JBNERR FY24-25 award NA24NOSX420C0064 project description the jobos BAY national estuarine research reserve (JBNERR) was designated in 1981 as part of the national estuarine research reserve system…

JBNERR FY24-25 award NA24NOSX420C0064 project description the jobos BAY national estuarine research reserve (JBNERR) was designated in 1981 as part of the national estuarine research reserve system (NERRS), established by section 315 of the coastal zone management act, as amended. JBNERR is located on the southeast coast of the island of puerto rico, between the municipalities of salinas and guayama. The puerto rico department of natural administers the reserve and environmental resources (PRDNER), which is submitting this multi-year application for FY2024 and FY2025 funds to support operations, research and monitoring, education, training, and stewardship activities from october 1, 2024 through march 31, 2027. In FY24, the PRDNER is planning for $880,967 in federal funding which will be matched with $377,558. Staff and administrative salary and contracts provide non-federal match. In FY25, the PRDNER is estimating $969,064 in federal funding, which will be matched by the PRDNER with the $415,314 in non-federal funds. Camino DEL indio finally, this has been a profound year for stewardship. After more than 30 years, the encroachment of illegal development in camino DEL indio has received the attention of the commonwealth of PR and federal agencies and most of the people inhabiting the encroached area have left. With the legal actions in the process, the water turned off to the structures, and the public attention focused on the habitat destruction in the reserve, staff at the reserve will be spending a great deal of time working intergovernmentally and with the community to ensure that processes are in place so that this never happens again and that partnerships are created and aligned to support restoration. A big part of the stewardship effort will be focused on restoring this land. This historic event has created a flood of volunteers willing to participate in restoration projects working with the ocean foundation and the boricorps. At times, working with temporary volunteers involves a lot of logistical coordination to carry out the events that involve an educational component. IT is for this reason that in this fiscal year 2024 a award detail during FY 2024, JBNERR will be focusing on managing and administrating the reserve, overseeing special projects, nurturing partnerships, promoting research, education, and training, addressing stakeholder input, and coordination with governmental agencies in addition to maintenance and enhancement of existing facilities and trails. We will initiate the process of revising the 2018-2022 management plan by focusing on revised goals and objectives. Reserve staff will continue to identify partnerships with other state and federal agencies, universities, and ngos to support the development and implementation of a coordinated strategy to ensure the protection of the resources. Also, strategies will be set up to acquire undergraduate students and/or graduate students to provide them with experience in coastal science and help them develop projects on coastal community resilience that could benefit local community members. The monitoring program will continue to implement the system wide monitoring program (SWMP), groundwater monitoring, biological monitoring of mangroves and will achieve full compliance with the NERRS sentinel site program for monitoring sea level change and inundation patterns. Our research program will continue to foster partnerships with research groups and local universities to advance the reserves research agenda. We will implement the margaret adelia davidson fellowship. We will continue our partnership with the caribbean regional association for integrated coastal ocean observing (CARICOOS) and the NGO the ocean foundation to support stewardship and education activities. Their support will contribute to implementing the seagrass and mangrove restoration projects. The coastal training program coordinator (CTP coordinator) will provide training and techni