew Charitable Trusts’ Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration (SOAR) program issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the new $1 million Shellfish Growers Resiliency Fund (Fund). The Fund aims to pave the way for a more resilient and sustainable U.S. shellfish industry that benefits the ocean and the communities which rely upon it. Funding is open to applicants in the U.S. and will be distributed equitably among the West Coast (including Hawaii and Alaska), East Coast, and the Gulf of Mexico. The Fund will award small one-year projects (up to $20,000) targeting shellfish growers, shellfish aquaculture industry associations, and closely linked supply chain companies supporting aquaculture. The second round of applications for the small RFP are due June 28, 2021, with a second round closing in June 2021. The Fund will also award large two-year projects (up to $100,000) and will target shellfish growers, academic organizations, non-profit organizations engaged directly in the support of shellfish aquaculture, supply chain companies supporting aquaculture, and shellfish aquaculture industry associations. The application deadline for the large RFP is June 14, 2021. Contact Christina Popolizio with questions. Learn more and apply here.

Massachusetts Coastal Pollutant Remediation (CPR) Grants
The Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM) announces the availability of up to $500,000 for municipalities located in the Massachusetts Coastal Watershed to assess and remediate stormwater pollution and to design and construct commercial boat-waste pumpout facilities. Related capacity-building activities, such as development of stormwater bylaws, maintenance trainings for municipal staff, and project case studies, will also be considered. As much as $175,000 may be requested and a 25 percent match of the total project cost is required. Projects must be completed by June 30, 2022. See the Request for Responses (RFR) here. Proposals are due by 5:00 p.m. on June 11. Learn more here.

RAE 2021 NEP Coastal Watersheds Grant RFP
Now in its second year, the NEP CWG Program is a nationally competitive grants program designed to support projects that address urgent and challenging issues threatening the well-being of coastal and estuarine areas within determined estuaries of national significance. In 2020, the NEP CWG awarded more than $1.3 million to eight projects.  RAE will select grantees through a two-step process: 1) Letters of Intent (LOI); and 2) full proposals by invitation only. LOIs are due on June 7, 2021. Only projects occurring within the geographic eligibility areas may receive funding. Informational webinars will occur on April 27 and May 5 for those interested in learning more.

ASBPA Best Restored Shore nominations due this Summer
ASBPA recognizes projects which address natural resource restoration to enhance shoreline resiliency by addressing environmental degradation, storm impacts, climate change, and sea level rise which all increasingly threaten the nation’s coastal, estuarine and Great Lakes communities. ASBPA understands the time, effort, and money that it takes to restore or enhance an inland or bay shoreline, and we want to recognize your accomplishments. Whether your project involves a Great Lake or an estuary, a mangrove or an oyster reef, if your project created thriving habitats, improved water quality, recreation and local economies you should apply to be a Best Restored Shores project.
The award-winning projects may include:
  • Coastal back bays or large freshwater lakes
  • Urban waterfronts
  • Seagrass, shellfish, coral reef, and other submerged habitats
  • Wetlands, mangroves, and other intertidal habitat
  • Living shorelines
  • Beneficial use of dredged material for environmental projects
Projects must have completed construction no later than 2019.

Best Restored Shores Nominations are now open and the deadline is July 16th. Submit your nomination via email here. Learn more 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.
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