Building Partnerships for a Healthier Gulf

e-Newsletter
April 2015


DWH Project Tracker Goes Live
Development team wants to know how you will use the new tool.

As many of you know by now, the  Deepwater Horizon Project Tracker went live on April 20, 2015. We appreciate those that helped launch this new tool. Current and user friendly, the Tracker breaks out environmental, economic, and science/research projects associated with the 2010 oil spill. It displays the "metadata," or the who, what, when, where, and why of a project. Each project snapshot includes a brief description, contact, and link to access more technical information.

The Gulf of Mexico Alliance formed a partnership with The Trust for Public Land and Ducks Unlimited to build the DWH Project Tracker. The U.S. Endowment for Forestry & Communities and the Knobloch Family Foundation lent their support, providing funding to make the Tracker a reality.

This was the first phase for the Tracker; building and populating it with initial data sets. The next step for the development team is to address additional project information that has become available and to decide what new components will be added in phase two.

As you become familiar with the DWH Project Tracker, let us know how you are using it! 



CPRA Releases Flood Risk and Resilience Viewer

Innovative tool allows Louisiana communities to assess their flood risk.

The Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) has recently launched a new "Flood Risk and Resilience Viewer" which displays information on coastal land change, flood risk, and impacts to communities. This innovative online-tool provides residents with access to the state's best information about how Louisiana's coast may change in the future, as well as resources to make communities and properties safer.

 

The viewer uses data that was produced for the 2012 Coastal Master Plan and shows land loss and flood risk across the coast for the current day as well as 50 years into the future. Also displayed are the 2012 Coastal Master Plan protection and restoration projects that provide land building and risk reduction benefits across the coast. This information can be used by state agencies, coastal stakeholders, and community advocates in coastal planning and hazard mitigation efforts. In addition, a variety of resources are provided to enable homeowners and business owners to take steps towards reducing their flood risk.

 

 


Gulf of Mexico Land Cover Change Chronicled in NOAA Report 

Metropolitan development increases; forests and wetlands suffer losses.
 

A new NOAA report says 13 percent of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico region saw
changes to its land cover--paved  surfaces, trees, forests, grasses, and wetlands--1996 to 2010. That percentage represents 26,516 square miles, almost the equivalent of half the state of Louisiana. The Gulf of Mexico Regional Land Cover Change Report provides information about the data sets that cover all the coastal portions of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, the Gulf shore of Florida, and a portion of southwestern Georgia that drain away from the Atlantic Coast. The report is based on land cover change data from the NOAA Coastal Change Analysis Program ( C-CAP). Land cover data are obtained and analyzed approximately every five years using satellite-based image data.   

The land cover report and data can be found at  www.coast.noaa.gov/digitalcoast/publications/regional-land-cover-change.  These and other helpful data sets and tools can be found on NOAA's Digital Coast.

 eventsEvents

Check out May events here.  

  

Gulf of Mexico Alliance Team Calls

Contact team coordinators for more details.

May 12, 10:00am CDT
Education and Engagement Call

May 14, 10:00am CDT
Water Resources Full Team Call 
 

 

Other May Events 

May 12 - 15
Texas Emergency Management Conference 

 

May 12 - 13
Mississippi State of the Coast

 

May 19 - 21
Climate Community of Practice  

 
Gulf of Mexico Alliance
2
015 All Hands Meeting 
Register Now!
June 16-18, 2015 
IP Hotel & Casino, Biloxi, MS

            


RestorationUpdatesRestoration Updates

 

RESTORE Council       

The RESTORE Council is currently evaluating submissions for potential funding under the Council-Selected Restoration Component. When the Draft Funded Priorities List (FPL) is available, public comment will be solicited. See the Council's website for more information.  

States  

Alabama recently announced the following projects as part of the Phase IV Early Restoration Plan for Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA): Osprey Restoration in Baldwin and Mobile Counties, Point Aux Pins Living Shoreline in Mobile County, Shell Belt and Coden Belt Roads Living Shoreline in Mobile County, and Bon Secour National Wildlife Refuge Trail Enhancement.  More Alabama Gulf Coast Recovery Council information and updates can be accessed here.   

 

Mississippi recently announced the following proposed projects as part of the NRDA Phase IV Early Restoration Plan:  Bike and Pedestrian Use Enhancements at Davis Bayou, and Restoring Living Shorelines and Reefs in Mississippi Estuaries. For information on restoration activities in Mississippi go to Making Mississippi Whole.

 

Florida will also benefit from a proposed project as part of the NRDA Phase IV Early Restoration Plan:  Seagrass Recovery Project at Gulf Islands National Seashore.  More information can be found on the Florida Department of Environmental Protection's website.  On April 6, 2015, the Gulf Consortium announced that their Planning State Expenditure Plan was submitted as a first step to development of their full State Expenditure Plan.  The Consortium has meetings planned for June 19, August 26, and November 18; see their website for more information. 

 

Louisiana The State of Louisiana is represented by the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority (CPRA) on state and RESTORE Council restoration activities.  In April, CPRA released their Fiscal Year 2016 Annual Plan and their Quarterly Progress Report for 2015.

 

Texas will also benefit from a proposed project as part of the NRDA Phase IV Early Restoration Plan:  Texas Bird Rookery Islands Project in Galveston Bay and East Matagorda Bay.  RESTORE The Texas Coast is the official web location for oil spill related restoration in Texas. 

 

Centers of Excellence

The Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) is responsible for Florida's Center of Excellence. FIO currently has a research opportunity; full proposals are due May 20, 2015.

A request for proposals is currently out for one or more of Mississippi's Centers of Excellence.  Proposals can be submitted here and the deadline is May 7, 2015

  

NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program

Information related to the NOAA RESTORE Act Science Program can be found here. They are currently reviewing proposals submitted under their recent proposal solicitation. 

 

National Academy of Sciences' Gulf Research Program (NAS)

The NAS recently announced an upcoming data synthesis funding opportunity related to observation and monitoring data. To follow the NAS' Gulf Research Program and register for updates, go to their website.

Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA)
This month, the NRDA Trustees updated their website to reflect on their assessment of injuries to natural resources and to look back at early restoration that has been completed so far:  Deepwater Horizon: Five Years Later.  Also, on April 20, 2015, the NRDA Trustees and BP announced approximately $134M in proposed early restoration projects for including in the Phase IV Early Restoration Plan.  The proposed projects included those listed in the state sections of this newsletter as well as two regional projects:  Sea Turtle Early Restoration and Pelagic Longline Bycatch Reduction.  If the proposed Phase IV Early Restoration projects are approved and funded, approximately $832M of the $1B that BP has agreed to make available for early restoration will be obligated. More information about all four phases can be found here:  www.gulfspillrestoration.noaa.gov.

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund  
This month NFWF announced a $4.5M project to support development of a Restoration Strategy in Florida.   More information can be found on NFWF's website for its Gulf Environmental Benefit Fund.    

 

North American Conservation Wetlands Act Fund (NAWCA) 

The US Fish and Wildlife Service maintains a website for NAWCA programs.

NAWCA Canadian and Mexican Standard Grants are open. A U.S. Small Grants program is also open. 

 

Gulf of Mexico Research Initiative (GoMRI)

GoMRI scientists are studying alternatives to existing dispersant systems, oil transport that informs spill response, lingering presence of hydrocarbons along Alabama shorelines, and much, much more. Learn more about GoMRI and their research at their website.  

 


FundingOpportunitiesFunding Opportunities

The Association of Fish & Wildlife Agencies is currently soliciting Letters of Intent for the 2016 Multistate Conservation Grant Program (MSCGP). Letters of Intent must address one or more of the 10 MSCGP National Conservation Needs for 2016 that were recently selected by state fish and wildlife agency directors at the North American Wildlife and Natural Resources Conference in March 2015. LOIs are due May 11, 2015.

 

NAWCA Grants Program. Migratory Bird Conservation Commission approved funding. Mexican Standard Grants deadline is June 1, 2015.
US Small Grants deadline is November 5, 2015.  


CommentPeriodsOpen Comment Periods

It's a little quiet on the public comment front. Let us know if you have an item that needs input.

EPA Seeks Comments on Draft EJ 2020 Action Agenda - The EPA is seeking input on its draft EJ 2020 Action Agenda framework. It will help advance environmental justice through programs, policies and activities, and will support EPA's cross-agency strategy on making a visible difference in environmentally overburdened, underserved, and economically distressed communities.For more information go here. Comments are due June 15, 2015.  

Visit the Headquarters office located at 1151 Robinson Street in Ocean Springs, MS and we'll show you around.

Newsletter contact: LeeYokel@gomxa.org

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