Grant Funding Available For Coastal Habitat Restoration
by Janet Tennyson
More than $350,000 is now available for community-based coastal habitat restoration projects through two special grant programs sponsored by the American Sportfishing Association’s FishAmerica Foundation and the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"We’re proud that the FishAmerica Foundation is helping citizen conservationists turn their care for healthy fish and waterways into real benefits in the communities where they live," said Mike Nussman, President and CEO of the American Sportfishing Association.
More than $250,000 in matching grant funds is open for proposals from all partners, while another $100,000 is available specifically for state and local chapters of the Coastal Conservation Association. Project proposals should highlight significant benefits to marine, estuarine, or anadromous fisheries, particularly sportfish, and community involvement through an educational or volunteer component. Participation by NOAA field employees also is encouraged.
"Partnerships through our Community-based Restoration Program such as the one with the FishAmerica Foundation are critical to gaining community support and promoting stewardship of our coastal habitats," said National Marine Fisheries Service Assistant Administrator Bill Hogarth. "We are excited that these partnerships are able to leverage our federal dollars to benefit living marine resources throughout the country.
Full grant packages are available by contacting fishamerica@asafishing.org. The Coastal Conservation Association grant package has been distributed to states and chapters by that association’s national office. Proposals for both sets of grants will be accepted through July 24, 2002, and grant awards will be announced in September.
This is the second of three major grant cycles per year for the FishAmerica Foundation, the conservation arm of the American Sportfishing Association created nearly 20 years ago. With nearly $1 million provided annually for grassroots conservation projects, the foundation helps community partners build fish ladders, stock fish, create fishing ponds, and improve habitat and fishing opportunities.
"We’re seeing some great teamwork and ingenuity from partners and citizens in the communities that received coastal grants last year," said Nussman. "We hope more partners will take advantage of this opportunity so we can give coastal fisheries restoration an even bigger boost this year."
This is the second year of the grants program for the Coastal Conservation Association. In 2001, Chapters in Florida, Maine, South Carolina, and Texas received nearly $80,000 for collaborative projects. Grant funds helped pay for erosion control to enhance salt marsh habitat in Tampa Bay estuaries; marsh grass and mangrove restoration in the Indian River Lagoon on Florida’s East Coast; shoreline revegetation to improve spawning areas for striped bass near Yarmouth, Maine; reef restoration benefiting snapper, flounder, sheepshead, and sea bass in four South Carolina counties; and removal of illegal abandoned crab traps at scores of locations along the Gulf Coast of Texas.
