Alliance completes implementation of 13 projects to strengthen coastal communities

Resilient Communities and Affordable Housing Planning: Florida Pilot Project to Define Best Practices and New Resources

Location: Florida (Bay and Walton counties)

Lead Institution: Florida Housing Coalition

Partners: Emerald Coast Regional Council, Texas A&M Agrilife Extension

Summary: This project assisted local government efforts to find suitable locations for new housing by integrating affordable housing policy, land use, hazard vulnerability, and resilience. The team also produced a guide for local governments, planners, and housing staff to identify locations for building resilient and affordable housing that can be applied across the Gulf states.

Outreach Videos for Crab Trap Loss Prevention in the Gulf

Locations: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas

Lead Institution: Lemonlight Media, Inc.

Partners: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Summary: These videos raise awareness about the crabbing industry, crab trap loss, and best practices for crabbers, boaters, and members of the coastal community. They also promote positive behavior change by showing viewers how small actions, such as avoiding trap buoys, keeping trash off the water, or volunteering at cleanups, can make a big difference. The videos are available on the Alliance’s Vimeo site: https://vimeo.com/channels/gulfcrabtrapoutreach

Derelict Crab Trap Detection and Removal

Locations: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas

Lead Institution: Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission

Partners: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Summary: Working with partners in each state and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission, this project improved derelict crab trap detection and supported removal programs to reduce mortality of blue crabs and other species due to ghost fishing. In total, 3,895 derelict traps were removed during the project, along with 2,100 pounds of aquaculture debris removed from the Cedar Key region in Florida.

Analysis of Common Water Parameters

Locations: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas

Lead Institution: Consolidated Safety Services Incorporated (CSS)

Partners: RESTORE Council, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Summary: This project looked at the analytical methods used by monitoring programs across the Gulf to generate water quality data and examined the water quality parameters included in the RESTORE Council Monitoring and Assessment Program. Products include a data dictionary, analytical method crosswalk, analytical method catalog, and final report. These resources are available on our website: https://gulfofamericaalliance.org/resources/tools/

Waters to the Sea Gulf Coast Adventure

Locations: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas

Lead Institution: Hamline University

Partners: Weeks Bay NERR, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, Rookery Bay NERR, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Louisiana Sea Grant, Pontchartrain Conservancy, EPA Gulf of America Division, Texas A&M Agrilife Extension, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Summary: Waters to the Sea is a multimedia learning resource for educators and students in grades 3-12 focused on the Gulf’s coastal environments and watersheds. Topics include the history of the Gulf, estuaries, wildlife refuges, watersheds, geology, hurricanes, industry, fishing and recreation, and more. Dozens of original and curated videos, interactive maps, multimedia learning modules, and captioned image galleries are available for educators to use at: https://waterstothesea.org/GulfCoast

Advancing Capacity for Marsh Modeling Retrospective Analyses

Locations: Florida (Franklin County), Louisiana (Plaquemines and St. Bernard parishes), and Mississippi (Jackson County)

Lead Institution: The Water Institute

Partner: Mississippi State University

Summary: This project developed a new workflow that reconstructs historic marsh elevations using satellite images, vegetation data, and water-level records. The approach was used to produce “synthetic” digital elevation models for three coastal marshes (Apalachicola, FL, Breton Sound, LA, and Grand Bay, MS). An extensive code base was also developed for the project, allowing for future expansion to other coastal wetland locations.

Oyster Habitat Status and Trends Analysis

Locations: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas

Lead Institution: Freese and Nichols, Inc.

Partners: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Summary: This project mapped historic oyster habitat in the five Gulf states, identified data gaps, documented oyster habitat trends, identified local and regional threats to oyster habitat, and developed recommendations for a region-wide oyster status and trends assessment. Overall, recent data from MS and AL indicate a decrease in oyster density over the past 10 years; results in FL and TX vary, depending on location; LA oyster reefs appear stable.

Exploring a Framework for Achieving Flood Insurance Benefits from Community-Scale Nature Based Solutions

Location: Alabama (Mobile County)

Lead Institution: The Water Institute

Partner: Moffatt & Nichol, Munich Re

Summary: This project explored how marsh restoration projects might make flood insurance more affordable. The project team calculated how much a restored marsh on Dauphin Island, Alabama, lowers water levels during high tides and storms, and the amount this lowers flood risk for nearby homes. The work is an important first step in connecting marsh restoration with flood risk reduction, potentially leading to lower insurance costs over time.