The Gulf of America Alliance is investing $1.96 million in funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office for Coastal Management to increase regional collaboration and support priorities identified by the five Gulf states. Four Regional Ocean Partnerships, including the Gulf of America Alliance, received similar awards. The funds are being used to increase capacity and implement projects that improve the health of ocean and coastal ecosystems, enhance the resilience of coastal communities, and increase regional data sharing.
“These projects tackle challenges important to our Gulf states,” said Laura Bowie, Gulf of America Alliance executive director. “Addressing these common issues in a voluntary and collaborative way benefits Gulf ecosystems and the economy.”
Eight new projects located across the Gulf states will focus on:
- coastal community resilience
- data accessibility and sharing
- environmental education
- habitat and water resources
- wildlife and fisheries
- marine debris
Each project was selected to achieve goals identified in the Alliance’s Governors’ Action Plan IV for Healthy and Resilient Coasts (https://gulfofamericaalliance.org/what-we-do/governors-action-plan/) a five-year strategic plan developed by the Gulf states in collaboration with federal agencies, universities, non-profit organizations, and industry partners. Projects will continue through November 2026.
Information for each project is listed below:
Project Title: Clean and Resilient Marinas: Community Grants for Certification
Location: Gulfwide
Lead Institution: Various Local Communities
Project Description: Update the Clean and Resilient Marina Program publications and support government-owned and operated marinas and harbors across the five Gulf states in addressing best management practices and completing the certification process for the Clean and Resilient Marina Program
Project Title: GIS Dashboards for National Estuarine Research Reserves (NERRs) and National Estuary Programs (NEPs)
Location: Gulfwide
Lead Institution: To Be Announced
Project Description: Engage estuary scientists and managers to co-design GIS dashboards with relevant, regional water quality and habitat data; GIS dashboards will be connected to the Alliance’s Gulf Online Mapping Open Data Platform (GOMOD)
Project Title: Gulf Literacy Principles
Location: Gulfwide
Lead Institution: Dauphin Island Sea Lab
Project Description: Develop a framework of fundamental concepts that everyone should know about the Gulf modeled after the Ocean Literacy environmental education structure
Project Title: Inventory of Restoration Quality Sediment Needs Across the Gulf
Location: Gulfwide
Lead Institution: APTIM
Project Description: Develop first-order estimates of restoration quality sand and sediment needed for present and future habitat maintenance and restoration needs in the five Gulf states
Project Title: Supporting State-led Derelict Crab Trap Detection and Removal
Location: Gulfwide
Lead Institution: Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission
Project Description: Continue to improve derelict crab trap detection and support removal programs in each of the five Gulf states to reduce mortality of blue crabs and other species due to ghost fishing
Project Title: Exploring the Relationship Between Septic System Prevalence and Water Contamination
Location: Alabama, Florida, Louisiana, and Mississippi
Lead Institution: Auburn University
Project Description: Collaborate with university extension agents and local governments to obtain and map data about on-site water treatment (septic) systems; create a predictive model with environmental, septic system, and socio-economic data to understand connections to water pollution
Project Title: Updates to the Strategic Conservation Vision Tool
Location: Gulfwide
Lead Institution: Partnership for Gulf Coast Land Conservation
Project Description: Enhance user access, improve functionality, and additional data to the Strategic Conservation Vision mapping tool, an interactive decision-support tool that guides conservation professionals in selecting projects for permanent land protection based on target species, habitat, and more
Project Title: Preventing Marine Debris and Reducing Waste Through the Geauxing Green Initiative
Location: Louisiana
Lead Institution: French Quarter Festivals Inc.
Project Description: Support the “Geauxing Green” sustainability initiative, which prevents trash and marine debris, reduces waste, and promotes environmental education at music and cultural celebrations in New Orleans, Louisiana, including the French Quarter Festival and Satchmo SummerFest