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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For Euclid, OH, whose city boundaries stretch nearly four miles along the Lake Erie shoreline, its lakefront remained largely inaccessible to the public and had experienced severe bluff erosion, loss of nearshore habitat, and posed threats to adjacent development, privately owned properties, and homes. In 2008, the City of Euclid looked to SmithGroup to help change that narrative, initially interested in a feasibility study for a recreational marina and additional shoreline access to Lake Erie for the public just east of Sims Park. Stangland noted one of the initial challenges was addressing how to build structures to protect boats and development of that nature across city-owned and private-owned property, while taking into account technical issues like longshore movement of sand.

“We were asked to initially look at a market study for a recreational marina and as we started to move toward developing that concept, we started engaging with the landowners and the residents. There were a lot of concerns about not just having a recreational marina proximate to them, but more so they were concerned about equitable access to the lakefront and making sure that they wouldn’t lose their access, or that we would expand access or that their shoreline is crumbling and eroding,” Stangland said.

“That was the motivating factor for folks to come to the table and they started with the understanding that, ‘okay, we can do all these things if we collaborate and work together.’ And that is how the project evolved from an initial recreational marina study to a comprehensive waterfront strategy for a three-quarter-mile-long shoreline,” Stangland added.

Due to the size of the identified shoreline for the project and the combination of public and private land ownership, SmithGroup led extensive public outreach and engagement, meeting with individual homeowners, business owners, private developers, and public officials. The team also worked with politicians, state and federal regulatory agencies, and grant staff to begin developing a comprehensive waterfront improvement plan that would benefit all stakeholders in the community and the ecological watershed. Through this process, a holistic vision integrating habitat, erosion protection, beach creation, bluff stabilization, and the creation of a continuous public access corridor at the water’s edge began to take shape. Read more here.

PODCAST: The Meeting Point: How States and Federal Government Collaborate on Coastal Zones

On The Capitol Beach, host Derek Brockbank is joined by Adam Schempp with the Environmental Law Institute and Daniel Govoni with North Carolina Division of Coastal Management to explore federal consistency as established by the Coastal Zone Management Act. Federal consistency is a rare policy that requires the federal government to coordinate with a state before any federal action takes place in that state’s coastal zone. Each state, with the approval of NOAA, can establish “enforceable policies” that determine what state rules and regulations can trigger federal consistency. Daniel is a federal consistency coordinator for NC and provides local examples and a state perspective; Adam and ELI have recently released a report entitled, “Strong Enforceable Policies: Examples and Tips”, and provide a national explanation. Further learning on this topic can be done through Digital Coast’s learning module on federal consistency. This podcast gets wonky – which I think we mention 5 or 6 times during the pod! – but provides a great overview of complicated but important coastal policy.

After Decades, a Tribe's Vision for a New Marine Sanctuary Could be Coming True

The central California coast, with its rugged beaches and kelp forests, draws a lot of visitors for its scenic beauty. For the Chumash people, the coastline means a lot more. "Almost all the places people like to go to are our sacred sites," says Violet Sage Walker, chairwoman of the Northern Chumash Tribal Council. "We've been going there and praying and doing ceremony there for 20,000 years." More than 7,000 square miles of ocean there could soon become the largest national marine sanctuary in the continental U.S. It could also make history as one of the first federal sanctuaries to be spearheaded by a Native American tribe, part of a growing movement to give tribes a say over the lands and waters that were once theirs. Read more here.

Oregon Elevates Natural and Working Lands to Help Slow Climate Change

In a forward-looking move, leaders in Oregon have committed funding to utilize farms, forests, and wetlands in the effort to blunt the effects of climate change. On July 27, Governor Tina Kotek signed the Climate Resilience Package (H.B. 3409) into law, helping to ensure that the state’s natural and working lands can continue to remove or sequester atmospheric carbon dioxide. The package establishes a permanent fund for “natural climate solutions”: efforts to remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere or prevent its release once it has been sequestered—for example, in a forest, farm, or wetland. The law directs funding to facilitate the conservation, restoration, and improved management of such lands and waters. Though small in size, coastal habitats such as forested tidal swamps and wetlands can store carbon at greater rates than the region’s old-growth forests. And because they sit where Oregon’s forests and rivers meet the sea, healthy estuarine wetlands sustain salmon, birds, Dungeness crabs, oysters, forage fish, cultural resources, and jobs while serving as a buffer to lessen the impacts of storms and floods on coastal communities. That is a particularly valuable service given experts’ predictions that extreme weather—along Oregon’s coast and elsewhere—will become increasingly common. Read more here.

A Billion-Dollar Coastal Project Begins in Louisiana. Will it Work as Sea Levels Rise?

Nearly $3 billion in settlement money from the BP Deepwater Horizon disaster that devastated the Gulf Coast and killed hundreds of thousands of marine animals is now funding a massive ecosystem restoration in southeastern Louisiana’s Plaquemines Parish. The flat, sparsely populated land divided by the Mississippi River delta is marbled by bayous and bays. Farms, fishing camps and shrimp boats share the region with oil rig supply vessels and industrial storage. And it’s about to host a vast undertaking meant to mimic Mother Nature: Enormous gates will soon be incorporated into a flood protection levee. The aim is to divert some of the river’s sediment-laden water into a new channel and guide it into the Barataria Basin southeast of New Orleans. If it works, the sediment will settle out in the basin and gradually restore land that has been steadily disappearing for decades. State coastal officials call it a first-of-its-kind project they are certain will work, even as climate change-induced rising sea levels threaten the disappearing coast. Read more here.

USF Marine Lab Houses 1,500 Coral Specimens Amid ‘Unprecedented’ Bleaching Event

University of South Florida (USF) researchers have rescued over 1,500 specimens during a historic ocean heat wave that marine scientists fear could be the “death knell” for Florida’s coral. The Florida Institute of Oceanography’s (FIO) Keys Marine Laboratory – which is hosted by the university – is ready to take on even more coral to protect the sensitive organisms, according to a release from USF and FIO. Many of the corals housed at the site are rare and endangered species. Hot ocean temperatures cause coral to become stressed, which leads to them expelling the symbiotic algae that lives in their tissues. This puts the coral at a greater risk of dying, according to NOAA. The coral bleaching crisis arrived over a month ahead of the typical “bleaching season,” Dr. Derek Manzello with NOAA Coral Reef Watch told WFLA Chief Meteorologist and Climate Specialist Jeff Berardelli last week. Manzello said that unless the “unprecedented” record-high ocean temperatures subside, “the corals of the Florida Keys may be looking at upwards of three consecutive months of thermally-stressful conditions. Most previous bleaching events lasted about 4-6 weeks.” The USF/FIO marine laboratory, which “contains one of the largest temperature-controlled seawater systems in the Florida Keys,” can house thousands of additional specimens, which are harvested from offshore nurseries and parent colonies. Read more here.

EPA Releases "Blue Carbon Reservoirs from Maine to Long Island NY" Report

EPA New England announced the release and availability of a report (pdf) that maps "blue carbon" along the northeastern coast.Blue carbon is the term used to describe carbon stored in coastal and marine salt marshes, seagrass, and mangroves. These aquatic habitats are much more efficient at accumulating/sequestering carbon than terrestrial habitats. An acre of forest will have less sequestered carbon in its soil than the equivalent acre of seagrass, salt marsh or mangrove. "Healthy, growing seagrass and salt marshes are key to pulling carbon out of the atmosphere where we don't want it, and storing it in vibrant coastal ecosystems, where we do want," said EPA New England Regional Administrator David W. Cash. "These ecosystems are important nursery habitats for many commercial fish and shellfish species. They are also the first line of defense against coastal flooding, which often impacts disadvantaged communities first and worst. The findings from this effort and resulting map products can help inform land and coastal management policies, fisheries management, and climate change mitigation practices. Read more here.

Revolution Wind Project Clears Major Federal Regulatory Hurdle

The first utility-scale offshore wind farm powering Rhode Island cleared another major hurdle with federal regulators on Tuesday. The U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) record of decision allows developers of the Revolution Wind Farm to move ahead with plans for a 704-megawatt wind farm off the coast of Block Island. While not the last approval – review of the more detailed construction, operations and maintenance plan is still pending – the record of decision marks the final federal environmental assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act, according to BOEM. Read more here.

[NEW] Biden-Harris Administration makes $240 million available for habitat restoration and coastal resilience through Investing in America agenda

On August 15, NOAA Fisheries announced the availability of up to $240 million in funding for transformational habitat restoration and coastal resilience projects as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. Through this funding opportunity, NOAA will support habitat restoration approaches that enhance the resilience of coastal and Great Lakes communities — including tribes and underserved communities — against climate hazards. This announcement came one day ahead of the one-year anniversary of the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in U.S. history.

[NEW] ASAP Hosting 2023 Private Sector Climate Service Providers Academy this Fall

The American Society of Adaptation Professionals is hosting a virtual academy for private sector climate service providers. It is geared towards providers working with design, architecture, engineering, or planning clients in the Great Lakes, South Central, the Caribbean, California/Nevada, or the North/Mid-Atlantic regions. The virtual academy aims to give providers the tools they need to develop higher-quality climate services and help their businesses succeed in the rapidly evolving climate services marketplace. Learn more here.

[NEW] Urban Ocean Lab Releases Guidebook on Ocean Climate Funding for Coastal Cities

Urban Ocean Lab has identified over $21.7 billion in funds that cities are eligible to use in implementing ocean climate action projects, $11 billion allocated from the IRA and $10.7 billion allocated from the IIJA. Cities and other coastal project managers must act quickly to identify and apply for applicable project funding as many federal programs have already started awarding funds to applicants. This guidebook is intended to be a concise directory to assist cities in accessing the remaining and ongoing funding opportunities afforded for ocean climate projects in these two laws. 

NOAA Announces Members of Ocean Research Advisory Council (Including CSO's Derek Brockbank!)

On August 1, 2023, 18 ocean experts began their appointment as members of the Ocean Research Advisory Panel (ORAP). The 18 ORAP members include representatives from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, ocean industries, state, tribal, territorial or local governments, and academia. “The ocean has never been more important – it regulates our climate and provides jobs, nourishment, recreation and respite. These experts will provide the Ocean Policy Committee with the technical and policy advice to support ocean health and a strong blue economy,” said Brenda Mallory, Chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality and co-chair of the OPC. “Their deep knowledge and diverse backgrounds will be invaluable in advancing the Biden-Harris Administration’s ocean priorities.” Learn more here.

Submit Your Photos for the National Estuaries Week Photo Contest

In celebration of National Estuaries Week, which takes place September 16 to 23, 2023, NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management is hosting a photo contest.Send your best photos from the national estuarine research reserves that display the beauty of the reserves, critters that live there, and the people who work and play there.Winners will be chosen by a panel of judges and will be featured in our social media campaign during National Estuaries Week. Submit your photos under the following categories: learn, play, vistas, smiles, and work. Submit images (minimum of 1200 pixels wide, no more than 10 photos) to [email protected]. All images MUST include the following information: photographer’s name; completed copyright and likeness form; short description of when and where the photo was taken; and which category your photo is representing. Learn more about the contest here.

NOAA Offering On-Location Coastal Flood Mapping Training

Learn technical skills to address the nation’s increase in damaging and costly coastal flood events by hosting NOAA’s Coastal Inundation Mapping course at your location. This two-day GIS-based training equips you with baseline skills for mapping coastal flooding. Earn 16 hours of continuing education credits while engaging in hands-on exercises to gain practical experience. Don’t miss this opportunity to learn how to map and determine impacts of sea level rise and coastal flooding.

Ocean Acidification Mini-Grant Opportunity

NOAA's Ocean Acidification Program has announced a FY24 Education mini-grant opportunity to provide assistance for the development of ocean and coast educational tools in underserved and/or Indigenous communities. Letters of intent are due by Friday, September 15, 2023.

TNC and PEW Release RFP for Shellfish Growers Resiliency Fund

The Nature Conservancy and The Pew Charitable Trusts’ Supporting Oyster Aquaculture & Restoration (SOAR) Program has issued a request for proposals (RFP) for the 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 will be open to applicants in the United States and U.S. Territories. The award will fund projects up to $20,000 for one-to-two-year projects and will target shellfish growers, shellfish aquaculture industry associations, and closely linked supply chain companies supporting aquaculture. The application deadline for the RFP is Friday October 6, 2023. To learn more about the Fund and the application process, visit the SOAR website: https://www.nature.org/soar. If you have questions about the Resiliency Fund, please contact Rebekah Borgert [email protected].

Request for Proposals on Including Indigenous Ways of Knowing in Decision-Making for Ocean and Coastal Management

The Lenfest Ocean Program released an RFP for projects that elevate Indigenous Peoples in sharing their traditions, culture, knowledge, and wisdom to improve evidence-based decision-making for the management, conservation, and restoration of coastal marine species, habitats, and ecosystems. The RFP is intended to support identification, analysis, and/or communication of Indigenous Knowledge and wisdom (where it is culturally appropriate); and engagement approaches that facilitate the inclusion of this knowledge into ocean and coastal management decisions. The deadline to apply is Monday, October 16, 2023.