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 Connecting Habitat, Climate, and Communities. NOAA Fisheries has a long-standing history  of conserving habitat to support healthy fish populations, restoring habitat to help recover endangered species, and supporting resilient coastal ecosystems. Protecting and restoring coastal wetlands, mangroves, coral and oyster reefs, and river habitats benefit fisheries and strengthen coastal resilience to climate change. Follow us on our website and through Twitter on @NOAAHabitat. Join us all month!

Carrie Selberg Robinson
Director, Office of Habitat Conservation

Learn more about the role and connection of healthy coastal habitats to our nation’s communities and ecosystems as our climate changes. This July, we are highlighting a variety of habitat conservation projects and products, announcing funding for new projects, holding a photo contest, and more. Contact: Alison Hammer

NOAA Fisheries is recommending nearly $17.5 million in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding to continue three ongoing partnerships. Through this funding, our partners will implement 12 projects that will restore habitat and improve resilience in degraded Great Lakes ecosystems. Contact: Julie Sims

As part of this July’s Habitat Month festivities, we are holding a photo contest. We are seeking outstanding photos in two categories: photos depicting people benefiting from healthy coast and marine habitats and photos that illustrate how climate change is affecting coastal and marine habitats. Entry is open to everyone—show us your best shots by July 21! Contact: Kim Couranz

In addition to supporting fisheries and protected resources, habitat restoration builds resilience in communities and ecosystems. Hurricanes, floods, and other natural disasters can have devastating effects on coastal communities. Restoring healthy habitats can help protect these communities from damage caused by extreme weather and a changing climate. Contact: Polly Hicks

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office is delighted to host (virtually) summer interns again this year through our partnership with the Chesapeake Research Consortium. Several interns are with us through CRC’s C-StREAM (Chesapeake Student Recruitment, Early Advisement, and Mentoring) program for students of color and/or who are first-generation college students. All five interns are paired with an NCBO expert who serves as their mentor for the summer. Contact: Kim Couranz

Earlier this year, Texas experienced a historic cold snap that caused the largest sea turtle cold stunning event in the United States. Deepwater Horizon funds designated for restoring sea turtles contributed to an increased capacity for NOAA and partners to respond and rescue thousands of cold-stunned turtles, getting them to safety, rehabilitation, and healthy release back into the Gulf of Mexico. Contact: Erick Vichich

North Carolina’s Cape Fear River, and connected waterways were exposed to hazardous waste. Now NOAA and partners are finding ways to restore impacted areas by preserving habitats, and improving community, climate and ecological resilience. Contact: Krista McCraken

Online learning isn’t just for students. The Chesapeake Exploration website offers online courses designed for teachers and other educators, including the just-published course “Teaching Climate Change: Climate Change Science and Storytelling.” It includes how to make climate science a relevant topic with students by having them use storytelling to help connect with their ecosystem and their community. Contact: Kim Couranz

A record number of fish swam through the Columbia Fishway in the Broad River in South Carolina this spring. Monitoring efforts estimate more than 5,000 American shad passed through the fishway. This shows that fish are successfully passing multiple barriers in their yearly journey up the river to spawn. Contact: Katie Wagner

NOAA recently released its draft Mitigation Policy for Trust Resources for public comment. The purpose of the draft Mitigation Policy is to improve conservation of NOAA’s trust resources through more effective mitigation of adverse impacts to those trust resources. The public comment period will be open through July 30, 2021, and we hope to hear from you.