NOAA Proposes $45 Million for Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Projects for Tribes and Underserved Communities

Today, the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is recommending more than $45 million in funding to support 27 new Coastal Habitat Restoration and Resilience Grants for Tribes and Underserved Communities. Of this $45 million in funding, more than $20 million is recommended for federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations, and $25 million is recommended for projects that will benefit underserved communities. These funds from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act will advance tribes’ and underserved communities’ coastal habitat restoration and climate resilience priorities.

“This $45 million investment, part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, will empower tribes and underserved communities on the front lines of the climate crisis to restore ecologically and culturally important coastal ecosystems and boost their resilience to climate change,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo.

“This $45 million investment, part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, will empower tribes and underserved communities on the front lines of the climate crisis to restore ecologically and culturally important coastal ecosystems and boost their resilience to climate change”

NOAA recommends that $20 million of this funding go to federally recognized tribes and tribal organizations who will play key roles in decision-making about habitat restoration projects, build their capacity to advance habitat restoration and climate resilience efforts and realize community and economic benefits such as jobs and training opportunities.

This funding supports President Biden’s America the Beautiful Initiative, a locally led and voluntary nation-wide effort to conserve, connect and restore at least 30% of America’s lands and waters by 2030. This funding also advances the President’s Justice40 Initiative, which sets a goal that 40% of the overall benefits of certain federal clean energy, climate and other investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.