Please welcome Ms. Carrie Selberg Robinson as the new Director of the Office of Habitat Conservation in NOAA Fisheries! She will oversee the protection and restoration of habitats vital to our nation’s marine life and is looking forward to working with our partners on important habitat issues. Carrie succeeds Pat Montanio, who recently retired from the agency. We wish Pat the best in her retirement and look forward to Carrie’s leadership! 

The United Arab Emirates recently announced a $3.5 million gift to The United Way of Collier and the Keys to support “Mission: Iconic Reefs,” a NOAA-led effort to restore seven iconic reefs in the Florida Keys. The donation is part of a larger $10 million pledge to the state of Florida for Hurricane Irma relief and recovery efforts. Contact: Tom Moore.

New York’s Buffalo River was once considered one of the most polluted rivers in the United States. Since 2013, NOAA has supported habitat restoration in and around the Buffalo River—restoring nearly two miles of shoreline and 20 acres of habitat across eight project sites, and helping bring the waterway back to life. Contact: Julie Sims.

As we head into spring, the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System field team is getting ready to redeploy several observing stations to the Chesapeake Bay. These buoys are pulled each winter to keep them safe from potential damage from ice—but as the water and air temperatures warm, they’re heading back out to help track weather and water-quality parameters. Contact: Kim Couranz.

Every Valentine’s Day, our partners at Restore America’s Estuaries, the National Estuarine Research Reserve Association, and the Association of National Estuary Programs share information about the importance of estuaries‒and we agree! Estuaries provide valuable habitat to an array of important plant and animal species. These transitional areas that straddle land and sea contain habitats needed by fish, shellfish, wildlife, and people. Estuaries generate an estimated $12 billion in revenue each year from tourism and local economies. Contact: Katie Wagner.

Queen Bess Island is located northeast of Grand Isle in Jefferson Parish, Louisiana. It is the fourth-largest Brown Pelican colony in Louisiana, supporting 15-20 percent of the state’s total pelican nesting activity. It is also nesting habitat for at least eight other species of nesting colonial water birds such as Tri-colored Herons, Great Egrets, Roseate Spoonbills, and Royal Terns. Contact: Mel Landry

NOAA and the other Gulf-Chevron Terminal Facility Trustees recently released a final restoration plan with $800,000 in projects to restore areas affected by multiple oil spills at the site in Maine. The approved projects will improve river ecosystem habitats in the Penobscot River watershed for a wide variety of fish and wildlife using or migrating through areas affected by the spills. Contact: Matt Bernier

Can you tell if these two marshes are thriving or deteriorating over time? NOAA research reserve scientists and partners recently published a study that examines the secret to marsh happiness. The team learned that “happy” marshes shared similar characteristics, whereas “unhappy” marshes deteriorate in diverse ways. By understanding how marshes can deteriorate so differently, coastal managers can make wiser conservation decisions.

The coral community is turning to active restoration methods to provide reefs with time to recuperate and become more resilient. Coral restoration has become a truly collaborative effort, encompassing academia, all levels of governments, non-governmental organizations, and the private sector. FORCE BLUE was established to unite Special Operations veterans with the marine conservation community for the benefit of both groups. Veterans are retrained and deployed on conservation, preservation, and restoration missions, receiving therapy while supporting local marine ecosystems.

In the fall of 2019, a team of scientists conducted a month-long research expedition along the U.S. West Coast to locate deep-sea corals and sponges, and assess their role as habitat for commercially important fish species. Among other activities, the team collected baseline habitat data in areas that will soon be reopened to fishing, and other information that will inform resource and ocean management decisions. Read the expedition summary to learn more! 

Apply for funding by March 20 for the new Ruth Gates Coral Restoration Innovation grant. This opportunity aims to help address the decline in coral reefs through innovative science and research focusing on research and development of interventions to improve coral resilience to environmental stressors and research, development, and field-testing of novel techniques to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of coral population enhancement.

Follow @NOAAHabitat on Twitter during the week of March 23-27 when we’ll be celebrating #MarshMadness to highlight the importance of our marshes and wetlands. Beyond their beauty, you will find this habitat hard at work. They filter our water, protect our coastal communities from floods, and provide habitat for fish and other wildlife. Join us and tweet about your favorite marsh or wetland with #MarshMadness.

Consider submitting a presentation proposal for the 2020 National Coastal and Estuarine Summit hosted by Restore America’s Estuaries and the Coastal States Organization by April 3. The conference will be held on October 4-8, 2020 in Providence, RI. The Summit program emphasizes lessons learned and best practices in every aspect of coastal and estuarine restoration and management and is a wonderful opportunity to learn from each other.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, in partnership with NOAA, just released a request for proposals under the FY 2020 National Coastal Resilience Fund. This year the fund will invest approximately $31 million in projects, including a new Community Capacity Building and Planning category. Pre-proposals are due April 8, and invited full proposals are due June 25. A pre-proposal webinar will be held on March 12, 3-4pm ET.