Great Lakes Fishery Commission’s Post

In mid-June, Ron DeSantis signed the Focus on Florida's Future Budget for 2024-25, marking a historic $3.1 billion #investment in Everglades restoration and water quality projects. This #budget represents the largest single-year commitment to Everglades restoration in Florida's history, demonstrating the state's dedication to protecting and improving its natural resources. The budget allocates $850 million for Everglades restoration, including $550 million for the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan and $64 million for the EAA Reservoir. Additionally, $535 million is designated for targeted water quality improvements across various watersheds and ecosystems, including the Indian River Lagoon and Biscayne Bay. Coastal and inland resilience receive $281.5 million, with $225 million dedicated to statewide resilience projects. The budget also provides significant #funding for spring restoration, combating harmful algal blooms, and supporting alternative water supply projects. Conservation efforts benefit from $156.1 million, including $100 million for the Florida Forever program. This budget builds on Governor DeSantis' previous commitments to the #environment. Since taking office, the state's cumulative investment in Everglades restoration and water resource protection has reached $6.5 billion. This sustained focus underscores Florida's commitment to preserving its unique ecosystems and ensuring clean water for future generations. TL;DR #1 - $3.1 billion total investment in Everglades restoration and water quality. #2- $850 million specifically for Everglades restoration projects. #3 - $535 million for targeted water quality improvements. #4 - $281.5 million for coastal and inland resilience. #5 - $6.5 billion cumulative investment since Governor DeSantis took office. #FloridaEnvironment #WaterConservation #EvergladesRestoration #CleanWaterFL #FloridaWildlife

Another bipartisan win for the Corn Belt Ports region!!! $54 million for ecosystem restoration efforts under the Navigation and Ecosystem Sustainability Program (NESP). The House Appropriations Committee marked up and passed the FY 2025 Energy & Water Development (E&WD) and Related Agencies appropriations bill, which included $54 million for NESP. Kudos to our inland ports, riverfront communities, and regional planning agencies across the Corn Belt Ports’ 51-riverfront county region for submitting Community Project Funding (CPF) requests. The NESP funding, originating from these CPF requests, was formally requested in the appropriations bill process thanks to U.S. Representatives Sam Graves (MO-06), Darin LaHood (IL-16), Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-03), Eric Sorensen (IL-17), and Nikki Budzinski (IL-13). Senate markup of the E&WD appropriations bill is anticipated by the last week of July. Senators Tammy Baldwin (WI), Tammy Duckworth (IL), Dick Durbin (IL), Amy Klobuchar (MN), and Tina Smith (MN) have expressed support for this in the Senate. We expect much more bipartisan support when it goes to a vote. While Robert A. Sinkler and Chris Smith, CPP, PMP are a little disappointed that there was no navigation funding as part of NESP in this markup — true to their overachieving nature😊, we are very grateful for the continued NESP support from our Senators and U.S. Representatives, and national organizations like the Waterways Council, Inc. The Nature Conservancy Ducks Unlimited and many, many more, to include regional organizations like the Upper Mississippi River Basin Association and the UPPER MISSISSIPPI ILLINOIS & MISSOURI RIVER ASSOCIATION

From our friends at the Water Hub: Recent federal funding has been a down-payment to help reverse decades of disinvestment in communities and the spaces that sustain us. From tackling #PFAS and removing lead pipes, to installing rain gardens and bioswales and restoring shorelines and wetlands– #JustInfrastructure invests in our water from forest to faucet. Watch this NEW animated video to see the vision for our shared water future! Learn more at justinfrastructure.org #WaterIsAHumanRight #GetTheLeadOut #NatureBasedSolutions #InflationReductionAct #BipartisanInfrastructureLaw

More than four million miles of public roads run through the U.S. Roads provide connection, access, and mobility. However, roads and other transportation infrastructure also affect the ecosystem, by disrupting the movement of wildlife and other natural processes. Funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act presents us a chance to rethink the ways that transportation infrastructure interacts with the environment. There’s a tremendous opportunity now to accelerate ecosystem recovery, improve infrastructure longevity, and adapt to climate change all in a single investment. Tribes, state agencies, local governments, and nonprofits are working together to plan and complete infrastructure improvements that contribute to Puget Sound ecosystem and salmon recovery. This relationship between the recovery and transportation sectors creates better outcomes for people, salmon, and the environment. Our new video showcases examples of this type of collaboration between the transportation and restoration fields. Thanks to Nisqually Indian Tribe, Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, and Washington State Department of Transportation for their assistance in creating this video.

This video demonstrates how we can think differently about transportation and ecosystem health. Too many times we have had to spend salmon recovery dollars to repair mistakes of the past. We have the ability to change that and harmonize ecosystem recovery with transportation improvements - bringing back salmon, reducing flooding and making transportation infrastructure more resilient. Collaboration as projects are designed is the best path forward.

Boss: Hey social team, can we spice things up for this big Fish Passage announcement we have coming up? Social Team: SAMMY SALMON IS HERE TO WRECK THIS OBSOLETE DAM! *Sammy busts through the bricks and says Ohhh Yeahhh. Nothing motivates us more than breaking down barriers for fish and other aquatic species. This is why we're happy to announce the new Bipartisan Infrastructure Law National Fish Passage Program projects just dropped! Why is this announcement so exciting? These projects are supporting migrating fish, addressing climate resilience, and strengthening local economies. Here's the details: 29 states will receive just over $70 million to support 43 projects that will address outdated or obsolete dams, culverts, levees and other barriers fragmenting the nation’s rivers and streams. More on today's exciting news: https://ow.ly/bCuH50RmzpM Graphic of Sammy Salmon absolutely wrecking an obsolete dam, by USFWS.

A troubling trend - state DOT's taking Carbon Reduction Funds, and Reconnecting Communities dollars in order to bolster the financing of their highway expansion plans. Highway expansion is bad enough from a climate, health, and economic viewpoint, but it is particularly galling to see the purposes of these grant programs subverted and good projects therefore going without dollars. Is your state DOT doing this? Tell us in the comments. https://t.co/izQWsALgLM,

Senior officials from the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and NOAA, including Hannah Pingree of GOPIF, and other state and local officials gathered at Scarborough Marsh on Monday to announce a $10.5 million dollar award through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act and the National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to support four critical climate resilience and wildlife protection projects in York, Cumberland, and Washington Counties. The funded projects include the resilient restoration of Scarborough Marsh to protect the marsh and improve public access; $4.49 million to replace aging infrastructure culverts in Brunswick and Perry to improve water flows and fish passage, and $2.87 million to construct a new bridge and restore and conserve 18 acres of vulnerable coastal marshland in Wells. An additional $1,775,000 has been awarded to Maine in non-competitive funding. https://loom.ly/GOAdvEw

The Maryland Whole Watershed Act RFP was released this week, and it's exciting to think about all of the communities hard at work crafting restoration proposals for their local watersheds to be included in this transformational program. SB 969/HB 1165 establishes the Whole Watershed Restoration Partnership and Fund to accelerate restoration of the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays and their watersheds, and creates a State management team to administer the program. As explained in the introduction: "Proposals that are outcome-driven to protect and restore shallow water habitats, while addressing the needs of historically underserved, overburdened, and BIPOC communities are highly desired." Here's a link to the RFP: https://lnkd.in/e3hr3AF4 Posted below is the timeline for submission and project selection. #wholewatershedact #watershedrestoration #restoremaryland #ecologicalrestoration #restorationfunding

This is critical in everything we do in CT.