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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The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Coastal Management has awarded more than $2.25 million in grants to fund 10 projects that will expand and improve public access to the state’s treasured beaches and coastal waterways. The grants, awarded through the Public Beach and Coastal Waterfront Access Grant Program, will help local governments in the 20 coastal counties acquire land for public access sites and construct or enhance amenities such as dune crossovers, fishing piers, parking areas, restrooms and kayak launches. “These state investments will both ensure safe and expanded public access to our coastlines and strengthen the resilience of our communities by supporting infrastructure that can withstand extreme weather,” said DEQ Secretary Reid Wilson. “As we face increasingly severe storms, these projects will play a key role in safeguarding both public safety and the long-term health of our coastal environments.” Read more here.

New York Department of State Announces $2.4 Million in Grants to Long Island Communities to Advance Preservation of South Shore Estuary Reserve

The New York State Department of State today announced eight community projects and nonprofit awards totaling $2.4 million in funding through the South Shore Estuary Reserve (SSER) Local Assistance Grants Program. These awards will help advance priorities to improve water quality, increase shoreline resilience, improve habitat health, and advance environmental education and economic development. These grants will assist four municipalities and counties, as well as four organizations complete projects throughout the region. The awards are made in conjunction with National Estuaries Week. Funding under the SSER program is available to municipalities, not-for-profits and academic institutions for projects such as design and engineering for coastal resilience projects, with an emphasis on natural and nature-based approaches; stormwater and marine debris management; design and engineering for public access for recreational activities like kayaking, canoeing, paddleboarding, and other water-based recreation. Grants will also help implement educational programs that advance citizen science within the Reserve. Read more here.

This year, 6,892 volunteers participated in the cleanup to help keep Texas beaches beautiful by removing 67,586 pounds of trash along 131.7 miles of Texas beaches. The Adopt-A-Beach program began in the fall of 1986 when 2,800 volunteers picked up 124 tons of trash. Since then, more than 600,000 Texas Adopt-A-Beach volunteers have picked up just over 10,000 tons of trash from Texas beaches. “At the General Land Office (GLO), we pride ourselves on keeping our coasts clean, safe, and enjoyable for all Texans. I am proud of our amazing volunteers who picked up nearly 68,000 pounds of trash during the fall Coastwide cleanup this past weekend,” said Commissioner Buckingham. “Adopt-A-Beach Cleanups are the heart of the GLO’s mission to preserve the beauty of Texas beaches and educate the public about the threat of marine debris to coastal communities and wildlife.” This year’s sponsors include the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Ocean Conservancy, the Texas Coastal Management Program, and the Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program. Read more here.

Florida – Local Boaters Help Scientists Map the Seafloor

Launched by researchers at the USF College of Marine Science, the innovative program called Crowd the Bay taps into the local boating community to gather data about water depths throughout the region. The effort supports more detailed seafloor maps for Tampa Bay and serves as a blueprint for augmenting nautical charts across Florida, the nation, and beyond. “Crowd the Bay is our approach to ‘crowdsourced bathymetry,’ which focuses on the collection and distribution of depth measurements using vessels on routine operations,” said Sherryl Gilbert, program manager for the Center for Ocean Mapping and Innovative Technologies (COMIT) and lead author of the recent study. “We’ve had a lot of success improving seafloor maps for Tampa Bay. Other regions that are under-resourced in terms of depth measurements and related products to promote safe navigation can use our playbook to develop ‘right-sized’ and targeted programs for their specific needs. The tools exist for a grassroots effort.” Key to crowdsourced bathymetry is the ease with which boaters can participate. To take part, vessels need only a National Marine Electronics Association (NMEA) network, GPS antenna, depth sounder, and small data logger. The logger records depth and positional data from the other sensors as the boat goes about its regular business. Read more here.

Gov. Tony Evers, together with the Wisconsin Department of Administration (DOA), and in celebration of “Coastal Awareness Month,” today announced $1.3 million in grants for 35 Wisconsin coastal communities to protect and improve the state’s Great Lakes resources and build resilience in Wisconsin’s coastal communities. The 35 grants are administered by DOA’s Wisconsin Coastal Management Program to be used by local, state, and Tribal governments, regional planning commissions, universities, and nonprofit organizations to assist with projects that will enhance public access to coastal areas, support Great Lakes educational efforts, or identify and remediate contamination. A complete list of grant recipients and projects is available here. An interactive story map with details about some past coastal grants is available here. Of the 35 Wisconsin Coastal Management Grant awardees, projects range from statewide efforts to develop local coastal resiliency and habitat restoration plans, development of program materials to finalize the designating of the Bay of Green Bay as a National Estuarine Research Reserve, promoting accessibility at the state’s natural areas, and developing various educational programs that allow for kids and adults alike to learn more about Wisconsin’s coastal ecosystems. Read more here.

The Great Lakes’ Strangest Phenomenon: Seiche

Around this time of year, states like Ohio and New York experience a phenomenon known as a seiche. It’s something you’ve probably seen in a pool or bathtub, but this is on a much bigger scale. A Seiche (pronounced saysh) is when strong winds and atmospheric pressures cause the water on the lake shore to be blown back, resulting in the water levels drastically decreasing in a short amount of time. However, that water has to go somewhere, and that “somewhere” is the opposite lakeshore. While seiches occur in all the Great Lakes, due to Lake Erie being the shallowest of the Great Lakes, seiches are most extreme there. The wind blows the water away from the Cleveland lakeshore, sending it to Buffalo’s lakeshore and significantly raising the water levels. However, once the wind stops, the water “sloshes” in the other direction. While they may sound similar to tsunamis, winds usually cause seiches, while tsunamis are caused by pressure. Read more here.

The State Coastal Conservancy awarded $8.7 million to a total of 11 projects to expand public access, enhance climate resilience, and mitigate coastal wildfire risk. The projects include funding for the Conservancy’s Explore the Coast (ETC) program, which supports coastal programing for communities that face barriers to accessing or enjoying the coast . This year, the ETC program will fund 13 nonprofit organizations from Sonoma County south to San Diego County that will engage over 8,400 people through their projects. A grant of up to $270,000 was awarded to the Westport Village Society to undertake the DeHaven Access Improvement Construction Project, consisting of construction of public access improvements, including a parking lot, a segment of the California Coastal Trail, signage, and stairway to DeHaven Beach in Mendocino County, and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act. In the San Francisco Bay Area, SCC awarded a grant of up to $850,000 to the City of Albany to carry out the Albany–El Cerrito Wildfire Resilience Demonstration Project in Albany and El Cerrito (Alameda and Contra Costa Counties), consisting of: (1) implementing fire fuel vegetation management and ecological restoration; (2) investing in continuing partnerships for workforce development; and (3) demonstrating for public benefit useful practices for milling, native species planting, and fire hazard management; and adoption of findings under the California Environmental Quality Act. Read more here.

Dive Surveys Reveal Promising Signs for Rockfish and Sea Stars off Washington Coast

The first week in August, a team of scuba divers completed their annual survey of rockfish, lingcod, and other kelp forest species along the outer coast of Washington. This is the 10th anniversary of this long-term sampling program. The 2025 survey produced two standout observations reflecting the resilience of the Northwest coastal ecosystem. First, the abundance of young-of-the-year rockfishes was the highest since the banner year of 2016. The dive team often sees a few of the newly settled fish from time to time over the course of their dives. This year, however, they saw schools of young black, yellowtail, canary, and deacon rockfish in the thousands. Rockfish support productive and valuable commercial and recreational fisheries that boost coastal economies. The second surprise of the dive surveys was an increase in large, healthy sunflower sea stars. This key coastal species suffered severe die-offs over the last decade. Read more here.

The United States Economic Development Administration has announced the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for its Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Disaster Supplemental Grant Program. This program makes approximately $1.45 billion available to areas that received major disaster declarations in the calendar years 2023 and 2024 for economic recovery activities. Funds can support both construction and non-construction projects. State and local governments, Native tribes, higher education institutions, public or private non-profit organizations that work with local government, economic development organizations, and public-private partnerships for public infrastructure are eligible. The EDA will fund up to 80% of the project with higher percentages available for severely distressed applications and Tribal organizations. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until funds are spent for Readiness and Implementation path projects, while Industry Transformation grants will be due March 3, 2026. For more information, contact Rania Campbell-Bussiere.

Funding Opportunity: Fiscal Year 25 Community Assistance Program

The Community Assistance Program – State Support Services Element (CAP-SSSE) program provides funding to states to provide technical assistance to communities in the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) and to evaluate community performance in implementing NFIP floodplain management activities. Designation, duties and responsibilities of State Coordinating Agencies are found in 44 CFR 60.25. These regulations identify the states commitment to the minimum floodplain management criteria and to demonstrate the capability and responsibility to implement the program. In this way, CAP-SSSE helps to; ensure that the flood loss reduction goals of the NFIP are met, build state and community floodplain management expertise and capability, and leverage state knowledge and expertise in working with their communities. Learn more here.

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