Break the Plastic Habit!
The Mobile Bay NEP encourages voluntary action to reduce the impact of single-use plastic bags.
Coastal Timber Pre-Harvest Planning Workshop
This workshop is designed to cover timber harvesting in sensitive coastal areas. Best Management Practices will be covered. There will be PLM and Forester CFE credits awarded for attendance.
Registration will begin at 8:00 am and the program will start at 9:00 am. Program will end at noon.
Click here for a .pdf of the brochure for the workshop detailing the agenda and location information.
Northern Gulf Coastal Program Goals and Frequently Asked Questions
The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service’s Coastal Program (http://www.fws.gov/coastal) is a voluntary and non-regulatory program whose mission is to efficiently achieve voluntary habitat conservation through financial and technical assistance for the benefit of Federal Trust Species. The Coastal Program operates through 24 offices located along our nation's Atlantic, Gulf, Pacific, and Great Lakes coasts. The goals of the Northern Gulf Coastal Program (http://www.fws.gov/daphne/Coastal/Coastal.html), based in Moss Point, MS, are:
• To effectively restore or enhance degraded coastal wetlands and uplands, estuaries, and riparian corridors along the northern Gulf (AL, MS, LA), and within the context of climate change and sea level rise;
• To establish living shorelines as the primary means for protecting eroding shorelines in these coastal areas where appropriate, thereby steering coastal protection efforts away from hardening;
• To form partnerships with private groups and government agencies to strategically restore, enhance, conserve, and protect coastal habitat and resources;
• To implement the Strategic Habitat Conservation framework ( www.fws.gov/southeast/SHC) to put the right conservation in the right places across the coastal landscape for the benefit of fish and wildlife.
If you have a coastal conservation project that can help achieve these goals and would like to request financial assistance from the Northern Gulf Coastal Program (NGCP) in fiscal year 2012, please click here for some frequently asked questions about the program.
Then contact Patric Harper to discuss your project ideas and to get more information about developing a cooperative agreement.
Patric Harper
Northern Gulf Coastal Program Coordinator US Fish and Wildlife Service Grand Bay Coastal Resources Center
6005 Bayou Heron Road
Moss Point, MS 39562
228-475-0765 x 105
228-475-8097 fax
We look forward to working with our partners to achieve coastal conservation in the northern Gulf.
Job Opportunity with the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF)
The Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) is seeking a Regional Director for the organization’s Gulf and Southeast Oceans Program. The Director will be responsible for developing and implementing strategies related to EDF’s initiatives in Gulf and South Atlantic fisheries. This is an excellent opportunity for someone who has expertise in fisheries and oceans policy and a demonstrated success managing regional teams and affecting environmental policy change. The Director will report to the Associate Vice President for Regional Programs and ideally be based in EDF’s Austin, Texas office. Visit the following link to apply and for more information. http://www.edf.org/jobs/regional-director-gulf-and-south-atlantic-oceans
News Conference: WORK TO BEGIN IN JOE’S BRANCH WATERSHED
A news conference to kickoff the project will be held, Monday, Jan. 30 at 10 a.m. at Bayfront Park in Daphne. Congressman Jo Bonner, Spanish Fort Mayor Joseph Bonner and Daphne Mayor Bailey Yelding will join officials from ADEM, ALDOT and other agencies.
Download the full announcement regarding the upcoming conference here.
Impacted Watershed, Joe’s Branch D’Olive
This before and after photo to the right shows the erosion on a tributary of Joe’s Branch. Ashley Campbell with the City of Daphne sits on a boulder that fell off the wall of the stream after a storm last summer. The second photo shows a completed step pool conveyance in Anne Arundel County, MD. The restoration of the tributary of Joe’s Branch will resemble the Maryland project. Click on the image for a full size view.
Restoration Location – the yellow area on the picture to the left shows the degraded drainage area that will be rehabilitated during this project. Click on the image for a full size view.
The NASA charts to the right compare the change in land use from forested and agricultural to urbanization in the D’Olive and Joe’s Branch watersheds 1974 to 2008. Click on the image for a full size view.
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The Step Pool Conveyance diagram to the left illustrates the proposed design of step pools to be built in a tributary of Joe’s Branch. Step pools are designed to slow the volume and velocity of stormwater flowing through the creek, decrease the runoff of sediment downstream, and improve water quality.
The diagram to the right shows degraded streams and wetlands in the D’Olive Watershed.
The America’s WETLAND Foundation (AWF) applauds efforts of the American Carbon Registry and Energy
NEW ORLEANS-The America's WETLAND Foundation (AWF) applauds efforts of the American Carbon Registry and Entergy Corporation to develop a protocol for quantifying the carbon value of coastal restoration projects, a process that could lead to reducing carbon and serve as a means to finance the restoration of coastal wetlands in Louisiana and throughout the Gulf region.
According to Valsin Marmillion, AWF managing director, the development of protocols that give industry the opportunity to invest in wetland restoration to offset carbon emissions could have a significant impact on the state since Louisiana has the vast majority of the nation's coastal wetlands. The AWF reported to the President's Task Force on Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration that creating beneficial uses of carbon both to reduce carbon and recycle or reuse it as a by-product creates incentives to find market solutions for carbon reduction.
"The American Carbon Registry and Entergy Partnership is a prime example of public private cooperation where the U.S. Government and Gulf states would be unable to afford such a valuable, timely study," Marmillion said.
The American Carbon Registry, a nonprofit enterprise of Winrock International, today announced an open public comment period for a new methodology to quantify how wetland restoration can help reduce carbon emissions and pay for repairing the disappearing coastal marshes.
The methodology was funded by Entergy Corporation and developed by a team led by Dr. Sarah K. Mack of New Orleans-based Tierra Resources. The methodology, if proven feasible, could help lead to the sale of credits for companies to offset carbon emissions.
For the past year, AWF and Entergy have partnered on research that quantified the economic impacts of climate on the Gulf region. The research has informed the Foundation's Blue Ribbon Resilient Communities project that is helping Gulf Coast communities plan for resiliency in light of sea level rise, more severe storm events and the increased vulnerability of critical infrastructure. Recommendations generated through the forums include establishing a viable CO2 market with incentives and investments in carbon sequestration and reuse through policy and public/private partnerships to create new market mechanisms and establishing protocols for tidal wetlands for use in carbon sequestration.
"We have great hopes for this new research as it is looking at the glass half full and not empty," noted Marmillion. "Entergy Corporation has been visionary in its efforts to help address vulnerabilities and risks due to rising sea level and increased storm events through practical, adaptive approaches by businesses and communities. The Blue Ribbon forums have featured a multi-million dollar study by Entergy and AWF to build greater awareness of vulnerable areas in the five Gulf Coast states, in considering the future and what steps need to be taken to ensure resilient economies, cultures, and environments. Now, through Entergy's funding beneficial use of carbon research, we may be one step closer to establishing coastal wetlands as viable for carbon sequestration and, at the same time, create new markets for carbon credits that could be used to fund wetland restoration."
"Science tells us that using wetlands like we do through reforestation to reduce carbon in the air could provide multiple opportunities," Marmillion said. "Through our national polling and our continuing series of Blue Ribbon Resilient Communities Forums, we have found support for creating new funding streams for coastal restoration and this may provide a new, big idea for raising hard to find restoration dollars. It's a win-win situation."
"We look forward to the comment period on the research and are hopeful about the results," Marmillion said. "There is no single answer to our severe funding needs, but one thing is certain, our coast is in jeopardy without dedicated resources to correct a long-term problem that can further weaken our nation and severely cripple our ecosystem. We are a nation comfortable with cost/benefit ratios, but in this case the cost/deficit ration of inaction is overwhelming and demands action or we will all be big losers."
More information:
American Carbon Registry: Mary Grady, (805) 884-1961, mgrady@winrock.org
Entergy Corp.: Mike Burns, (504) 576-4328, mburns@entergy.com
Terra Resources, Dr. Sarah Mack, (504) 339-4547, sarahmack@tierraresourcesllc.com
America's WETLAND Foundation is a non-partisan, non-profit organization that has acted as a neutral arbiter for coastal interests since its inception in 2002, elevating issues facing the Gulf Coast, specifically those of coastal land loss, to regional and national attention.
This message and other America's WETLAND Foundation activities are made possible by the generous support by our sponsors including the following: Shell, Chevron, Allstate, API, BG Group, blue moon fund, Coypu Foundation, Entergy, Hornbeck Offshore Services; The McIlhenny Company, makers of Tabasco(C) brand pepper sauce, The Nature Conservancy, and the Walton Family Foundation, and thousands of individuals worldwide whose contributions support coastal replanting projects in Louisiana.
If your organization would like to join this growing coalition of industry, conservation and environmental organizations across the globe that see wetlands protection as a key to economic growth, please contact us. <http://www.amwetemail.com/action.cfm?md=communication&task=addMessageClickThru&msgid=18&uid=ium5ejml&encoded=1&redirect=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Eamericaswetland%2Ecom%2Fcustompage%2Ecfm%3Fpageid%3D255>
The Harte Research Instititue unveils Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Valuation Database
The Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi is pleased to announce the unveiling of the Gulf of Mexico Ecosystem Services Valuation Database (www.GecoServ.org), Version 1.
There are two goals of the database. One is to allow the distribution and sharing of information about ecosystem services valuation studies relevant to Gulf of Mexico region habitats. The other goal is to identify current gaps in the primary valuation literature in order to encourage work that will fill those gaps. This is a ‘living’ database and we welcome suggestions for inclusion of studies and how to improve the website.
Support to build and maintain the database has been provided by the Harte Research Institute, NOAA’s Gulf Coast Services Center and NOAA’s Gulf of Mexico Regional Collaboration Team, and EPA’s Gulf of Mexico Program.
Nation’s 1st Education Program Launches for Recreational Fishing Industry along Alabama’s Gulf Coast
GULF SHORES AND ORANGE BEACH, ALA. – Charter captains and deckhands along Alabama’s Gulf Coast will have another resource as they prepare for spring fishing trips. The Certified Fisher Invested in Sustainable Harvests (CFISH) program will provide captains with a unique training opportunity, the first of its kind in the nation.
“We are excited to bring this education opportunity to our local fleet and preserve the cultural integrity of our family businesses,” said Joanne McDonough of the Nature Tourism Initiative, which is overseeing this training program. “While there are variations of this program in other countries, CFISH is the first program to be offered in the United States, especially at the comprehensive level of our course that enhances, educates and supports approximately 100 boats in the local charter fleet.”
After the success of the Coastal Nature Guide Program, the Orange Beach Fishing Association approached McDonough with a request for a similar program tailored for charter vessels and the initiative to develop a version that would take the fishing charter experience to the next level was created. This pilot program was prepared and ready to launch in April 2010 until the Deepwater Horizon explosion occurred.
“We decided that the timing was just not right and have used the additional time to tweak the program,” McDonough said. “The oil spill affected everyone in our fishing community, and CFISH provides up-to-date information. We are very pleased to have such a timely curriculum.”
This day-long certification process includes hands-on training during which participants will: gain a working knowledge of the ecology of the Gulf of Mexico and vital fisheries grounds, review sustainable fishing practices, discuss applicable resource laws and regulations, review and follow a code of ethics, learn how to promote good stewardship practices, become familiar with responsible advertising and learn how to conduct an educational briefing before the start of a fishing charter.
The founding program sponsors of the program are the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, Auburn University Marine Extension & Research Center, Alabama Department of Conservation & Natural Resources/Marine Resources Division, Dauphin Island Sea Lab, the Orange Beach Fishing Association, and Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism (CVB).
“As an avid fisherman and a tourism professional, fishing plays a key role in our guests’ vacation experience, and we are honored to support this ground-breaking program,” said Herb Malone, president/CEO of the CVB. “Our local captains have been through a lot, and this training will help everyone secure a bright future.”
The first CFISH course is set for Tuesday, February 15 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Dauphin Island Sea Lab. Registration is required. The cost to participate is $75.00 per person, and payment will be collected during the February 15th course. Please make checks payable to Auburn University.
Also, a limited number of scholarships are available from Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism. Winners will be notified on Monday, February 9.
Seating in this training program is limited, and reservations are required. Individuals wanting to learn more about CFISH, reserve a seat or apply for a scholarship should contact McDonough at jmcdonough@gulfshores.com or 251-974-4634.
Transportation will be provided on February 15th from the Orange Beach Recreation Center (4849 Wilson Boulevard). Individuals wishing to ride the bus are instructed to arrive at 6:45 a.m., and park at the tennis courts. The bus will depart at 7 a.m.
Media Contacts:
Kim Chapman
Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism
kchapman@gulfshores.com
1-800-745-SAND
251-974-4625 (direct)
251-752-8448 (cell)
About the Nature Tourism Initiative:
In 2007, Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism (formerly known as the Alabama Gulf Coast Convention and Visitors Bureau), the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and the Auburn University Marine Extension and Research Center joined forces to oversee the development of the Nature Tourism Initiative. This project is designed to evaluate the nature-based businesses in coastal Alabama (Baldwin and Mobile) and coastal Mississippi (Hancock, Harrison and Jackson) counties and provide resources to meet their needs. Charged with this mission, Joanne McDonough’s task is two-fold: (1) to work with local businesses and communities to provide a quality nature experience for the guests (2) while also encouraging good stewardship and sustainability of the area’s natural resources. Current partners include the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium, Gulf Shores & Orange Beach Tourism and the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration. For more information, visit: http://www.agccvb.org/business-of-nature