Coastal Services Center

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For the Expert: National Review of Innovative and Successful Coastal Habitat Restoration

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< Restoration Research | Planning >

Funding and Partnerships

As the scope and scale of coastal habitat restoration increase, so too does the cost of such efforts. Legislation, such as the Clean Water Act, Coastal Zone Management Act, CWPPRA, and the Estuary Restoration Act of 2000, has enabled the appropriation of millions of federal dollars for coastal restoration through a wide range of funding programs. A majority of these programs require participation from a variety of groups at the regional, state, and local levels – both public and private. Many funding programs provide matching grants on a competitive basis. Other programs provide low-cost financing for a wide range of water quality infrastructure projects. Many also provide assistance to create and expand sources for public funding. Table 1 lists examples of federal funding programs. Further guidance on federal funding programs that support the restoration goals of the Estuary Restoration Act is provided at NOAA's Estuary Restoration Act Web site (NOAA 2003d). This site provides a searchable database and the document: "Funding for Habitat Restoration Projects: A Citizen's Guide."

Table 1. An example of Funding Programs and Sources for Coastal Habitat Restoration

Federal Programs Coastal America Corporate Wetlands Restoration Partnership (CWRP) A voluntary public-private partnership to restore wetlands and other aquatic habitats in the U.S. Partners include private industry, the federal office of the Coastal America Partnership (representing 12 federal departments and agencies), state agencies, non-profit organizations, and academia. Industry contributions generally will be matched by federal/state funds on an average 4:1 ratio. http://www.coastalamerica.gov/text/cwrp.html Natural Resources Conservation Service Farm Bill 2002 Wetlands Reserve Program: Provides technical and financial assistance to landowners and tribes to enhance wetlands in exchange for retiring marginal agricultural land. Other programs are also available. http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/farmbill/2002/ National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Community-based Restoration Program The NOAA Restoration Center provides matching funds for projects through a competitive review process. Projects are selected based on technical merit, level of community involvement, ecological benefits, and partnership opportunities. http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and NOAA Fisheries Five Star Restoration Program Provides modest funding on a competitive basis to support community-based wetlands restoration. Projects ideally engage five or more diverse partners to contribute funding, land, technical assistance, workforce support, or other in-kind services. http://www.epa.gov/owow/wetlands/restore/5star/ U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Clean Water State Revolving Fund (SRF) Each state and Puerto Rico maintain revolving loan funds to provide low-cost financing for a variety of water-quality and estuary management projects. Although most grant programs require cost shares, an SRF loan can cover 100% of project costs with no preliminary cash outlay. http://www.epa.gov/owm/cwfinance/cwsrf/ U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant Program Provides matching grants for acquisition, restoration, management, or enhancement of coastal wetlands through a nationwide competitive process. http://www.fws.gov/cep/cwgcover.html

Other Programs National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Challenge Grants On a competitive basis, reviews proposed projects, fosters cooperative partnerships and commits combination of federal and nonfederal funds to on-the-ground conservation projects. http://www.nfwf.org/programs/guidelines.htm The Trust for Public Land Conservation Finance Program Assists land trusts, communities, and states in creating and expanding sources of public funding for land conservation. http://www.tpl.org

Funding opportunities are not limited to large federal programs, however. Many smaller innovative partnerships have been forged between groups with shared objectives. For example, Save the Bay is providing golf course superintendents of Rhode Island and Massachusetts with technical support and cost-effective, best-management methods to improve not only estuarine ecological functions, but also the aesthetics and playability of golf courses (Save the Bay 2003a). Golf courses represent one of the largest property owners in this coastal zone.

The focus of many restoration funding programs is to increase participation in restoration projects through innovative and creative partnering. According to Corcoran (2002), successful partnerships have three key ingredients:

1. Collective involvement – involve everyone with a stake in the project and collaborate on decision-making to ensure successful implementation. Typical partners include government agencies (federal, state, and local), conservation organizations or local citizens groups, corporations, schools or youth organizations, and landowners.
2. Shared vision – generate a commonly shared vision to build long-term support.
3. Measurable goals – establish clear goals and objectives to measure progress

One large coastal restoration project that exemplifies the key ingredients of partnerships is the Bahia Grande in Texas. The estuary is within the Laguna Atascosa National Wildlife Refuge, but barriers to the natural hydrological processes were created by construction of the Brownsville Ship Canal in the 1930s (Lassen 2003). The range of organizations sharing the vision of returning water and native vegetation and wildlife to the 11,000-acre estuary is extensive, and includes commercial and sports fishing and shrimping industries, school districts, the navigation district, several federal agencies, and nonprofit organizations. All have donated funds or labor and materials to the effort, which will include the construction of channels to permit adequate tidal exchange and the planting of native grasses and the black mangrove (Avicennia nitida). These actions will increase productivity and provide important nursery grounds for recreationally and commercially important aquatic species. According to Lassen (2003), a strong partnership is being built to give everyone an opportunity to participate and ensure the restoration of Bahia Grande is a success.

Another example on a smaller scale is the Jimmy-Come-Lately estuary restoration project in Washington State. The project was spearheaded by the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe to alleviate frequent flooding and enhance salmon runs. The project involved numerous local, state, and federal agencies, local land owners, and nongovernmental organizations. Representatives from these various entities have worked together for years to develop an estuary restoration vision. They have successfully secured the necessary funding, private land, and other resources to implement the restoration plan. Although still in the early stages of implementation, the Tribe attributes these early successes to a solid scientific foundation, a broad collaboration between partners, early public involvement, and a broad funding base (Rot 2003).

Collaborative partnerships can also be important for conflict resolution when varying viewpoints and multiple resource uses are at issue. The Sonoma Baylands restoration project in San Francisco Bay was controversial regarding the use of dredged material for restoration of diked, subsided tidal marsh; however, through a collaborative effort, the project was successfully implemented (Marcus 2000). This collaborative approach resulted in beneficial results for those involved rather than unresolved conflicts among people with diverse viewpoints.

As these examples demonstrate, active participation of all stakeholders is critical to the success of habitat restoration projects. Diverse partnerships allow the pooling of resources and the opportunity to take advantage of the strengths of all sectors – public, private, and academic (Wolf-Armstrong and Spalding 2002). Single individuals or groups can greatly benefit from forming partnerships in order to more effectively implement coastal restoration.