I am excited to announce that July is Habitat Month at NOAA Fisheries. Habitat Month is an annual campaign to celebrate the importance of healthy habitat. This year, we will be focusing on Reconnecting with Habitat! Habitat connectivity, such as opening up river habitat and reconnecting tidal wetlands, is an important part of the work we do. This July, we are highlighting a variety of habitat conservation projects and products, announcing funding for new projects from three grant competitions, and profiling the great work of some of our staff. Follow us on our website and through Twitter on @NOAAHabitat. Please join us all month, dive in!

Carrie Selberg Robinson
Director, Office of Habitat Conservation

NOAA is recommending nearly $20 million in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding. It will support new and existing multi-year partnerships to implement seven projects to restore shoreline, fish passage, and wetlands. These efforts will restore habitat and improve resilience in degraded Great Lakes ecosystems. Contact: Julie Sims.

Meet members of NOAA's Habitat Conservation Team and get better acquainted with their work. Explore the staff profiles of some of our community to learn more about their current projects and what they find meaningful about their role in conserving habitat. We will be adding more all month, be sure to check them out. Contact: Alison Hammer.

The NOAA Restoration Center’s Restoration Atlas lets you browse more than 3,100 of our habitat restoration projects by location, habitat type, and more. Our redesigned version of the Restoration Atlas makes it easier than ever to dive into our restoration work. Contact: Renee Eaton.

NOAA and Restore America’s Estuaries have recently launched the Coastal Restoration Toolkit. This new website provides resources for community members looking to embark on coastal restoration projects to address habitat loss, flooding, erosion, and other challenges in their local communities. Contact: Melanie Gange.

The NOAA Restoration Center, in the NOAA Office of Habitat Conservation, has been restoring habitat for almost 30 years. We’ve restored almost 150,000 acres of wetlands, rivers, coral reefs, and more. Take a virtual tour in an interactive story map highlighting 30 projects celebrating these diverse efforts. Contact: Stephen Heverly.

Sam Lovall, of Friends of the Detroit River, was honored with a National Wetlands Award in May 2020. He was recognized in the Local Stewardship category for his efforts to restore river habitats in southeast Michigan. Sam has been a long-standing NOAA partner on Detroit River habitat restoration efforts.  All of this year’s winners were acknowledged in a month-long digital campaign. Contact: Katie Wagner.

In 2019, NOAA funded three projects to restore coastal habitat and enhance recreational fisheries engagement in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alaska. The projects were funded through the National Fish Habitat Partnership. They demonstrate our commitment to engage anglers in habitat restoration efforts, and support access to sustainable saltwater recreational fishing opportunities. One year later, we’re checking in on how the projects are benefiting coastal habitats, communities, and economies. Contact: Emily Farr.

The natural resource trustee agencies for the Kerr-McGee Superfund site in North Carolina approved $12.3 million in habitat restoration projects to make up for impacts from chemical releases into the environment. The initial phase of restoration includes 10 projects that aim to restore and preserve unique and vulnerable habitats within the Lower Cape Fear River Watershed. Contact: Krista McCraken (Image: NC Wetlands).

Do you know someone who has demonstrated exceptional achievement and dedication to coastal and marine habitat conservation? The Office of Habitat Conservation and the American Fisheries Society are seeking nominations for the 2020 Dr. Nancy Foster Habitat Conservation Award by July 31. Learn more about award eligibility and the nomination process. Contact: Katie Wagner.

2020 marks 10 years after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Join NOAA and the other federal and state agencies restoring the Gulf at a webinar on July 16. They’ll give their annual update on restoration progress from the Gulf state coasts to the deep-sea habitats and everything in between.  Contact: Stephen Heverly.