Assistant to the President for Science & Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Arati Prabhakar and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy NOAA Administrator Jainey K. Bavishi visited Scarborough, Maine, to announce the recommendation of $123 million in funding across state and territorial coastal management programs and national estuarine research reserves. The funding will support habitat restoration and conservation, as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.

President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act together are investing more than $50 billion in climate resilience and adaptation. The announcement, funded by the historic legislation, will allow NOAA to build on the important work done by states and territories over the last 50 years to conserve and manage our nation’s coastal areas and conduct long-term research to better understand the function of our estuaries.

“The Commerce Department and entire Biden-Harris Administration are committed to ensuring coastal communities across the country have the resources they need to combat climate change,” said US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “Through this investment, made possible thanks to President Biden’s commitment to investing in America, we will be able to protect critical resources for coastal habitat restoration, create new jobs and boost resilience to extreme weather events across our coastal communities.”

“America’s coastal communities are on the frontlines of climate change—and we can tap into the power of nature to reduce the impacts of sea level rise, storms and erosion,” said Prabhakar. “Through President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, we are taking historic action to meet the climate crisis and build a more resilient future for all.”

These recommended funds will support:

• $59.8 million for state and territory coastal zone management programs for 22 projects.
• $15 million for national estuarine research reserves for eight projects.
• Within this $75 million investment, $36 million will be designated for projects being carried out in partnership with or directly by tribes and Native Hawaiians, including reacquisitions and restoration of ecological and culturally significant ancestral lands.
• This funding will also leverage $48 million in non-competitive funding to the 34 state and territorial coastal management programs and 30 national estuarine research reserves for essential planning, policy development and implementation, collaborative engagement, and implementation of adaptation strategies to help increase the resilience of coastal communities and their economies.

These recommended projects aim to increase community resilience to climate change and extreme weather events through habitat restoration and planning, engineering, and design and ecosystem conservation.

“These transformational projects will not only bolster community resilience, but also ensure that innovations are fairly and broadly accessible,” said Jainey K. Bavishi, assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and deputy NOAA administrator. “This significant increase in resources from NOAA will be essential in helping to build local infrastructure that is climate resilient, while providing essential benefits to businesses.”

These investments will complement and leverage other opportunities for habitat conservation and restoration, including funding through NOAA’s Community-based Restoration Program and the National Oceans and Coastal Security Fund. The restoration and conservation of ecologically significant ecosystems, such as wetlands, corals and natural shoreline, will help reduce the impacts of coastal hazards—including flooding and climate change—to property and infrastructure, and at the same time provide economic benefits to coastal communities.

Visit NOAA’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act websites to learn about current and future funding opportunities.