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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Of particular concern to Coastal States Organization are the cuts to Coastal Zone Management (CZM) “Projects of Special Merit” and other coastal and marine related funds. Projects of Special Merit funding are competitive grants awarded to state or territory coastal management programs to develop innovative projects that enhance state or national coastal management priorities, such as coastal hazards, ocean and Great Lakes resources, and wetlands.

Funds for these and other projects were appropriated by Congress as part of the FY2025 continuing resolution. As Congress holds the power of the purse, any effort by an Administration to not spend appropriated funds should require Congressional approval. However, the Administration has decided unilaterally at the end of the fiscal year to simply not spend unobligated funds.

While these funds had not technically been obligated, the handful of states slated to receive grants for Projects of Special Merit had already been notified that they had won these awards and were expecting this money to be available.

The cuts to state and territory coastal management programs and related programs include:

• CZM was cut $1.5 million, coming entirely from the 6 competitively chosen Project of Special Merit awards
• National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) was cut $4 million, which is coming out of NERRS science collaborative and the competitive projects they fund.
• National Sea Grant program was cut $8.73 million, including a significant cut to aquaculture.

Read CSO’s full statement here.

Seven acres of coastal wetland will be preserved along an ecologically sensitive barrier peninsula in Westerly, Rhode Island, thanks to $2.6 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s National Coastal Zone Management Program Habitat Protection and Restoration awards. The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, Narragansett Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve, and other partners secured a conservation easement for the property on Winnapaug Pond, one of southern Rhode Island’s characteristic salt ponds. Protecting this coastal wetland will provide a pathway for marsh migration to avoid rising seas and create more opportunities for the public to enjoy and recreate on Winnapaug Pond. Plans for the site include public access improvements, which will support future recreational programming led by the Town of Westerly. Healthy marshes increase community resilience to climate change and extreme weather events in addition to providing habitat for coastal species. This latest project builds upon decades of collaboration to restore Winnapaug Pond and the state’s salt marshes for the benefit of all Rhode Islanders. Read more here.

Building Resilience in Carribean Coastal Communities with NASA Earth Science

NASA’s Disasters Program and its partners are developing cutting-edge tools to help communities withstand the growing impacts of hurricanes, floods, and other hazards. Harnessing satellite observations, historical data, and predictive models, scientists are partnering with local public and private sector stakeholders to provide clearer insight into disaster risk and co-develop tools to plan, adapt, and mitigate. The GEDI-Resilience Navigator project, led by Charles Huyck of ImageCat, is developing a new framework to help communities better prepare for and recover from disasters. While the technology can be used to address impacts of both earthquakes and hurricanes, the initial focus of the project is on the Caribbean – a region that is frequently in the path of strong tropical weather. By combining Earth observation data, local infrastructure development patterns, and socioeconomic information the framework can be used to estimate potential losses in not just lives and dollars, but also in the time needed for communities to recover. What sets this effort apart is its integration of local knowledge and collaboration with local decision-makers to ensure that results can be directly applied to real-world planning and investments. Although initial applications are focused within the Caribbean, the framework is intentionally designed to be scalable and transferable. Read more here.

On August 28th, Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D., announced that the City of South Padre completed construction, funded in part by the Texas General Land Office’s Coastal Management Program, to improve accessibility at Neptune Circle, Beach Access #16 located on Gulf Boulevard between East Saturn Lane and East Venus Lane. “As a Texan who spent over a decade living on our coast, I am continuously looking for ways to ensure all Texans can enjoy our beautiful beaches with their families and friends during beach season and year-round,” said Commissioner Buckingham. “It has been a pleasure to work with the City of South Padre to provide an improved beach access point with an ADA dune walkover to this vibrant community. I look forward to delivering more wins for the Texas coast and every Texan who calls it home.” There were several improvements made to this popular beach access point to ensure all Texans can enjoy this beautiful stretch of shoreline including, an Americans with Disabilities Act compliant dune walkover, a permanent restroom, a rinse station, and parking lot updates. Read more here.

University of Southern Mississippi Leads Major Seagrass Restoration Effort on Chandeleur Islands

Dr. Kelly Darnell, director of The University of Southern Mississippi’s Gulf Coast Research Laboratory and the Mississippi-Based RESTORE Act Center of Excellence, is leading a major project to support seagrass restoration on the Chandeleur Islands—a barrier island chain located east of New Orleans off the Louisiana Gulf Coast. The Chandeleur Islands are eroding and losing land at an alarming rate. Serving as a natural barrier during major storms, the islands are also home to one of the most diverse seagrass meadows in the northern Gulf. These seagrass beds are inhabited by various types of marine life, including speckled trout, flounder, blue crabs, sea turtles and bottlenose dolphins. The beds are vital for marine survival and improving water quality. Darnell’s initiative, called the Chandeleur Islands Restoration Project for Seagrass, is funded by the NOAA RESTORE Science Program. The project is designed to inform large-scale restoration efforts that benefit seagrass ecosystems. Darnell and Young are monitoring the distribution and condition of seagrass beds at nearly 100 locations along the island chain. The data collected will help identify solutions for restoring the island’s seagrass and resilience to storms. Read more here.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently awarded nearly $1.4 million of Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding to support five projects in northern Wisconsin within the Lake Superior basin. The selected projects are part of the Headwaters to Coast Initiative and the Wisconsin Lake Superior Collaborative. This effort brings partners together to prioritize and coordinate conservation projects that meet the needs of current and future generations. Projects also improve local infrastructure, reduce wildfire fuels and increase recreation access and opportunities. Projects include addressing infrastructure issues and restoring fish habitat. Funded by the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative, the Headwaters to Coast Initiative is a collaborative conservation blueprint coordinated through the Wisconsin Lake Superior Collaborative, which includes a professional network convened by UW–Madison Extension and led by a cross-sector group of leaders from Tribal nations, federal and state agencies, local governments, academic institutions and nonprofits. Within the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the Coastal Program, Partners for Fish and Wildlife, and the National Wildlife Refuge System support this collaborative effort. Read more here.

Two Great Lakes Right at Warmest Level in 30 Years

All of the Great Lakes are running warmer than their long-term average surface temperature. Two of the Great Lakes are within a fraction of a degree of being the warmest in the past 30 years. Lakes Michigan, Huron, Erie and Ontario all have surface water temperatures at least in the 70s. The southern part of Lake Michigan and western Lake Erie are right at 80 degrees. Even Lake Superior has some warm water temperatures. Lake Huron’s average surface temperature is now right at the warmest recorded for this date, using the period of 1995 to now. Lake Ontario also has water temperatures near or at record warmth. Mid-August usually has the warmest temperature for Great Lakes waters. Read more here.

The San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) voted to approve a free public sea level rise education program proposed by the Port of San Francisco and the Exploratorium, which will partner to provide the program. The Sea Level Rise Public Education Initiative will help Bay Area residents learn the causes of sea level rise, how it affects the Bay now, how it is forecasted to affect the Bay shoreline and upland locations, and how the public can get involved in creating real world solutions—using examples from the Exploratorium’s own location on the vulnerable San Francisco waterfront. The initiative will feature free exhibits along the waterfront, plus field trips and workshops for local students and teachers. The commission also voted to allow more flexible types of development at Fisherman’s Wharf, the stretch of San Francisco waterfront under the Port of San Francisco’s jurisdiction running from Hyde St. Pier to Pier 39. As a result, the Port will have more flexibility in how piers are redesigned to enhance public access, address seismic risk, and provide resilience to rising sea levels. Read more here.

Washington – Liberty Marine Corporation Fined for Waste Oil Spill into Puget Sound

Liberty Marine Corporation received a $32,000 penalty from the Washington Department of Ecology for a 2023 incident in which 199 gallons of waste oil were discharged into Puget Sound while the vessel was anchored at Yukon Harbor in Manchester, Washington, during an internal oil transfer aboard the Liberty Peace, a U.S.-flagged 58,107 gross ton car carrier. The spill occurred when a crewmember overfilled the ship’s incinerator waste oil service tank while transferring oil from a holding tank. The excess oil escaped through a clogged vent system and discharged overboard via the vessel’s rainwater drainage system. Ecology found that the spill was preventable. Although the crew recovered approximately 47 gallons of oil from the vessel’s funnel deck and side, no oil was recovered from the water. The required notifications to state and federal agencies were delayed, preventing a faster response. While no direct impacts to fish or wildlife were documented, central Puget Sound, from north of Vashon Island to the southern portion of Bainbridge Island, is home to numerous species that may have been exposed to oil. Read more here.

National Estuaries Week 2025 will celebrate our estuaries this year from September 20 – 27. Each year, this week is a celebration of these incredible ecosystems and the benefits estuaries provide, including recreational opportunities, which are especially important to physical and mental health. We encourage you to get out and wade into an estuary near you and enjoy these benefits for yourself! Learn more about how to support your estuaries here.

Funding Opportunity: $1.45 Billion in Supplemental Economic Funding Available for Disaster Recovery

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: FWS Coastal Program FY25

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) Coastal Program is a community-based program that helps coastal areas with technical and financial support to address complex conservation challenges of priority coastal ecosystems. This support is mainly provided through cooperative agreements with conservation partners and landowners, including state and Tribal agencies. The goal is to restore and protect fish and wildlife habitats on both public and private lands. Coastal Program staff work with partners, stakeholders, and other Service programs in important areas for conservation. Applications are due September 30, 2025. Learn more here.

2025 National Estuaries Week Photo Contest

NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management is hosting a photo contest to celebrate National Estuaries Week from September 20 to 27, 2025. Send them your best photos from the National Estuarine Research Reserves that display the beauty of the reserves, critters that live there, and the people who work and play there. Winners will be chosen by a panel of judges and will be featured in their social media campaign during National Estuaries Week. Learn more here.

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.

Study: United States of Plastics Report Examines State Progress Against Plastic Pollution

The Ocean Conservancy’s “United States of Plastics” report offers a tool for advocates and decisionmakers in each state to assess their progress against plastic pollution and identify opportunities for local action. A study by Ocean Conservancy in 2024 found that nearly 80% of Americans consider plastic pollution to be the most pressing problem for the health of our ocean. The United States is the number one generator of plastic waste worldwide and a major producer of virgin plastic. The “United States of Plastics” report analyzes laws to address plastic pollution in all 50 states and Washington, D.C. and assigns a score to each on a five-point scale. Read more here.

Funding Opportunity: Port Infrastructure Development Program

The US Department of Transportation has announced up to $500 million in funding for the Fiscal Year 2025 Port Infrastructure Development Program. State governments, County governments, Native American Tribal governments, special district governments, and city governments are eligible to apply. The deadline is September 10, 2025. Learn more here.

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