August/September 2009
President's LetterOn June 30, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced that it had selected 50 coastal restoration projects to be funded with $167 million under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.Just the inclusion of habitat restoration for funding under the ARRA package was itself a defining moment for the entire coastal and estuarine habitat restoration community. And the fact that NOAA received $167 million for a program funded annually at only $13 million was, well, nothing less than spectacular. But here's the real story--within the 30-day application period, NOAA received more than 800 applications for ready-to-go projects totaling more than $3 billion! Stop and think about that...more than $3 billion worth of coastal and estuarine habitat restoration projects just waiting to be started, while NOAA's Community-Based Restoration Program limps along with $13 million annually. I mention the huge backlog of projects because, ironically enough, September 26 is National Estuaries Day. Since 1988, National Estuaries Days has been the one day we celebrate the beauty of estuaries, their ecological and economic significance, and, most importantly, the need to protect these special places. America's estuaries deserve this day in the spotlight, but they also deserve to be treated with respect every day of the year. That includes having a robust national habitat restoration program that will not only eliminate the backlog of restoration projects, but adequately fund implementation of the many plans that exist to repair and preserve our coasts and watersheds. Restore America's Estuaries is dedicated to fighting for funding levels that will significantly increase the pace of restoring coastal and estuarine habitats, and I sure as heck know our estuaries need that help. What I don't know is why the Administration and Congress don't wake up and realize that our nation's estuaries are slowly slipping beyond a tipping point that may be irrevocable. What does it take for them to get it? Jeff Benoit
President and CEO |
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6th National Conference
Our 6th National Conference
and Expo will be held in Tampa, FL
October 20-25, 2012
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