The Coastal States Organization represents the nation’s Coastal States, Territories, and Commonwealths on ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resource issues.

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Source: NOAA

The new mapping represents a large jump in visual resolution, from 30 meters to 1 meter, and is 900 times more detailed than what was produced 10 years ago. The greatly enhanced platform can help decision-makers in the U.S. document key geographic and landscape features at various locations on the Earth’s surface. By comparing maps from one year to another, communities can track how their land use is changing.

Land cover maps document on-the-ground features, from forests and wetlands to impervious surfaces, like buildings and roads. They are some of NOAA’s most used datasets. Coastal management and land use planners depend upon this information for evaluating landscape features, from forests and wetlands to sealed surfaces such as buildings and roads.

NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management has provided regional coastal land cover for decades through its Coastal Change Analysis Program (C-CAP). This mapping is valuable for comparing changes over time down to the county level. NOAA’s new localized data will enhance the degree to which planners can evaluate smaller communities.

Read more here.

We need your help! Please sign on to the Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Program support statement, asking the Administration and Congress to fund CZM programs! We are actively seeking signatures from businesses and local governments, and will also include community-based organizations, academic institutions, land trusts, tribal nations, and non-profits. Individual citizens can sign on too, to share their support.

Please sign on to this important statement showing your support, and share this opportunity with other businesses, local governments, and organizations that may be willing to sign on!

Last week, the GADNR Coastal Management Program hosted two Build Your Own Rain Barrel Workshops.  A rain barrel can save most homeowners 2,000 gallons of water each year which can be used for watering gardens, washing cars and other projects around the house. At the workshop, rain barrel installation, maintenance, and safety were discussed, along with instructions for the conversion kit which includes ALL parts needed for installation. Staff was on hand with the hardware supplies and tools necessary to help assemble the barrels on-site – ready to take home and use. The conversion kit uses a diverter system which eliminates the need for cutting off gutter downspouts, mosquitoes and over-flow valves. Read more here.

DNREC Releases 2026-2030 Delaware Wetland Program Plan

The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control has released a five-year Delaware Wetland Program Plan as a guide for identifying wetland research, education, management and conservation needs within the state. Wetland program plans are voluntarily developed and implemented by state agencies and Native American tribes for articulating what they aim to accomplish with wetland programs over time. Originating from the DNREC Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program (WMAP) within the Division of Watershed Stewardship, the 2026-2030 Delaware Wetland Program Plan outlines a vision to achieve an increase in wetland acreage and improve wetland conditions to support the wealth of services and functions wetlands provide. The plan also identifies and prioritizes areas where information or action is needed to advance wetland management statewide. Objectives include monitoring and assessment, voluntary restoration and protection, and education and outreach. Read more here.

On Thursday, June 11, Governor Kay Ivey announced that the Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Council (RESTORE Council) approved more than $403 million in funding decisions for restoration efforts spanning the Gulf Coast states. Alabama will benefit with projects totaling $87 million for restoration activities to address injuries resulting from the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill. “These $87 million in restoration projects will strengthen our coastal communities, improve our waterways and preserve the natural beauty and resources that support Alabama jobs, tourism and outdoor recreation,” said Governor Ivey. Projects include wetland creation, beach renourishment, and a Tribal Youth Conservation Corps. Read more here.

Texas – First of Six Orphaned Wells Plugged in Baffin Bay

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D., is proud to announce that the Texas General Land Office (GLO) and the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) have successfully plugged the first of six orphaned wells in Baffin Bay as a part of a current Coastal Protection Project. GLO and RRC have determined that four of the six wells to be capped and removed are leaking and pose a threat to the surrounding marine environment. The GLO and RRC began inspecting the six orphan wells in Baffin Bay after hearing concerns from the public that they were leaking. This initial inspection revealed that three of the six wells were leaking. When the wells continued to leak after RRC made repairs, the RRC concluded that the wells needed to be completely plugged and removed. Read more here.

The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced $10 million in funding to support continued restoration and remediation efforts of the Detroit River. The EPA is providing $6.5 million of the total, with an additional $3.5 million in state match supported through Michigan’s Make it in Michigan Competitiveness Fund. The funding comes under the Great Lakes Legacy Act, a bipartisan federal cost-share program aimed at addressing sediment contamination in the Great Lakes. The funding will be used to study and plan cleanup work along the Detroit River, including removing contaminated sediment from the riverbed and restoring natural habitats near Harbortown and other sections of the river. The restoration work aims to improve water quality, restore habitat and expand safe public access to the river for the communities that live, work and recreate along Detroit’s waterfront. Read more here.

Iron County Celebrates 1.1K-Acre Land Purchase around Gile Flowage in Northern Wisconsin

The Gile Flowage spans nearly 3,400 acres in Iron County. The lake was created in the 1940s to serve as a storage reservoir for downstream hydroelectric dams at Saxon Falls and Superior Falls on the Montreal River. In 2019, Xcel Energy approached Iron County about selling excess lands as it sought new licenses from federal regulators. Funding the land purchase was no easy task for the small northern Wisconsin county, which is home to roughly 6,100 people. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded a $4.1 million grant to the state for the conservation project with funds from the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law, which was awarded by the Wisconsin Coastal Management Program. The project received backing from local governments, tribes and the Great Lakes Indian Fish and Wildlife Commission, said Mike Friis, resource policy bureau director at the Wisconsin Department of Administration. “It keeps the land contiguously owned and offers broader habitat restoration opportunities,” Friis said. “I think that it’s preservation in perpetuity, and a chance for the residents of Iron County and all of Wisconsin to come and see a special place and learn how important it is to protect these places.” Read more here.

NOAA Fisheries supports one of the most ambitious salmon restoration projects on Oregon’s coast: the Salmon SuperHwy. This partnership of more than a dozen organizations works across the Tillamook, Nestucca, and Sand Lake watersheds. It works to restore fish passage at dozens of stream barriers, such as failing road culverts and tide gates. When complete, salmon and steelhead will be able to access 180 miles of habitat that had been blocked for decades. Since 2021, an average of more than 150,000 Oregon Coast coho have returned annually to coastal rivers and streams. The Pacific Fishery Management Council predicts another strong year for 2026, estimating an ocean abundance of 219,000 wild coho. “The Salmon SuperHwy is a strategic, intensive approach to aquatic connectivity,” said NOAA Marine Habitat Resource Specialist Jennifer Jones. “These projects have restored access to spawning and rearing habitat for multiple species, while also making the county’s transportation system safer for residents, visitors, and industry.” Read more here.

California – New Funding Marks Major Milestone for Cannibal Island Restoration

The Wildlife Conservation Board awarded California Trout a $4 million grant to advance restoration of the Cannibal Island Unit in the lower Eel River estuary. The 950-acre Cannibal Island Unit sits at the heart of the lower Eel River estuary, a stretch of coastline that once supported some of the most productive wetland habitat on California’s North Coast. Like much of the estuary, it was diked and drained over generations of agricultural use, cutting it off from the natural tidal flows that salmon, steelhead, and dozens of other species depend on. The core of this project is reconnecting Cannibal Island to natural tidal flows. Right now, the land is largely cut off from the estuary by dikes — a system that keeps it dry but also keeps it ecologically stagnant. By restoring tidal channels and estuarine wetlands, we can bring back the dynamic, nutrient-rich conditions that make estuaries so critical for fish and wildlife. Read more here.

TNC and partners released a first‑of‑its‑kind Coastal Resilience methodology that quantifies, in U.S. dollars, the flood-protection value mangroves and tidal marshes deliver to coastal property and communities. Natural protections like mangroves and tidal marshes absorb incoming wave energy at higher rates, protect against storms at lower costs, and provide co-benefits like carbon absorption that mitigates future climate impacts. If a portion of our current protection spending was shifted toward nature‑based solutions, infrastructure needs would reduce, maintenance costs would lower and future flood damages could be avoided. Learn about the tool here.

NOAA Announces New High-Resolution Land Cover Data

NOAA has announced the availability of new high-resolution land cover data—used to document key geographic and landscape features covering Earth’s surface—for coastal communities in Puget Sound, Rhode Island, Northeast Ohio, Mississippi, and Alabama. This new data can be used to protect communities from flooding, inform wetland restoration projects, improve water quality, and more. The data are available from the Digital Coast website. Please reach out to Nate Herold (nate.herold@noaa.gov) if you have any questions.

Call for Abstracts ASBPA 100th Anniversary Conference

The American Shore and Beach Preservation Association (ASBPA) is pleased to announce a Call for Abstracts for the National Coastal Conference, celebrating 100 years of shore and beach preservation, to be held in New Jersey where in 1926 the first beach preservationists seeded a revolutionary idea for future coastal protection. The ASBPA National Coastal Conference, October 5-8, 2026 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, welcomes all coastal managers and stakeholders to learn the latest science, engineering, and policy needed to maintain and improve the health of our beachfront and estuarine shorelines and ecosystems, while developing collaborative networks to promote best management practices. Abstracts are due August 15th for Poster Presentations. View the call for abstracts here.

Requesting Applications for 2026 New Hampshire Coastal Resilience Grant Projects

The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (NHDES) Coastal Program is requesting 2026 Coastal Resilience Grant (CRG) applications for projects. Projects must take place in one or more of New Hampshire’s Coastal Zone communities. The CRG funding opportunity supports projects that build capacity, advance planning, and develop designs to increase coastal resilience, with specific focus on community and/or habitat resilience. Approximately $100,000 in CRG funding is available. Applicants must request a minimum of $15,000 and no more than $40,000 per project. Funds are made available to the NHDES Coastal Program through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Office for Coastal Management, under the Coastal Zone Management Act. For instructions, evaluation criteria, and to access the Application Form, visit the CRG website.

Funding Opportunity: Fiscal Year 2024 & 2025 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities

The Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) grant program makes federal funds available to states, U.S. territories, federally recognized tribal governments, and local governments for hazard mitigation activities. It does so by recognizing the need to upgrade and modernize the nation’s infrastructure against the growing risks to communities and the need for natural hazard risk mitigation activities that promote resilience with respect to natural hazards. For this funding opportunity, the program prioritizes investment in infrastructure and construction projects that deliver immediate, measurable risk reduction to communities vulnerable to natural hazards. BRIC emphasizes the adoption and enforcement of modern building codes and limits capability- and capacity-building activities to those directly tied to infrastructure resilience, such as building code adoption and enforcement. Apply here.

202-800-0580 | cso@coastalstates.org | www.coastalstates.org