Newly released details of the President’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget request for NOAA, show that the administration is proposing to eliminate federal funding for coastal zone management programs for the second year in the row, jeopardizing the states’ role in managing coastal resources. While federal Coastal Zone Management Grants ($81.5 million in FY 2026) are matched dollar-for-dollar by state governments, a significant cut or complete loss of federal funding would be devastating for state programs. The proposed cuts could force many to scale back or terminate projects, cut funding to local partners, and forego efforts to increase community resilience to coastal hazards, such as flooding, erosion and extreme weather events.
For the past fifty years, CZMPs have balanced competing uses of the coastal zone, including economic development, coastal resource use, and conservation, as well as protecting coastal communities from the unique natural hazards they face. Through these efforts our nation’s coasts remain economic drivers, destinations for tourism and recreation, and thriving natural ecosystems.
Over 129 million residents—40% of the population of the United States—live in coastal counties. These counties produce more than $10 trillion in goods and services annually and employ 54.6 million people. Working waterfronts – including fishing, port and shipping infrastructure – are vital to the U.S. economy and often deeply woven into the cultural fabric of communities. Beaches, corals and wetlands draw in tourists, supporting a recreational economy that contributes approximately $143 billion in GDP to the national economy annually.[i]
“Coastal Zone Management Programs protect coastal and marine resources and habitat, support public access and recreation, enable sustainable economic growth, protect working waterfronts, and build resilience to environmental threats facing our communities,” said Derek Brockbank, Executive Director of Coastal States Organization. “We need to Congress to now step up and recognize the value of coastal management these programs and ensure that funding continues to flow to these critical programs.”
Over the last year, businesses, local officials and concerned citizens have added their name to a statement calling on Congress to support coastal zone management. The statement currently has over 1,000 signers and continues to garner more. Statement available HERE.
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About Coastal States Organization
For over 50 years, Coastal States Organization (CSO) has served as the collective voice for the nation’s coastal states, commonwealths, and territories on federal legislative, administrative, and policy issues relating to coastal, Great Lakes, and ocean management.
Media Contact: Rebecca Dennis, Director of Federal Affairs
313-806-5281
